Amazon to increase cost of Prime membership, but here's why you might avoid PRISE RISE

Amazon is looking to increase the price of its annual Prime membership scheme.

Fortunately, those who are signed-up to the annual subscription plan in the UK shouldn’t be affected by the price rise.

However, the Seattle-based company is looking to increase the annual plan in the United States by about 20 per cent.

The hike, announced by Amazon Chief Financial Officer Brian Olsavsky, will increase a Prime membership from $99 a year to $119.

The increase will be effective May 11th for new Prime members, and June 16th for existing subscribers.

Olsavsky said: “The value of Prime to customers has never been greater.

“And the cost is also high, as we pointed out especially with shipping options and digital benefits, we continue to see rises in costs.”

Earlier this year, Amazon increased the price for monthly Prime subscriptions by some 24 per cent in the US.

Paying monthly now works-out at around $156 per year.

This price hike, however, is the first time the company has increased its annual fee since 2014.

In the UK, an annual Prime subscription costs £79 a year.

This includes access to Prime Video, unlimited one-day delivery at no extra cost, unlimited music streaming, unlimited photo storage and unlimited reading on select novels for Kindle users.

Those who want to pay monthly will be charged £7.99, which equals £95.88 annually.