We're less than a full week away from Amazon's October Prime Day and it's one of the biggest sales events of the year that's not Black Friday. Whether you're looking for electronics, appliances, or anything in between, Prime Day will likely have a solid deal on it.
In order to take advantage of Prime Day, you'll have to be a Prime member -- there's no way around it. There is, however, a way around paying the membership fee. Below, we'll show you how to get a Prime membership for free so you can reap the benefits of Prime Day next week.
For more, check out the best Prime Day deals we know about and Best Buy's anti-Prime Day Sale.
Here's how to sign up for Amazon Prime
Amazon makes it very easy to sign up for Prime on its website; just punch in your information and you're set. To sign up for the Amazon Prime free trial, you'll need to provide a valid credit card if you haven't already done so.
If you've taken advantage of the trial before (and we hear you might get the chance for it every 12 months or so), you might need to use an email you previously haven't used just to make sure you can secure the trial.
1. Head to Amazon.com and sign in to or create your Amazon account.
2. Select Prime in your account menu bar.
3. Tap or click Start your 30-day free trial.
4. Make sure your credit or debit card on file is up to date (your billing address, too). If it's not updated, this is the time to do it.
5. Tap or click Start your 30-day free trial.
6. That's it -- you can start shopping anytime and get Prime membership benefits like expedited shipping.
How to cancel Prime before it renews
To avoid being charged, you'll need to cancel your membership before the 30 days are up. Here's how.
1. Sign in to your Amazon account at Amazon.com.
2. Go to your account menu.
3. Select Prime (computer) or Manage Prime membership (phone), then tap Manage membership.
4. Select End Membership.
5. Tap or click End My Benefits.
6. Select Continue to Cancel.
7. That's it. Your Prime account should be canceled. You can double-check by adding an item to your cart and seeing if you have the option to ship it the next day or within two days with Prime. If you don't, you've successfully canceled.
Some Redditors have said that when they attempt to cancel their trial, Amazon will sometimes offer to extend it for an additional 30 days. Something to keep an eye out for, and if you get your trial extended, be sure to take note of the new renewal date.
For more, don't miss how to find the best deals for October Prime Day.