If you are like us, you have an Amazon Prime account because of the free next-day shipping. It’s ideal for if you can’t wait to receive your spontaneous purchases and also when you inevitably forget someone’s birthday and need a present fast! That said, you are probably not utilizing it to its full effect.
Keeping it in the family
When you live in a house with someone else who has a Prime membership, it makes sense to just log into their account and make the most of it. You could be nice and split the cost, or you could be a scrounger – after all, you pay for the joint Netflix account, right? Now, the issue with doing this is that everyone else using the account can see what you have looked at and what you have been buying. This is less than ideal if you’re buying gifts for the other person, or if you just don’t want people nosing at that hair removal cream that you had to buy!
Amazon Household
So it seems there is a way around this already built into the Amazon system that is often overlooked; Amazon Household. This is the loophole that we all want but with the added bonus of being totally legit! You can keep those purchases secret from your family, without having to pay for your own Prime account – amazing!
So what’s the deal?
Amazon Household allows two adults, both with their own Amazon account, to share Prime benefits at no extra cost. One of the members has to have a Prime membership, and you both have to agree to share the credit and debit cards that are linked to your accounts. That doesn’t mean you can (or should!) start using your sister’s credit card to fund your book-buying addiction, but you do have the ability to do so, so it’s important that you really trust the person you are linking up with!
Sharing content
There are a few options for what you want to share within the Household, including current and future purchases. For example, you can decide if you want to share eBooks, apps, games, and audiobooks that you’ve purchased with the other person. You can change these permissions whenever you want once they are set up, so you are not limited to what you choose to start with.
Teens & children
Although this current setup is for adults, there are options for teens and children. You can add up to four teen profiles (between ages 13-17) which allows some level or parental monitoring while giving them a little independence with their shopping too. For children (12 years and younger), you can also add four profiles, and they can use child-specific Amazon offerings such as Amazon FreeTime, although it will not allow them to buy anything on the site, giving parents peace of mind!
There are so many benefits to an Amazon Prime account, from free two-day delivery to streamable music, tv shows, and movies that it seems crazy not to have an account, to begin with, but with this little-known feature, you can spread the cost between a few of you and really get the most out of it!
