Amazon has announced the termination of its Prime Invitee benefit sharing program, effective October 1. If you have been using a family member or friend’s Prime shipping benefits without living in the same household, you may soon incur an additional monthly charge.
The Prime Invitee program will be replaced by Amazon Family, which maintains many similar perks but is restricted to two adults and four children residing at the same primary residential address. This means shared Prime shipping benefits to different addresses will no longer be available.
Transition Period
If you benefit from Prime Invitee sharing, you have until the end of September to utilize the current program before it shifts to the new structure. Starting in October, those who wish to continue enjoying Amazon’s free shipping will need to secure their own Prime subscription.
First-time subscribers can sign up for a year of Prime membership at the introductory rate of $15 per month, though after that, the monthly cost will revert to $15.
Challenges with Subscriber Growth
This policy change comes amid reports of a slowdown in Amazon Prime account signups. According to Reuters, despite significant sales during the extended July Prime Day, new subscriptions fell below expectations. In the U.S., registrations were down compared to the previous year.
During the 21-day lead-up to the Prime Day event, Amazon saw 5.4 million signups, approximately 116,000 fewer than in 2024 and 106,000 short of the company’s target, reflecting a nearly 2% decline in new accounts.
By requiring separate households to maintain their own subscriptions, Amazon appears to be seeking to bolster its Prime membership numbers following recent disappointments.
Industry Trends
Amazon is not alone in tightening restrictions on account sharing. Following Netflix’s crackdown on password sharing, Amazon’s changes are part of a larger trend in the industry. While it’s uncertain how effective this new policy will be for Amazon, Netflix reported gains of over 200,000 subscribers after its own adjustments.
The revamped Amazon Family program, previously known as Amazon Household, offers Prime benefits to two adults and four children in one household. Benefits include free shipping, Prime Video, Prime Reading, Amazon Music, and additional perks from select third-party services like GrubHub.
