The Offer
Direct Link to offer (this post contains our Amazon affiliate link, we appreciate if you use our links)
- Customers who have a government benefit EBT card can signup for Amazon Prime for just $5.99 per month.
- Update 3/7/18: Now Medicaid recipients can also get the $5.99 monthly Prime price.
An EBT card is commonly used to disburse funds for several government assistance programs including Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and Women, Infants, and Children Nutrition Program (WIC). Amazon will add other ways to qualify in the future for customers participating in government assistance programs that do not utilize EBT.
This is a full Prime membership which comes with benefits like 2-day shipping, video, music, and more. The only exception is that this discounted plan does not allow Household sharing of Prime benefits.
The Fine Print
- Must enter numbers and image of EBT card
- Must re-qualify every 12 months
- Valid for up to 48 months maximum
- You can cancel at any time (not locked in for the full year)
- This membership also comes with the standard 30-day free trial
Our Verdict
This is quite a nice discount on Prime for those who qualify. The standard is to pay $99/yr or $13/mo. While there are often deals for signing up (like this $15 deal or this $20 deal), they are typically limited to the first year only (though you should be able to let your membership expire and then signup under a promotion). Getting it for a consistent $5.99/mo ends up just $72/yr. And it allows you to pay monthly instead of yearly.
Note, if you have a student in your household, you can get Prime a bit cheaper with Amazon student at just $49/yr, plus you get a 6-month free trial before paying anything.
It’s very interesting to see the competition between Amazon and Walmart heat up. Much as I’d love to see Walmart become a real Amazon competitor in the online shopping region, I’m impressed by Amazon’s gusto in the war without riding on their laurels. Apparently, Amazon decided that the lower income sector is worthwhile or else they feel that it’s worth it for the domination factor.
I stopped shopping at Amazon when they started charging sales tax in my state sometime last year.
This whole conversation gets to the gritty of it. God bless you, every one. I will continue to support initiatives that benefit those who learn these lessons and apply them intelligently.
Next Amazon will start peddling their Prime to the dumb and gullible by pricing it at just $0.27/day 😀
I’d rather keep the 6.95 in my pocket and buy something with it
I’ll never forget three years ago when I was a poor college student and just got a payday from my part time job so I had enough money to buy a big pack of ramen noodles. And the person in front of me in line was buying steaks and lobsters with EBT card, and then doing a second transaction to buy beer and cigs with cash.
Wow. Just wow. I am on SSD. I am degreed and was a high earner before I got sick. The attitudes here are amazing. As if people without money are all low-lifes trying to game the system.
And who specifically are you referring to? If you’re going to call people out then I’d hope you’d at least reply to the comment(s) you disagree with to provide an opportunity to respond. Otherwise it’s just generalized vitriol towards those who don’t share your opinions.
Is this amazon way of getting walmart back for trying to steal their customers? Most walmart shoppers are on EBT.
I seriously doubt 50.1% or more walmart shoppers are on EBT
i think that is very insightful argument. i am not sure the majority of walmart shoppers are on welfare and they may well be but this might be the amazon’s counter punch.
Welfare queens….the OG of churners
walmart offers 2-day free shipping and matches amazon’s price, why am I still pay membership fee to amazon?
the first and last time bought a gift card from amazon, it took them 9 DAYS to ship, can’t believe its shipping speed…
never buy there
Because they have a bigger selection? Because they have the best return policy? Subscribe and save opportunity? Because I don’t want to waste time getting a price match when I can click a button, buy my discounted box of baby diapers, and be on my merry way? Let’s not forget that Amazon GC can be purchased 5%+ (or their CC) or random amex offers, such as the one released today 2k MR for $50 in spending.
As you probably know, the Prime membership by itself is a huge loss for Amazon. The only reason they do it anyways is that it pays off at the end. A prime user spends in average 5x as much as non-prime users.
Yes, those numbers don’t tell the whole story — people who buy a lot at amazon are more likely to have a prime membership etc. pp. However, fact is that the average prime user spends much more at amazon — whether it’s 2x, 3x or 5x doesn’t really matter.
Your argument sounds like classical free market talk: if people aren’t smart enough to make good decisions it’s their own fault. I don’t share this view. This is not a matter of discipline, this is a matter of need, opportunity and at the very end financial education and maturity. If it would be just a matter of discipline, there wouldn’t be insane schemes like payday loans.
Yes, I have an issue with explicitly targeting an often less educated part of the society with an offer that seems to be a bargain at the surface, but leads to much higher spending is IMO shady.
That is a fallacy. I have a master’s degree. Most people on assistance are working people, not less educated, and overwhelmingly white. I am in this category due to illness, which unfortunately does not discriminate by gender, race or social class.
That is just not true; in average low-income households or less educated. Only a minority hold masters or even high school degrees. Education is a luxury that you need to be able to afford.
I didn’t mean to turn this into some political board: I am just stating my opinion about the fact that Amazon targets low-income households with an offer that in average leads to additional spending.
I am aware that this is a very european view and I am ok that people disagree with that. I’ll leave it at that.
I understand your points but we’ll just have to agree to disagree. In this day and age anyone can find internet access and teach themselves some basic financial education in a matter of minutes, all for free. I believe blaming Amazon is an excuse and I’ll just leave it at that.
I can agree with that 😛
Walmart return policy is just as good and has been so since before Amazon existed.
I’ve had several instances where Amazon refunds without needing proof of damage or to send back. Many times using issuing free 1 day shipping and sometimes even a credit. They’ve accepted many items back that weren’t damaged and only due to customer dissatisfaction. The ease of placing a box outside my porch for UPS pickup and receiving a full refund once it’s scanned by UPS cannot be beat. I’m not going to claim they’re better than Walmart only because I don’t have that history with them. I do however believe as much as one can without proof that they beat Walmart with returns.
Amazon has a huge problem with counterfeit goods, including counterfeit baby diapers and other baby products. You don’t roll the dice like that when you shop at Walmart like you do at Amazon.
Sources:
http://jenniferlabit.com/2016/07/21/counterfeit-baby-products-sold-at-amazon/
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13926015
https://help.pg.com/en_india/topics/fake-pampers-from-amazon-in
I’ve purchased hundreds of items from Amazon and haven’t had this issue. Not saying there’s not truth to this, because I’ve read similar reports, just saying in my experience I’ve yet to receive counterfeit products. Sticking with Prime-only items will greatly reduce the likelihood of issues.
There have been some counterfeit items ‘shipped from and sold by’ Amazon. I don’t have specific examples at hand, but in my experience reading Amazon reviews on a lot of products over the years, I’ve definitely seen several instances of people complaining that they received fakes (and some grey-market – products that were real but not authorized for sale or warranty coverage in the US market) who specifically stated that they didn’t buy through a third-party seller.
Also, ‘Prime-only’ includes both ‘shipped from and sold by’ Amazon items, and items from third-party sellers who use the Fulfillment By Amazon service in which they ship their items to Amazon’s warehouses so that Amazon can fulfill their orders for them. And if a third-party seller sends Amazon some items to ‘FBA’, they can be mixed together with other supposedly-identical items sent in by other third-party sellers (supposedly not mixed with Amazon’s own shipped-and-sold products, at least not intentionally…), so even a FBA seller trying to sell legit products could have someone else’s counterfeit shipped out in their name.
https://www.inc.com/sonya-mann/amazon-counterfeits-no-starch.html
Seems shady to me that Amazon lures low-income households into spending money on a service they can’t and shouldn’t afford — not to mention the long tail of extra spend a prime membership often follows.
Amazon could probably afford to give away e.g. the streaming and cloud services for free to low-income households without the incentive for more spend.
Don’t look now but Amazon has them pinned to the floor and the tap out is coming! In all seriousness though, if people don’t have the discipline to back away from Amazon and Prime (if they can’t afford it) then they have bigger problems. This isn’t the cigarette market where they’re luring people in and creating physical addictions. Sorry, but I just don’t see how this is shady.
As far as I know, Amazon don’t accept EBT as payment method. Most people who have EBT will just go to Costco because food is cheaper there than Amazon. I’ve never been on assistance, but I have experienced not being able to afford food to eat three times a day, and in those days, the last thing I would’ve wanted was to waste my money for a subscription service. If amazon did some research, then their research must have told them this is worth doing.
Exactly. I’ve been there and done that and I still carry on things learned to this day. Buy in bulk, freeze things, never pay more that is needed especially for a commodity like rice. A membership like Costco would be MUCH better for those who are low-income. Not only is it a free membership (get a refund if you don’t spend $55/year) but you can buy some basic staples for cheap and make them last a long time.
I think Amazon did a recent deal to accept EBT as payment in the near future?
There is some sort of program being tested the past 6 months. I don’t know many details of how it works https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2017/01/17/amazon-accept-food-stamps-usda-snap/96661036/
That’s what I was thinking of, thanks Chuck!
I’ve never lived within $100 of a Costco.
I mean 100 miles not $100.
What about BJ or Sam’s club?
As a person who receives SNAP, a generous $25 a month for 2 people, due to being disabled, i am below the poverty level, and my kids would be able to watch amazon prime tv for less than netflix costs a month, that is a huge savings compared to cable. It also helps that it can be paid monthly without a penalty. Walmart in my area (east coast) does accept EBT, cash and SNAP, so does Target for that matter.
Please don’t take this the wrong way but if you’re below poverty level then it might be in your best interests not to pay for anything cable or media related. It’s a want and not a need. I know this sounds preachy but it’s the truth. Only stating this because if you go to any financial/budgeting forum you’ll see that one of the top bullet points for improving your financial position is to eliminate anything that’s not a need (food, roof, electricity etc). I don’t claim to know your financial situation or if you can afford it without issue but I’m just generalizing in regards to the fact that anyone living in poverty will be on a tight budget. I know many use YNAB (you need a budget) to help, I personally use Excel. Either way, sorry to hear about your disability and circumstances, I can only imagine how hard that would be.
That said, you do bring up a good point that it can save you money by sticking with Prime video, assuming you’re skipping alternatives.
My kids need the internet to do their homework.Comcast is our only choice where I live, and it is less expensive to get phone/internet/cable tv than it is just to get internet, and that is $100 a month. Its a ripoff no matter how you look at it. I am old enough to remember the old days when tv was free. This site has helped enormously financially, as I am at $450 since 1/17, and have over $600 coming in the next few months, so thanks!
Definitely agree cable/internet is (has) become ridiculous. What happens when there’s little choices available. Throw in what’s going on with net neutrality and you have yourself one frustrating and unfair situation. But I digress, a discussion for another time and place. At any rate that’s pretty interesting that you’ve been able to use Amazon Prime for homework purposes. I suppose it shouldn’t be that surprising though when I realize I’ve found videos for my now 3 year old.
As far as DoC saving money it’s definitely a great resource. So is Dansdeals, Slickdeals and even camelcamelcamel (for Amazon). Setting a few alerts on SD/CCC can go a long ways with saving a lot of money over time for purchases you can plan for.
As someone who grew up poor myself I get how some working class people (like my mom) take on their deprivation as a badge of honor. But if you can spend a few bucks for entertainment to forget your condition for a few hours a month, why not?
Wouldn’t you save more money using the student discount?
What are you disabled with? You seem to be able to type fine. Maybe you could get a job as a court stenographer?
I’m guessing you were intentionally being a jerk by your comment. I know – don’t feed the troll.
If for some reason you actually believe what you wrote, let me provide a not so uncommon example. – My brother had prostate cancer. Chemo completely got rid of the cancer so far for the past 2 years. However he may have to run to the bathroom at any time (Diarrhea or intense need to pee either one may happen.) While there may be a few rare jobs where this might be acceptable – most are not.
Other people may be experiencing chronic pain, etc. Walk a mile in one of these persons, (Or sit in the case of someone paralyzed.) shoes and then come back and judge.
I bet you’re one of those people that make a ton of money, blow it on useless junk, and then complain at the end of the year about how much taxes you have to pay. Guess what? You CHOSE to make that amount of money by taking the opportunities that you were presented with.
I agree that Pablo is a dick. I do take issue with your last sentence. Everyone makes (or used to make) their own way during our short time on this earth. I made sacrifice after sacrifice to be where I am today. I totally understand the necessity of taxes and people needing help from time to time. This isn’t a political party issue as they’ve both done enough damage to what the founders envisioned anyway. Fundamentally, I think it comes down to who you think can spend YOUR money better…You? or the government?