An Amazon Prime Student membership comes with several handy benefits at a massively discounted price for 18 – 24-year-olds and anyone enrolled in education. Many of these crossover with the standard Prime membership, but there are also a few unique benefits (and larger discounts) for students that are well worth taking advantage of if you can.
The best place to start is with the six-month free trial to Amazon Prime Student that's available to new subscribers. It gives you complete access to all the main benefits of Prime, including free shipping, Prime Video, Amazon Music Prime, Prime Gaming, Prime Reading and exclusive Amazon deals. Plus, a handful of offers specific to your region, including free food delivery, cinema tickets, app subscriptions, and more.
After the trial is up, Amazon Prime Student costs $7.49 / £4.49 per month – that means you save 50% off the cost of a regular Amazon Prime membership. It's a bargain price that you should take advantage of while you can as long as you will make use of at least a few of the benefits above.
You can always put that extra money you save towards some awesome new tech or essentials from the back-to-school sales or squirrel it away for a rainy day. Either way, it's one of the best student discounts out there.
That covers all of the basics. However, if you have more questions about Amazon Prime Student, how easy it is to sign up and whether it's really as good value for money as it looks then read on for a more detailed breakdown.
What is Amazon Prime Student?
Amazon Prime Student is a special version of an Amazon Prime membership for actively enrolled college students. It's available in the US and the UK, as well as several other regions that already offer the subscription.
Signing up gets you access to the majority of the benefits of a standard Prime membership. These include free delivery, access to Prime Video for watching shows and movies, access to Amazon Music Prime to stream songs, Prime Gaming for free video game downloads and additional content, Prime Reading for books and exclusive Amazon deals throughout the year.
The best part is that you get these Prime perks at a discount. Amazon Prime Student members receive 50% off the cost of a full Prime membership. Normally you have to pay $14.99 / £8.99 per month, but this student discount brings the monthly fee down to $7.49 / £4.49 a month — which makes Amazon Prime Student much more affordable.
While Prime Student is only valid for a limited time (four years or until you graduate), it does let you take advantage of almost all the perks of Prime for less cash. This is crucial as your wallet is likely stretched thin already (and not just from spending money on school supplies).
Who can join Amazon Prime Student?
To join Amazon Prime Student in the US, you'll need to meet a few requirements.
First, you must have an Amazon account. You can sign up for one for free on the Amazon website.
Second, you need to be actively enrolled in at least one class at a college or university. Your school must be in one of the 50 states, the District of Columbia or Puerto Rico. You’ll also need a valid .edu email address. This doesn't have to be the email connected to your Amazon account, but it will be used to verify that you're a student, so you'll need access to this account.
Finally, and this is crucial, you need to be able to provide proof to Amazon that you're enrolled in college. While you don't necessarily need to provide documentation showing that when you sign up for Prime Student, you must be able to provide proof if Amazon requests it.
If you can't provide documentation, Amazon may ask you to reimburse it for the benefits you received while your Prime Student account was in effect. In other words, you'll need to pay back Amazon for all those benefits, which no one wants to do.
What about in the UK?
Amazon UK has similar requirements for signing up to the Prime Student program, with a few key differences. As in the US, you need to have an Amazon.co.uk account set up. You also need to be 18 years or older.
Enrollment in a higher education institution geographically located in the UK or the Republic of Ireland is a must. And, again, while you don't need to provide proof that you're enrolled in school at the time of sign-up, you must be able to do so if Amazon asks.
Finally, you must have a valid .ac.uk or .edu.ie email address.
How to sign up for Amazon Prime Student
To join Amazon Prime Student in the US, simply head to the signup page.
Select the 'Start your 6-month trial' button. On the next page, enter your school email address and the year you expect to graduate. Amazon uses this to determine when your Amazon Prime Student membership will end.
An email will be sent to your .edu account for confirmation, and from there you can complete the signup process.
The Amazon Prime Student signup page in the UK is a bit more involved. You need to provide your school email address and expected graduation month and year, as well as your academic level, the subject you're studying and your payment method information.
Once completed, you'll then have to verify your academic email address. Your six-month free trial will begin once this is checked off.
What if I already have Amazon Prime?
Already a Prime member and now a student? The good news is that current Amazon Prime members can switch over to Amazon Prime Student as well. If you want to join Prime Student, head to the signup page once again.
Once it's been verified that you're a student, you'll be refunded the difference between the regular fee and the cheaper Student fee. You don't need to cancel your current Prime membership to join Prime Student.
What are the benefits of Amazon Prime Student?
Now that you know how to sign up for Amazon Prime Student, the big question is, what can you get out of it?
Amazon Prime Student is basically a full Prime membership, only at half the yearly cost. The only Prime benefit you don't get once your six-month free trial ends is the ability to share your account with anyone else.
Prime Student benefits include two-day, one-day and same-day delivery (in select locations), as well as Grubhub Plus / Deliveroo food delivery. You also get unlimited movie and TV show streaming (with ads) through Prime Video, unlimited photo storage on Prime Photos and unlimited reading on your devices thanks to Prime Reading. There's Prime Gaming, too, which gives you free games every month and a host of extra content or freebies for select titles.
Amazon Prime Student also includes deals and promotions just for members at various points throughout the year, but the main event for these is the annual Amazon Prime Day sale in July.
Some benefits vary slightly depending on your region, but for the most part, they are near-identical no matter where you are in the world.
