Amazon Prime Hikes Price to $99

Amazon Prime users, take note. The online giant announced on its website that, “For the first time since it was introduced nine years ago, the price of Prime is going up.”

In seven days, the premium membership will rise about $20 from $79.99 a year to $99. Current subscribers will be notified of price changes when their membership is set to renew. The 25% increase is less of a price jump than Amazon hinted at during a quarterly earnings call in January. The company said that the price could have jumped by $40, or 50% of the original fee.

Students with a “.edu” email address will pay $49 for an Amazon Prime membership.

Amazon Prime allows users to get unlimited, free two-day shipping on various purchases as well as unlimited access to Prime Instant Video and the right to borrow books from Kindle’s lending library.