I’ve been an Amazon Prime subscriber probably since inception. Back then they offered discounts for college students, something like 50 bucks a year for free two-day shipping. Obviously nowadays it’s far more expensive - $139 annual - and I’m no longer in college.
With the accompanying Chase Amazon Prime card giving me 5% cash back on purchases at both Amazon and Whole Foods (there’s one a few blocks from where I live), I make back that annual fee in no time. The card also gets you 2% cash back at gas stations, which is lovely. Last year I got back over $300, which is more than comfortable enough to continue my Prime membership.
There are times I really don’t need to receive an item in two days or less. Amazon gives me the option to forgo the standard two-day shipping. In return, it gives me a dollar or two of digital spending credits. What I do with those credits is rent movies on Prime video. Often times that rental comes out to be free. It’s how I’ve been watching movies at home for quite some time now.
I can’t remember the last time I actually bought a movie. With mountain of books taking up shelf space, I don’t have any left for Blu-ray discs and DVDs. Besides, I’m not the type of person to watch movies a second time, so physical copies of movies would literally be decoration after the first watch. This is why I rent digital versions as well, instead of purchasing outright.
Besides, whatever is stored on Amazon servers doesn’t really belong to me, does it? Who do I make a claim with if those servers go down? Do I get mailed a copy of all my digital purchases on a hard-drive?
(Often free) renting movies is the way to go for me.
On the bow.