The price of Prime Student increases tomorrow — how to avoid the hike

It's no secret that the cost of a Prime membership is about to increase. However, the cost of Amazon Prime Student is also set to increase. Designed specifically for college students, Prime Student offers many of the same benefits of a traditional Prime subscription, but at half the price. 

However, starting February 18, new members will pay $69 per year for membership ($10 increase). Likewise, monthly memberships will rise from $6.49 to $7.49. Existing Prime Student members will pay the new price after March 25, on the date of their next renewal. 

If you're not a member, your best bet to avoid the increase is to sign up now for a free 6-month trial at Amazon. Alternatively, current members can gift a Prime Student membership to themselves for $59 at Amazon. It'll lock in another year of Prime at your current price. 

Amazon Prime Student: free 6-month trial @ Amazon
Prime Student gives you access to free 2-day shipping, Prime Video, exclusive Prime member only deals, and more. Amazon Prime Student costs $59/year, which is 50% less than a typical Prime membership. Alternatively, you can opt for a monthly plan at $6.49/month. However, both prices will increase to $69/year and $7.49/month on February 18. 

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Give the gift of Prime membership: $59 for one year @ Amazon
Want to avoid the Prime member price hike? Current Student Prime members can purchase one year of Amazon Prime for $59 and manually apply the gifted membership before their current membership ends. That will lock in another year of Prime membership for $59. 

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To gift Prime Student to yourself, simply purchase the membership and enter your own e-mail when filling out the "recipient's e-mail" field on the Amazon checkout page. (Make sure to use the same e-mail you currently use for your Prime membership. That should keep some of your Amazon Prime history in tact).

Once you've entered an e-mail, just choose a "delivery date" for the e-mail (you can set it to send ASAP) and continue your purchase as you would any regular purchase on Amazon. 

On the day before your Prime membership ends, manually terminate it and then activate your gifted membership. This will prevent Amazon from auto-renewing your membership at the new rate. The downside is you need to pay upfront for your gifted membership. Nevertheless, it'll give you one more year of Amazon Prime Student for $59. (Just remember, you need to be a student enrolled in a two- or four-year college to be eligible for Prime Student).

A few things to note. The price of Prime will increase on February 18 for new members. It's unclear if the price of a gifted membership will also increase on the same date. To play it safe, it's best to gift yourself that Prime Student membership before this Friday.

Prime member benefits include access to services like Prime Video, exclusive access to Prime Day deals, and more.