Amazon to End Free Prime Shipping for Millions of Invitees

Amazon Prime will end its long-running Prime Invitee program, which allowed millions of Americans to receive free shipping without paying for a subscription. The program will be discontinued on October 1, with the goal of converting these users into paying Prime members.

Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) is set to end its long-running Prime Invitee program on October 1, 2025, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. The program, which allowed millions of Americans to enjoy free shipping without paying for a subscription, will be discontinued as part of Amazon's strategy to convert these users into paying Prime members.

Launched in 2009, the Prime Invitee program allowed Prime subscribers to extend free shipping to up to four other adults across the country, each shopping through their own accounts. Although new enrollments stopped in 2015, existing participants were allowed to keep the benefit. One of the participants, 33-year-old engineer Jack Amick from the Berkshires, has relied on his parents' invitation for more than a decade to order essentials. Now, Amazon is offering invitees like him a steeply discounted one-year Prime membership: $14.99 for the first year, before the regular $14.99 monthly fee applies. Amick says he’ll likely pass, as he lives in a rural area where deliveries go to a P.O. box and doesn’t see value in the broader Prime bundle.

Market researchers estimate that tens of millions of people may be using Prime shipping without paying for it, though Amazon itself hasn’t disclosed official figures. Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) estimates U.S. Prime usage at around 197 million people, while paid memberships likely range between 140 million and 160 million [1].

Amazon’s challenge is to keep growing Prime in a saturated U.S. market, echoing moves by Netflix (NFLX) and others that have cracked down on account sharing. CIRP’s Josh Lowitz said the goal is clear: Amazon wants individuals to pay for their own memberships so it can fully capture the value. The company is steering users toward Amazon Family, previously called Amazon Household, which lets two adults living at the same address and up to four children share Prime benefits. Unlike the Invitee program, this requires shared payment methods, though individuals can choose their own at checkout.

Amazon (AMZN) also clarified that Prime members can still ship items to other addresses, despite online speculation suggesting otherwise. Meanwhile, the company continues to double down on retention strategies, stretching its summer Prime Day sale to four days this year and highlighting savings on user account pages.

Reference List:
[1] https://seekingalpha.com/news/4492900-amazon-to-end-long-running-prime-invitee-program