How you can share Amazon Prime with family members
Amazon Prime recently got a much-scrutinized 20-percent price increase that has many people reevaluating their commitment to the online retailer’s subscription service. While Amazon packs a lot of features into that $119 annual fee, you might be looking to get a little more out of it. One way to do that is with Amazon Household, a way to share Prime benefits with your family.
Amazon Household is meant to apply to people who live under one roof. It can extend to one other adult, plus up to four teens and up to four children ages 12 and under.
The adult Amazon accounts must share payment methods, but they can then share Prime shipping benefits (including Prime Now and AmazonFresh), Prime Video, Audible Channels, the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library, photo storage, and Prime-exclusive discounts like early access to Lightning Deals.
Get started with Amazon Household
Before you add an adult, you will need to have that person there with you to log into his or her account. When you’re logged into your own account, head to the Amazon Household page and choose “Add Adult.”
You can email an invite, but if you’re already together in the same spot, go ahead and choose “Sign up together on this device.” The other adult will need to sign in to verify the addition to the Household.
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You will both keep your personal accounts, but they will now be linked, so be sure you agree on which credit or debit cards will be used for your Amazon buys. This would be a good time to use a joint credit card if you have one. You may also want to set some ground rules about purchases so neither of you ends up with a surprise Amazon bill.
Add a teen
Teens are handled a little differently from adults on Amazon Household. Amazon recommends this option for kids between 13 and 17. Click “Add a Teen” on your Household page and it will walk you through the process of entering the teen’s contact information and choosing which of your cards the teen can use. You can also designate where purchases will be shipped. You will have options to review and approve or decline purchases so you can keep tabs on your teen’s Amazon spending.
Once signed up, your teen will have a personal Amazon login and can also get access to Prime Video and the gaming-focused streaming service Twitch Prime.
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Add a child
The “Add a Child” option is geared for kids 12 and under. Don’t worry: they won’t be able to make purchases on Amazon. Adding a child allows you to manage the parental controls on Amazon devices, including Fire tablets, Kindles, and Fire TV. You can also set time limits to keep down screen use and choose which content to allow.
Remove an adult
If your circumstances change, you can remove an adult from your Amazon Household under the Manage Your Household page, the same place where you add other members. Look for your avatar and choose “leave” if you’re leaving the Household, or “remove” if you’re removing the other adult. Keep in mind this will prevent either adult from joining another Household for 180 days, though you can add the same person back to your previously linked Household if you made a mistake.
Amazon Household can be a smart way to get more out of your Prime membership (and perhaps even split the bill). Just be sure you’re in sync with the other adult you link accounts with.
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Tags: Amazon, deals, devices, family, kids, video
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