Amazon is increasing the price of its general US Prime membership to $139 annually from the previous price of $119. For those who subscribe monthly, the monthly fee increases from $12.99 to $14 $.99.
For new subscriptions, the new price will come into effect very soon: on February 18th. The change will take effect on the first renewal date after March 25th for existing members.
Amazon cited higher wages and transport costs as well as the expansion of products and services within the membership as reasons.
The company announced the change following its quarterly and annual earnings reports to investors, which showed lower earnings due to these rising expenses. The service had 200 million subscribers worldwide last year.
This is the third time Amazon has raised prices in the US since the launch of Prime in 2005. The last time was in 2018, when the annual price went from $99 to $119. In 2014, the price changed from its original cost of $79 to $99.
Prime membership comes with several different, sometimes unrelated, benefits. These include free two-day, one-day, or same-day shipping on many items in Amazon's online store, and access to the company's streaming video and music services. Benefits for users of the gaming video platform Twitch, access to a photo library tool, exclusive offers, free access to some audiobooks and more.
