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It seems somehow unfair. Some of Amazon's very best deals of the year are available during its annual Prime Day events, but access to those deals requires paying $139 for a year's membership.
But does it? We're going to show you how you can avoid that $139 fee and get full and complete access to all the Amazon Prime Day deals and discounts just in time for Amazon's upcoming Prime Big Deal Days on Oct. 10 and Oct. 11.
Also: Everything you need to know about Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days
Good news! If you haven't been an Amazon Prime member in the last 12 months, you qualify for a free 30-day trial. Just look for the big yellow "Start your 30-day free trial" button.
If you don't qualify for the free trial, one approach is to buy a Prime membership for just one month. After all, if you really just want access for a few days, a month's membership should do you. A month's membership will set you back $14.99. That's low enough that if you just get free shipping on a few products, it will pay for itself.
But you can do better.
If you're a student and a new member, you can sign up for a Prime Student membership (here's how). Prime Student gets you a six month free trial, and then you pay $7.49 a month if you decide to keep the service, or $69 per year compared to $139 for a regular membership. (And you wonder why adults are always saying, "Stay in school.")
If you're on one of the qualifying government assistance programs including SNAP, WIC, and TANF, you can get a Prime membership for half off. That brings the cost down to $6.99 a month. That might still be a lot to bite off, but at least it's something.
Just remember to cancel any free trial before your 30 days are up if you don't want to become a member, or you will be helping to pay for Bezos' rocket fuel.
So there you go. A few different ways to save money on Prime. And while you have a Prime membership, be sure to check out Prime Video, which comes free with your trial membership. My favorite shows to binge during your trial membership are The Man in The High Castle, The Grand Tour, The Expanse, and Good Omens.