Amazon Prime Discounted for Those on Food Stamps

Amazon is offering a sizeable discount on its Prime membership for people who receive government assistance. Customers that possess a valid Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card, used for programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs, or food stamps, will pay $5.99 per month.

The typical monthly payment for Prime membership is $10.99, but users can also pay $99 per year up front, which equates to $8.25 per month.

“We designed this membership option for customers receiving government assistance to make our everyday selection and savings more accessible,” says Greg Greeley, vice president of Amazon Prime. Customers will need to have a current EBT card to enroll and the card cannot be used to pay the monthly membership fee. Those who qualify for the discount can apply once a year, up to four times.

This announcement is the latest in several recent moves Amazon has made to appeal to lower-income households and become a direct competitor to Walmart. Last year, it introduced the $10.99 monthly payment option, and earlier this year it announced the decision to start accepting food stamps for online grocery orders beginning this summer.

5 Comments

  • Anonymous

    Enough rewarding people who dont work hard, people work less so they can get benefits making it more difficult for those who actually need them to get them in the first place (disabled etc)

  • Mooki

    Enough rewarding people who dont work hard, people work less so they can get benefits making it more difficult for those who actually need them to get them in the first place (disabled etc)

  • Milhouse

    Nobody is being “rewarded”, and certainly Sanders had nothing to do with it. This is a perfect example of price discrimination, which is a normal and desirable business practise. By charging less to customers who verifiably can’t afford the full price they get more customers, while still making the full price on those who can afford it. It’s the same reason businesses offer discounts for children or elderly people, or why airlines offer different classes of service.