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.
