5 Things You Didn’t Know Amazon Does
Amazon Prime includes more than fast shipping and Prime Video. Here are five useful Amazon benefits and services you may not know you already have.
Most people use Amazon the same way. Search for something, buy it, wait for the box to show up. If you have Prime, you probably throw in fast shipping, Prime Video and maybe a Prime Day purchase you definitely didn’t need.
But Amazon has become so massive that there’s a ridiculous amount of stuff buried inside it. Some of it is already included with Prime, and some of it can potentially save you money on things you’re already paying for somewhere else.
So instead of giving you a giant list of 25 “hidden Amazon features” where half of them are things everybody already knows about, here are five that are actually worth knowing.
Prime Includes Grubhub+
This one surprised me.
If you’re an Amazon Prime member, you can activate Grubhub+ without paying the normal monthly membership fee. That includes $0 delivery fees on eligible orders that meet Grubhub’s requirements, lower service fees, 5% back in Grubhub+ credit on eligible pickup orders and access to certain member offers.
In other words, if you’re already paying for Prime and occasionally order food through Grubhub, make sure you’ve actually activated this.
Amazon says the Grubhub+ membership normally costs $9.99 per month, which makes this one of those Prime benefits that could actually cover a decent chunk of what you’re paying for Prime if you use it regularly.
Just remember that $0 delivery doesn’t mean your entire order suddenly becomes fee-free. Order minimums, service fees, taxes and tips can still apply.
Prime Gives You Unlimited Photo Storage
This might be the one I’m most surprised more people don’t talk about.
Amazon Photos gives Prime members unlimited full-resolution photo storage. You also get 5 GB for videos and other files.
Think about how many photos are sitting on your phone right now. Family pictures, vacations, screenshots, pictures of your dog, 14 nearly identical pictures of something you were trying to sell on eBay. It adds up quickly.
If you’re already paying for another cloud-storage service primarily because you need somewhere to back up photos, Amazon Photos is at least worth looking at before paying somebody else for more storage.
It also works across devices, and Amazon lets you display your photos on compatible devices such as Fire TV and Echo Show.
The important distinction here is that the unlimited Prime benefit applies to photos. Video and other file storage is limited unless you purchase additional storage.
You Can Share Prime With Your Family
You don’t necessarily need everyone in your house paying for their own Prime membership.
Amazon Family allows a Prime member to share a range of Prime benefits with another adult at the same primary residential address while keeping separate Amazon accounts.
Shared benefits can include Prime delivery, Prime Video, Prime Reading, Amazon Photos, certain digital content and access to third-party benefits such as Grubhub+. Amazon also supports child profiles and family content management.
There are rules around household eligibility and payment sharing, so this isn’t a loophole for splitting Prime with everybody you’ve met since high school. But if two adults living in the same household are separately paying for Prime because neither realized this existed, it’s definitely worth checking.
Amazon Will Sometimes Reward You for NOT Using Fast Shipping
Prime has trained us all pretty well.
Order something. Want it tomorrow? Of course you do.
But sometimes I don’t need a package tomorrow. I don’t even need it this week.
That’s where Amazon’s No-Rush Shipping can be useful.
On eligible orders, Amazon may offer a promotional reward for choosing a slower delivery option instead of the fastest available Prime shipping. The exact reward and eligibility can vary, so you need to pay attention to what Amazon is offering at checkout.
You’re essentially telling Amazon, “Relax. I don’t need my phone charger at 7 a.m. tomorrow.”
And sometimes Amazon will give you something in return for that flexibility.
If you genuinely don’t care when an order arrives, it’s worth taking a second to look at the shipping choices instead of automatically clicking the fastest one.
Amazon Has a $5 Prescription Subscription
This one is obviously much more specific, but it’s worth knowing exists.
Amazon Pharmacy offers eligible Prime members something called RxPass. For $5 per month, eligible members can receive covered generic medications through the program without paying separately for each eligible prescription.
RxPass covers medications used for a range of common conditions, but there are important eligibility restrictions. Not every medication is included, it isn’t available in every state, and people with certain state-funded insurance, including Medicaid and CHIP, are not eligible.
RxPass is also not insurance and doesn’t replace insurance.
So this isn’t something where I’m going to tell you, “Go switch your prescriptions to Amazon.” Medication decisions belong between you, your doctor and your pharmacist.
But if you already take an eligible generic medication, it’s something you may want to look into and compare against what you’re currently paying.
How Much of Amazon Are You Actually Using?
That’s really what made me want to write this.
Amazon has become such a normal part of everyday life that it’s easy to think of it as nothing more than the place where you order something and a box magically appears at your house.
But if you’re already paying for Prime, you might as well know what you’re actually paying for.
Maybe Grubhub+ saves you some money. Maybe Amazon Photos keeps you from buying more cloud storage somewhere else. Maybe Amazon Family means your household doesn’t need two Prime memberships. Maybe you start taking the slower shipping option when you don’t need something immediately.
Or maybe none of these are useful to you. That’s fine too.
The point isn’t to use every Amazon service simply because it exists. It’s to make sure you’re not paying for something somewhere else while Amazon is quietly including a version of it in a membership you already have.
And if I find more genuinely useful Amazon features buried in there, I’ll add them to the Trading Post. You can also browse the Amazon section for products and guides that have earned a place there.
