Amazon will increase the cost of its universal Prime membership to $139 per year in the US, up from the previous price of $119. For those who subscribe monthly, the monthly fee will go up from $12.99 to $14.99.
As for new registrations, the new price will come into effect very soon: February 18th. The change will come with the first renewal date after March 25 for existing members.
Amazon cited higher travel costs and wages as well as the expansion of membership products and services as reasons.
The company announced the change following its quarterly and annual earnings report for investors, which showed lower profits as a result of rising costs. As of last year, the service had 200 million subscribers worldwide.
This is the third time Amazon has raised prices in the US since the introduction of Prime in 2005. The last time was in 2018, when the annual price went up from $99 to $119. Back in 2014, the price changed from the original cost of $79 to $99.
Prime membership includes several different, sometimes unrelated benefits. These include free two-day, one-day, or one-day shipping on many items on Amazon’s online store, access to the company’s video streaming and music services. Benefits for users of the Twitch video gaming platform, access to a photo library, exclusive offers, free access to select audiobooks, and more.