Technologies
9 money-saving Amazon perks you didn’t know about
You already know the basic bonuses: Prime Video, Prime Music and Prime’s free shipping. But there are other perks that can help you save right now.
Amazon has become the one-stop supplier for just about everything. But even with two-day and even same-day shipping for Amazon Prime members, the trillion-dollar tech titan has dozens of other services only a few clicks away from the homepage. Some, like Amazon Prime Video and Prime Music, make headlines. Others tend to get buried in the enormity of Amazon’s super site. We’re here to help uncover the best of the bunch so you don’t have to search.
Amazon expanded its reach during the pandemic — with visits increasing by 37% from February 2020 to January 2021 — as it pushed new programs, including Amazon Sidewalk, the auto-on broadband-sharing program for Amazon Echo speakers and Ring devices. But its shopping services continue to be its bread and butter.
For avid Amazon shoppers, a heap of lesser-known features can land you stellar deals if you know where to look, including steep discounts on expensive items and free books. We’ve hacked through Amazon’s jungle of services to find the most useful (and surprising) Amazon programs that you can use today.
Read more: Amazon Prime Video: The 25 best films to see this week
1. Free reading with Prime Reading and Kindle Unlimited
Prime Reading is your own personal lending library that comes with a Prime membership. With a rotating selection of over 2,500 books and magazines, you can access Prime Reading with the Kindle app on your desktop or portable device or your Kindle e-reader. This Amazon service also lets you share titles with members of your household. Some books in Prime Reading come with Audible narrations so you can multitask while you listen.
Prime Reading also includes First Reads, which gives members a sneak peek at books before they’re released to the general public.
Kindle Unlimited is a $10-a-month subscription service separate from an Amazon Prime account. It gives you unlimited access to more than 1 million ebooks and up to three magazine subscriptions on a Kindle device or Kindle app.
2. Trade used devices to redeem gift cards and shop discounted and preowned products
Amazon is boarding the train to sustainability station, and it’s something you can directly benefit from. With Amazon Trade-In, you can send back your used electronics in exchange for Amazon gift cards. Make sure to check on the eligibility of each product — some trade-in options are only available for a limited time.
Amazon Renewed gives you access to products that may have been opened but unused by their original owners, or were refurbished. Amazon assures that these preowned items work and look like new, coming with the Amazon Renewed Guarantee. A variety of products and brands are available, even from premium names like Apple and Vitamix.
3. Discover discounts with Amazon’s Warehouse
Amazon Warehouse resells millions of like-new or preowned items that have been returned by customers. Some of the products only had their boxes opened by original purchasers before they were sent back, unused, so they’re sold again at a discount. While there’s no regular manufacturing warranty on these products, they are backed by Amazon’s 30-day return policy and 90-day renewed item return policy.
To read more about how you can get the most out of Amazon Warehouse, check out our guide on shopping for the best deals on Amazon Warehouse.
4. Collect deals on overstocked items in Amazon Outlet
Just like a brick-and-mortar outlet store, but without the gas money. The Amazon Outlet features overstocked items and other products at a discounted price. Like at an outlet, you can find premium brands, items under $10 and products ranging from home furniture and clothing to books and pet supplies. It’s a good place to stay within a budget while being the first owner, unlike some items in the Amazon Warehouse.
Keep in mind that although the online shopping experience is convenient, just like an outlet, the best deals sometimes take some sifting to find. Luckily, you can do it from the couch.
5. Land limited-time offers with Lightning Deals
Amazon’s Lightning Deals are a promotion where a product or service is on sale for a short period of time or until it’s sold out. You can find them all throughout the site, but especially on Prime Day and in Today’s Deals. On Prime Day, Lightning Deals are only for Prime members.
There is one lightning deal per customer until the promotion ends or all the deals are claimed by other shoppers. You can join a waitlist for a deal, but keep in mind that these discounts are extremely time-sensitive, so grab them fast. Unless refreshing the page over and over is your thing, these deals aren’t necessarily the tool to find something specific because of their fleeting nature and limited availability.
6. Store pictures and videos with Amazon Photos
Amazon’s online shoebox for photos and videos offers secure and unlimited full-resolution photo storage plus 5 GB of video for Prime members. To use this feature, you can choose to manually or automatically upload media in the Amazon Photos app. You can personalize the displays on Amazon devices like Fire TV, Echo Show and Fire tablets as long as you have the app. There are also ways to create keepsakes using the pictures you upload, such as custom cards and prints.
With the Family Vault perk, up to five family members can share in the same plan. If you want more beyond what Prime offers, there are paid plans available. If you choose to switch — which can be done anytime — there is a 100GB option for $2 per month and 1TB plan for $7 per month.
7. Share Prime benefits with Amazon Household
Sharing is caring, and Amazon Household lets you divvy up Prime benefits and digital content with others. Using Household, share your Prime account with:
- Up to two adults (aged 18 and over), each with their own Amazon account. Adults can manage accounts of teens and children.
- Up to four teens (ages 13 through 17). Teens can have their own Amazon login to shop with parent approval and stream content.
- Up to four children (children can’t shop on Amazon).
8. Shop discounted Whole Foods items exclusive to Prime members
Healthy shopping can rack up the number at the bottom of the receipt. But if you enter your email address, phone number or scan the QR code on your Whole Foods Market app at checkout during your next grocery haul, Prime members receive discounts on select products.
Blue tags indicate sales exclusive to Prime members, while yellow tags mean an extra 10% off of an item already on sale. This gets you discounts on weekly best-sellers, including produce, packaged goods and beauty products, but note that it excludes alcohol. The few cents saved on items may seem insignificant individually, but savings do add up at the end of the shopping trip.
Also, if you don’t want to make the trip across town, Amazon offers two-hour delivery of groceries for free, as long as you meet the minimum purchase amount. But if you don’t mind the drive, there are also one-hour pickup windows depending on your location — just remember to check in with the Amazon app to see if you need to enter the store.
9. Make an official wish list with Prime’s wedding registry
If the big day is coming up, Amazon’s wedding registry can get a gift wish list set up for everything from daily essentials to group presents. Amazon can help you cover all the gifting bases, and that makes it a convenient option for you and your wedding guests.
The registry includes lists of editors’ picks and best sellers to help you sort through Amazon’s options, while the browsing feature can inspire new ideas or highlight something you may have forgotten about. You can also buy any item that’s left on the registry for 20% off — which can be returned within 180 days if you decide you don’t like it.
For more, here are our picks for the best Alexa devices and which e-reader is right for you.
Technologies
Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for April 16 #774
Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for April 16, No. 774.
Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.
Today’s NYT Strands puzzle could be tough. I understood the theme right away, but some of the answers are really difficult to unscramble. If you need hints and answers, read on.
I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.
If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.
Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far
Hint for today’s Strands puzzle
Today’s Strands theme is: This is not working.
If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Leisure time.
Clue words to unlock in-game hints
Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:
- STEM, STEMS, STEAM, STEAMS, MAPS, TEES, RIFF, FEAR, FEAT, RATIO, REST
Answers for today’s Strands puzzle
These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:
- HOBBY, PASTIME, INTEREST, SIDELINE, RECREATION
Today’s Strands spangram
Today’s Strands spangram is JUSTFORFUN. To find it, start with the J that is the farthest-left letter on the top row, and wind down and then back up.
Technologies
T-Mobile Will Give You Up to $800 to Break Up With Your Old Carrier
T-Mobile’s current offer makes it easier to save money when you switch carriers.
We’ve just spotted a T-Mobile deal that lets you keep your phone and get up to $800 to break your current carrier contract. There are some terms and conditions you need to know, but this is a solid deal that can help you cut down on monthly expenses — something many of us are keen to do right now.
This T-Mobile offer is available to anyone who signs up for an Essentials Saver plan at $50 per month and enrolls in AutoPay using an eligible payment method. You’ll also have to bring your own phone. The good news? This deal will pay off any eligible phone for up to four lines.
Additionally, those who switch to T-Mobile and open a new line on the Essentials Saver plan can get up to $800 to break their current carrier contract. T-Mobile will provide a prepaid MasterCard with the total sum you’re eligible for within roughly 15 days. This benefit applies to up to four lines at a time.
Keep in mind that switching to Essentials Saver means you’ll also pay up to $3 in Monthly Regulatory Programs & Telco Recovery Fees. Taxes may also apply every month. The Essentials Saver plan includes high-speed data in the US only, and slower data (128 kbps) in Mexico and Canada. Travel to other countries requires purchasing extra data. Any prepaid MasterCard received expires in six months. These are only some of the applicable terms and conditions.
Looking for a new phone carrier, but not sure if this deal is for you? Check out our list of the best cellphone plans for more options.
MOBILE DEALS OF THE WEEK
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$749 (save $250)
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$298 (save $102)
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$241 (save $310)
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$499 (save $300)
Why this deal matters
Switching to a different carrier can make it easier to qualify for deals that aren’t usually available to current customers, and this T-Mobile deal is no exception. Not only can you get up to $800 to break your current contract, but this deal applies to up to four lines if you bring your own phone. Though there’s no stated deadline, we suggest acting fast to start saving on your monthly phone bill.
Technologies
Denon’s New AVR-S980H Breaks Receiver Drought for Home Theater Fans
The Dolby Atmos receiver includes improved streaming support and extra gaming features.
Samsung-owned Denon has unveiled the long-awaited follow-up to its AVR-S970H receiver, the AVR-S980H, which boasts better music streaming and gaming support.
The Denon AVR-S980H is a 5.1.2-channel (7.1) Dolby Atmos receiver that boasts 90 watts per channel, which should be enough to power most home theater speakers.
Connectivity is consistent with the previous model, with six HDMI inputs — three 4K and three 8K/4K 120Hz ports — plus two HDMI outputs. If you’re a gamer, the inputs also support 1440p pass-through and AMD FreeSync.
Streaming support is improved, with Bluetooth, AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, Qobuz Connect and HEOS multiroom. The Denon is also Roon Ready, which means it can be streamed directly from the Roon software.
Read more: Best AV Receiver for 2026
The receiver also supports Denon’s own Home speakers as rears, including the new 200, 400 and 600 models.
The Denon includes a phono input, which means you can plug a turntable into it for a potential boost in sound quality.
It’s been a rough few years for AV fans, with very few new receivers since the end of the pandemic. The AVR-S980H may mark a resurgence of sorts. I look forward to testing this model to see how it stacks up against its elderly competition.
The Denon AVR-S980H will be available this month for $949, only $50 more than the previous version.
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