Amazon is ending a popular perk that let Prime members share free shipping with people outside their household—soon, only those under the same roof will qualify. The company has started alerting users that the Prime Invitee Program, which allowed members to extend Prime shipping benefits to others, will shut down on October 1, NBC News reports. Invited guests will be directly notified by Friday, Amazon says.
Previously, Prime members could share free two-day shipping with another adult—even if that person lived at a different address. Beginning in October, however, anyone not sharing a residence with the main account holder will need their own Prime subscription to keep the free shipping benefit. Amazon is offering those people a special rate of $14.99 for their first year of Prime, followed by additional years at the typical $139 annual rate, the Seattle Times reports. The move arrives as Amazon reportedly missed its Prime signup goals in the US this year, according to internal documents cited by Reuters.
Amazon is transitioning toward its Family program, which allows a Prime member to share shipping and select perks with one other adult, four children, and up to four teens—as long as everyone lives at the same address and the teens were added to the account before April 7 of this year. The company clarified that all users must share the main residential address, defined as where they spend most of their time.
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