Amazon has announced that those who are using government assistance programs will be eligible for a discount on Amazon Prime membership. Qualifying customers can join the program for as little as $5.99 a month.

Amazon Prime Discount

Normally, Amazon Prime costs $99 a year, but users can opt to pay a monthly fee of $10.99 in lieu of the yearly payment if they prefer. The monthly fee works out to a little over $130 a year making the yearly option significantly cheaper in the long run.However, Amazon has now announced that those on government assistance will be able to pay a monthly fee of $5.99. This reduces the total cost for a year's membership of Amazon Prime to $71.88 making it about $30 cheaper than the standard yearly fee and about $60 cheaper than the normal monthly rate.

Greg Greeley, vice president of Amazon, said that this program does offer a free trial and he's confident that once people sign up, they'll stick around as Prime offers many benefits to its members.

"We designed this membership option for customers receiving government assistance to make our everyday selection and savings more accessible, including the many conveniences and entertainment benefits of Prime," Greeley stated.

Benefits Of Prime

Free shipping is one of the biggest benefits of Prime. As a Prime member, Amazon customers get access to free two-day shipping regardless of their location or the price of their order. Those within qualifying cities can also take advantage of the same-day shipping offered by Prime Now. However, Prime Now features a very limited selection of products so not everything will be available.

In addition to the shipping options, Prime offers several other benefits to its members such as access to music and to access to video streaming, photo storage, and some free books on Kindle.

Eligibility

in order to qualify for the reduced Prime rate, customers must provide a valid EBT card which is often used for government assistance such as SNAP. While the EBT is necessary to qualify for the reduced rate, it cannot be used to pay the membership fees. Those who are eligible for membership may apply once a year for four years.

Amazon has said that it is planning on expanding the program to include those who receive assistance in some form other than EBT cards. However, the company has not given any details as to how it plans on expanding the program or when that expansion would occur.