NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon is discontinuing its program that permitted Prime members to share their free shipping perks with individuals not residing at the same primary address.
According to an update on its customer service webpage, the online giant plans to cease this sharing on Oct. 1, urging those outside the account holder’s household to get their own Prime subscription.
For users not living with the account holder, Amazon is offering a discounted Prime membership rate of $14.99 for the first year. Thereafter, the cost is $14.99 monthly or $139 yearly. This offer begins this Friday and continues through Dec. 31, 2025.
Amazon will transition from the Prime Invitee setup to Amazon Family, allowing account holders to extend their free two-day shipping benefit and other exclusive offers to only one other adult within the household, alongside up to four teens (added before April 7) and four children’s profiles. The additional adult can be a spouse, family member, or roommate, per Amazon’s description.
This change coincides with significant investments by the Seattle-based company to expand its delivery network, aiming to provide quicker service in less populated U.S. regions.
The company announced in late July that the service is operational in 1,000 of the more than 4,000 smaller cities, towns, and rural areas it aims to reach by the end of the year.
