It seems unfair that, while some of Amazon's verybest deals of the year are available during its annual Prime Day sales event, access to Prime Day deals requires paying$139 for a year's membership .You can access some deals without being a Prime subscriber, but a membership saves you even more on deal prices and on shipping costs. 

Also: Best early Prime Day deals 2025: 45+ sales on tech products live now

It also gives you access to Amazon Photos, Music, Prime Gaming, Grubhub+, and more.

Do you really have to pay$139 a year to save? Well, thankfully, there are ways around paying for a full year of Prime while still enjoying the best Amazon Prime Day deals  and discounts just in time for its July 8 kickoff.

1. Free 30-day trial

If you haven't been an Amazon Prime member in the past 12 months,you qualify for a free 30-day trial . Look for the big yellow "Start your 30-day free trial" button on theAmazon Prime page .

Also: The 13+ best anti-Prime Day deals 2025 from Best Buy, Walmart, & more: Top sales from Amazon's competition

If you don't qualify for the free trial, you can buy a Prime membership for just one month. After all, if you really just want access for a few days, a month's membership should be enough. Amonth's membership will set you back$14.99 ; that's low enough that it will pay for itself if you just get free shipping on a few products.

But maybe you could do better.

2. Qualify for a young adult discount and free trial

If you're a new member and a college-enrolled student or aged 18-24, you can sign up for a Prime for Young Adults membership. Prime for Young Adults gets you a six-monthfree trial , after which you pay$7.49 per month if you decide to keep the service, or$69 per year compared with$139 for a regular membership.

Also: Best Prime Day tablet deals: My 17 favorite sales live now

Like the regular Amazon Prime service, a Young Adult membership includes free same-day, one-day, and two-day delivery, and Grubhub+ benefits. You'll also get access to Prime Video, Amazon Music Prime, Prime Gaming, Prime Reading, and all Prime-exclusive deals during Prime Day events. But you can also get 5% cash back on everyday purchases and 10% cash back on Prime Day.

3. Discount for government assistance recipients

If you're in one of the qualifying government assistance programs including SNAP, WIC, Medicaid, and TANF, you can get a Prime membership for over half off, calledPrime Access . That brings the cost down to$6.99 per month. That might still be a lot to bite off, but at least it's over half of the regular cost of Prime.

Also: The best Walmart deals to compete with Prime Day: TVs, headphones, laptops, and more

To qualify for Prime Access, Amazon must verify your income, which you can do by uploading a document confirming your eligibility for a selected government assistance program.

Don't forget

If you don't want to become a member, just remember to cancel any free trial before your 30 days are up. Otherwise, you will be helping to pay for Bezos' rocket fuel.

Also: Best Prime Day Apple deals: My 15 favorite sales live now

So there you go. There are a few different ways to save money on Prime, and you should be ready to take advantage of the best deals from the Amazon Prime Day sale.

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