Switching an existing Prime account to the student rate
Do it in the right order and Amazon refunds you. Do it in the wrong order and you throw that refund away.
The short answer
Do not cancel your Prime membership first. Sign up for Prime for Young Adults at amazon.com/youngadult while still on Prime, and Amazon processes any eligible refund for the old membership automatically. The one real cost of switching: you can no longer share benefits with anyone.
This page exists because the instinct is exactly wrong. Almost everyone assumes you have to clear the old membership out of the way before starting the new one. Amazon says the opposite, in as many words:
“You don't need to cancel your Amazon Prime membership before signing up for Prime for Young Adults. After you're enrolled in Amazon Prime for Young Adults, we'll process any eligible refund for your previous Prime Membership.”
And it names the address to use rather than leaving you to hunt for it: “To transfer from Prime to Prime for Young Adults, visit amazon.com/youngadult and complete the Prime for Young Adults sign up process.”
Figures on this page checked against Amazon’s own pages on — Amazon's switching help page. How we check.
The order that matters
| What you do | What happens | |
|---|---|---|
| Right | Stay on Prime. Go to amazon.com/youngadult and complete the signup. | You are enrolled in the discounted membership, and Amazon processes any eligible refund on the old one. |
| Wrong | Cancel Prime first, then sign up separately. | There is no membership left for Amazon to refund against. You have thrown away whatever the transfer would have returned. |
Amazon does not publish how the “eligible refund” is calculated, so we are not going to state an amount — a number invented here could cost you a real decision. What Amazon commits to is that the refund is processed once you are enrolled, which is only possible if there is still a membership there when you start.
What you give up: sharing
This is the part of switching that is genuinely a downgrade, and it is the reason this page is not simply “yes, switch, it is cheaper”. Amazon states it twice, in two different help pages:
“Prime benefits received through Prime for Young Adults can't be shared.”
“If you're switching to a Prime for Young Adults plan, you won't be able to continue sharing.”
So if you are the account holder on a household Prime membership that other people rely on, switching to the student rate removes their access. The household then needs a second membership, and two memberships cost more than the one you were saving 70 dollars on.
If you are a recipient of someone else’s shared Prime rather than the account holder, the calculation is different and usually favors switching: you get your own membership, and the household’s existing one is untouched. The full sharing rules work through both cases.
Will you get the free trial too?
Probably not, and it is better to expect that. Amazon’s signup help page notes that existing Prime members switching over receive the refund; separately, the 6-month trial is one per customer, and Amazon states that once a Prime for Young Adults membership has been canceled, reinstating it does not restore trial eligibility.
If your account has had any Prime trial before — and if you are currently a paying Prime member, it almost certainly has — plan on moving straight to $7.49 a month or $69 a year. That is still half the regular monthly rate, which is the actual point of switching. How the trial works has the terms in full.
Is switching worth it?
For most people who qualify, yes, and the arithmetic is not close. Regular Prime is $14.99 a month or $139 a year; the discounted membership is $7.49 or $69. Annual to annual, that is $70 a year for the same core benefits.
It is not worth it if you are the account holder on a shared household membership, for the reason above. That is the one case where the cheaper headline rate leaves the household worse off. The side-by-side against regular Prime covers what else differs, and the eligibility page confirms which route to verify under before you start.
Common questions
Do I have to cancel my Prime membership first?
No, and you should not. Amazon says: “You don’t need to cancel your Amazon Prime membership before signing up for Prime for Young Adults.” Canceling first is the mistake — the refund is processed as part of the switch.
Will I get money back for the Prime I already paid for?
Amazon says it will “process any eligible refund for your previous Prime Membership” once you are enrolled. Note the word eligible — Amazon does not publish the calculation, so we cannot tell you the exact amount, and neither can anyone else honestly.
Do I get the 6-month free trial as well?
Not necessarily. Amazon notes that Prime members switching over receive the refund, and separately that the trial is one per customer. If your account has had a Prime trial before, expect to move straight onto the discounted rate rather than a fresh free period.
Can I keep sharing benefits with my family?
No. This is the real cost of switching. Amazon states: “If you're switching to a Prime for Young Adults plan, you won't be able to continue sharing.” If your household relies on shared Prime, do the arithmetic before you switch.
Where do I actually go to do this?
Amazon names the address in its own help page: amazon.com/youngadult. Complete the Prime for Young Adults signup process there while signed into the account that currently holds the Prime membership.
Prime for Young Adults
Ready to start?
Six months at no cost, then half the regular Prime price. Cancel anytime.
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