Are you excited for Amazon Prime Big Deal Days?
This now-massive sale event kicked off on July 15, 2015 as a 24-hour sale. Each subsequent year through 2019, Prime Day occurred in the second week of July and the sale grew from 24 to 48 hours.
Then the Pandemic hit in 2020, flipping retail on its head in myriad ways. Prime Day 2020 was postponed until October and occurred over 48 hours, serving as an unofficial start to the holiday shopping season that year.
These days, there are two annual Prime Day sales and the dates are often a mystery until a couple of weeks before.
With October’s Prime Big Deal Days just around the corner, we wanted to share some savings tips for shopping this sale.
1. Amazon Prime Membership
Prime Day sales are for Amazon Prime members only. If you are not a member, now is a great time to join so you can take advantage of all the discounts and benefits, like access to Amazon Video, Amazon Music, one free Kindle book per month, exclusive Amazon discounts, a free Grubhub+ membership, and lots more.
After a 30-day free Amazon Prime trial, Prime membership is $139 per year (or $14.99 per month) and includes unlimited two-day – or in some cases, next-day or same-day shipping – all year long. If you don’t intend to continue after the trial, remember to cancel within that 30-day window. And if you’ve done a free trial before, don’t worry – you’re eligible for a free Amazon Prime trial every 12 months! 18-24 year-olds can try Prime for Young Adults with a six-month $0 trial at amazon.com/youngadult, then pay a discounted rate of $7.49 per month or $69 for the year. If you are on public assistance and can provide an EBT or Medicaid card, you can get Amazon Prime for $6.99/mo.
2. What will be on sale
Every Prime Day, millions of items across more than dozens of categories will be on sale. The deepest discounts are typically on brands Amazon owns, like Amazon Basics, Amazon Essentials, Kindle, Ring, Fire, etc. We also see discounts on fall apparel and footwear, small tech, like headphones and smartwatches, and small home appliances, like air fryers and robotic vacuums.
As you search for tech items, think about other things that you purchase regularly. We’re seeing discounts on everything from toilet paper to bras.
3. Regular shopper? Consider the Amazon Prime Visa card
If you are a regular Amazon shopper, consider applying for the Amazon Prime Visa. Periodically, Amazon offers an instant bonus upon approval. Right now, you can receive a $150 gift card upon approval!
This card has no annual fee and allows you to earn 5 percent back on your Amazon and Whole Foods purchases, and 1-2 percent back on other purchases. These earnings can be applied to future Amazon purchases.
Cardholders are able to score discounts before October 8th, and during the Prime Big Deal Days sale, shoppers can earn extra bonuses on select eligible items just by using your Prime Rewards Visa. This often applies to Whole Foods purchases as well.
You can earn up to 10 percent back on select items throughout the year through Prime Bonus offers. There are also benefits for foreign travel, like no transaction fees and travel insurance. Like many store cards, this card has a fairly high APR, so use it only for what you can pay off each month.
4. Tips for Deal Spotting on Amazon
USE LISTS. You can use Lists on the Amazon site and app to look for deals and track discounts. Once you have added an item to a List, you can ask Alexa to notify you if it’s going on sale (you can also ask Alexa to add an item to a List). You can even create multiple lists for things like Prime Day, birthdays, and other occasions. You can share lists with others to let them know what you are interested in.
SIGN UP FOR EMAILS. You’ll be notified of available deals once you sign up for Amazon’s emails.
ASK ALEXA FOR SHOPPING. Amazon’s AI shopping assistant can provide lots of details on products and deals. Ask away! You can even use this tool to set up a price alert if there’s an item you want but you have a price in mind.
DEAL ALERTS: Set up deal notifications in the Amazon app for items you viewed recently.
SAVE FOR LATER. Another smart thing to do is add things you want to your cart before Prime Day and click “Save for Later.” That way, on Prime Day, you can easily view all those items in one place and see if they are on sale. I’ve had success doing this!
5. What to expect during Prime Big Deal Days
In addition to millions of deals across more than 30 categories, there will be special deals available during Prime Big Deal Days:
FUEL & AUTO: Prime members will have access to seasonal promotions, such as Fuel Up Friday savings (20¢ off per gallon) at participating stations and Amazon Gift Card offers through Amazon Autos for vehicle purchases or leases.
EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNTS: First-time discounts for viral items like the Shark DePuffi instant contrast therapy skin care tool. Plus seasonal decor starting at $1 via Amazon Haul.
NEW DEAL DROPS: New discounts will be available three times daily (midnight, 8am, and 1pm PDT) across dozens of categories
Pro tip: Amazon Prime Big Deal Days isn’t the only game in town. Look for big sales from Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and more.
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