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How To Cancel Amazon Prime—A Practical Guide

Ashley Ferraro, Product
Ashley Ferraro, Product
Jan 17, 2024
 • 
10
 Min Read
Manage Your Subscription Payments With Virtual Cards
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Amazon Prime is a popular subscription service offered by the e-commerce giant Amazon. It provides over 200 million users with benefits such as free two-day shipping, access to music and video streaming services, exclusive deals and discounts, and unlimited photo storage. However, Amazon Prime may not meet the expectations of all users, leading to a desire to cancel the service.

If you no longer wish to use the services, this practical guide is for you. It will provide detailed step-by-step instructions on how to cancel Amazon Prime membership through the web and mobile app and tips to protect your funds from unauthorized subscription charges.

Note that the content in this guide is valid as of November 2023. Visit the official Amazon Prime website or contact customer support for the most recent and accurate information.

A photo of Amazon Prime Boxes against a blue background
Source: Pixabay

How To Cancel Amazon Prime Membership on Desktop and Mobile Devices

The process of canceling the Amazon Prime membership differs depending on the device you are using—desktop or mobile. The following table details all the steps you must complete to cancel your Amazon Prime subscription on both devices:

On Desktop On Mobile Devices

  1. Log in to your Amazon account in your web browser.

  2. Hover your mouse over the Accounts & Lists in the top right corner of the page and click Prime Membership.

  3. Click Manage Membership in the top right corner of the screen.

  4. Click the End Membership button on the left side of the screen.

  5. Review how many days are left in your membership and click the yellow Continue to Cancel button on the bottom right.

  6. Click Cancel My Benefits on the next page. Amazon Prime will ask you to reconsider, but you should click on Continue to Cancel.

  7. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the cancellation process.

  1. Open the Amazon app and tap on the profile icon in the bottom menu.

  2. Tap Your Account to access the account settings.

  3. Scroll down and tap Manage Prime Membership.

  4. Tap the Manage Membership drop-down menu and hit the Manage Membership button at the top of the page.

  5. Choose Manage Membership–Update, cancel, and more (it's the last option in that menu).

  6. Tap End Membership and scroll past the benefits to hit the Cancel My Benefits button.

  7. Tap the yellow Continue to Cancel button.

  8. Confirm your decision to cancel by tapping the End on (date) button.

After you complete the steps described above, you will receive an email confirming the cancellation of your subscription. Your Amazon Prime membership will officially end when your current paid period expires.

Does Amazon Prime Offer Refunds for Canceled Subscriptions?

Amazon Prime offers a full refund for canceled subscriptions in the following two scenarios:

  1. You canceled your Prime membership within three business days of signing up. However, note that Amazon may charge or withhold from your refund the value of Prime benefits used during this three-day period.
  2. You haven't made any eligible purchases or used any Prime benefits after your last subscription payment.

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If approved, your refund will be processed and credited to your original payment method within 3–5 business days. You can track your refund through the Order History page in your Amazon account.

If you signed up for Prime through a third party, such as a mobile operator (e.g., Sprint), you must contact them directly to cancel your membership and request a refund.

A close-up photo of a smartphone displaying the Amazon Prime website
Source: Marques Thomas

Steps To Take if You Run Into Issues During Amazon Prime Cancellation Process

If you encounter issues while canceling your Amazon Prime membership, such as being unable to access the End Membership button or receiving an error message, visit the Amazon Customer Service Page for help. You can also reach out to Amazon's customer support team via:

It is necessary to contact Amazon customer support before the current billing cycle ends to avoid being charged for another month or year of Prime membership. The platform’s support team can help you troubleshoot the issue and guide you through the cancellation process if needed.

Why Canceling a Subscription Service Is Sometimes Difficult

While most cancellation issues are a result of bugs, technical errors, or account-specific problems, some subscription merchants may make the process complicated to retain you as a paying customer. They may employ questionable tactics such as keeping you on hold for extended periods or using manipulative language to guilt-trip you into remaining subscribed. These tactics may prolong the cancellation process, resulting in you paying for another month of the subscription you’re trying to cancel. You may sometimes still be charged even if you complete all the required cancellation steps.

Luckily, there is a way to avoid unwarranted subscription charges, and that is by using virtual cards to sign up for subscription services. These cards mask your real payment card details with random card numbers at checkout. Besides protecting your sensitive information from potential hackers that may breach merchants’ servers, dedicated virtual card providers like Privacy offer advanced card settings that give you control over your spending.

Safeguard Your Online Transactions With Privacy Virtual Cards

A photo of a person browsing an online store on their laptop while holding a credit card
Source: Negative Space

Privacy Virtual Cards offer a range of card controls to help you manage your subscription payments more efficiently. You can link your debit card or bank account to Privacy and create virtual cards that can be used at your favorite online stores and subscription merchants, including Peacock, ESPN+, and HelloFresh.

You can request and generate two types of Privacy Cards, as shown in the table below:

Type of Privacy Card How It Works
Single-Use
This card closes shortly after you complete the first transaction. It's ideal for one-time purchases on unfamiliar sites and those you don't plan to use again.
Merchant-Locked
This virtual card “locks” to the first merchant you use it at. It's perfect for websites you shop on frequently and for recurring payments, such as bills and subscriptions.

Merchant-Locked Cards have additional settings that can help you manage subscription payments. You can pause or close the card anytime without affecting your underlying funding source. Privacy will decline all transactions on paused or closed cards, which means the subscription service you want to cancel can’t sneak in any unwanted charges. Note that you still have to contact the merchant directly to cancel your subscription.

You can also set spending limits on your Privacy Cards to prevent merchants from charging you more than the agreed amount. Privacy will decline any charges that exceed the preset limit.

Privacy—Security, Convenience, and Control Redefined

As a Privacy user, you get to enjoy additional features that make online transactions fast and seamless, including:

  • The browser extension—Available for Safari, Firefox, Edge, and Chrome, Privacy’s browser extension auto-populates your virtual card details at checkout, so you don't have to memorize them. The Safari iOS extension also helps iPhone and iPad users enjoy faster checkouts.
  • Mobile app—The Privacy mobile app for iOS and Android lets you create and manage virtual cards on the go and track your account activity in real time.

To get started with Privacy, complete the following steps:

  1. Sign up
  2. Enter the required information to verify your identity
  3. Connect a funding source—a debit card or bank account
  4. Request your Privacy Virtual Card 

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Privacy offers three pricing plans to cater to different user needs—Personal, Pro, and Premium. The Personal plan is free for domestic transactions and includes 12 virtual cards per month plus all the features listed above. The paid plans, Pro ($10/month) and Premium ($25/month) offer additional benefits, including:

  • Up to 60 virtual cards a month
  • Fee-free international transactions
  • 1% cashback on specific purchases (up to $4,500 a month)

Privacy Virtual Cards can be used at most merchants and subscription services that accept U.S. Visa® and Mastercard® payments, including FuboTV, Disney Plus, Hulu, Netflix, and Kindle Unlimited. 

Privacy — Seamless & Secure Online Card Payments
Avoid unwarranted subscription charges
Checkout securely online by creating unique virtual card numbers for every purchase. Avoid data breaches, unwanted charges, and stolen credit card numbers.
Use Privacy Virtual Cards and assert control over how much subscription merchants can charge you.
Sign Up
Privacy — Seamless & Secure Online Card Payments
Prevent unexpected charges from subscription merchants
Checkout securely online by creating unique virtual card numbers for every purchase. Avoid data breaches, unwanted charges, and stolen credit card numbers.
Take full control with Privacy Virtual Cards by setting spending limits and pausing/closing your card anytime.
Sign Up
Privacy virtual cards
Spending Limits

Set a spending limit, and Privacy will block all charges that go over the limit

Merchant-Locked Cards

Lock your Privacy card to one merchant you frequently shop from

Single-Use Cards

Secure your one-time payments to websites whose trust worthiness you're unsure of

Pause/Close Cards

By pausing or closing a card, Privacy will block all future transactions

Get a Privacy Card Now
Privacy — Seamless & Secure Online Card Payments
Checkout securely online by creating unique virtual card numbers for every purchase. Avoid data breaches, unwanted charges, and stolen credit card numbers.
Sign Up
Privacy — Seamless & Secure Online Card Payments
Sign Up