Amazon Prime price increase: Cost of premium delivery service significantly hiked

It is possible to get around it – for now

A worker prepares packages for delivery at an Amazon warehouse on September 4, 2014 in Brieselang, Germany (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Amazon has increased the cost of Prime significantly. But there is a way around it, for now.

The company has announced that its premium service – which offers streaming video and other features as well as free next day deliveries – will increase by around 20 per cent. The cost will leap from $99 a year to $119.

That will begin from 11 May for new members, and 16 June for existing Prime subscribers.

Subscribers in the UK and elsewhere will not be affected by the rise. And there is a way for people in the US to get around it, too.

Given that subscriptions to Prime are taken annually, the cost might not kick in straight away. But it might seem a little unfair if you're due to renew in the coming months.

However, Amazon does offer a way of buying Amazon Prime as a gift, and is still doing so at the old price. That doesn't have to be claimed straight away – meaning that anyone with a renewal coming up soon can buy Prime for someone and then renew it after the increase has kicked in.

That can be bought by heading to Amazon's special "give the gift of Prime page", where subscriptions can be bought either for three months or a year.