Connect with us

Technologies

The Amazon Prime Perks Not Everyone Knows About

Here’s how to put your Amazon Prime membership to good use in 2023.

This story is part of 12 Days of Tips, helping you make the most of your tech, home and health during the holiday season.

The new year is finally here, and there are Amazon deals going strong with more to come over the next few months. If you’re a Prime member, there are a slew of perks included with your subscription that you’ll want to use all year round.

No, we’re not just talking about free two-day shipping. Amazon Prime members have access to tons of other perks and bonuses you might not know about.

Sign up for Amazon Prime

Want to improve your cybersecurity?

We’ll teach you why protecting your identity and data is important. Plus, get recommendations for VPNs, Password Managers and Antivirus Software.

For example, Amazon Prime members can get deliveries much faster than two days, sometimes in a few hours. They can also schedule delivery dates for convenience or to avoid times when they’ll be away from home. And they even get exclusive deals simply by using Alexa on an Amazon Echo.

If you’re thinking about signing up for an Amazon Prime account (here’s how) or don’t know much about all of the included features, here are some ways you can get the most out of your membership.

You can get free same-day delivery on qualifying items

If there’s a product you want immediately, you can see if it’s available for delivery the same day you order. To check a product’s eligibility, look for delivery that’s marked as «Prime FREE Same-Day» while shopping. Note that your order will need to contain over $35 of qualifying items. If not, you’ll have to pay a small fee.

Amazon will deliver from morning until evening, so you won’t have to worry about receiving your order at 3 a.m. However, same-day delivery isn’t available in all locations, so enter your ZIP code on the Amazon Same-Day Delivery page to see if you’re eligible.

Alexa can share extra discounts when you shop on Echo

You can use your Amazon Echo to ask «Alexa, what are my deals?» anytime. Alexa will then share Prime-exclusive deals and you’ll have the option to add the item to your cart, buy it now or move on to the next deal.

Schedule a convenient shipping date for your package

Everyone knows about Amazon’s free two-day shipping, but another option is to choose a delivery date during checkout. It’s called Amazon Day and it’s helpful if there’s a specific day you know someone will be at home to answer for packages — especially if it’s something pricey that you don’t want to risk leaving unattended.

If you order multiple items on different days, you can have them delivered on the same day as long as they’re eligible for this offer.

Use your Amazon Echo to help track packages

If you have an Amazon Echo of any kind, you can use it to track your orders.

Just say «Alexa, where’s my package?» and your Echo will let you know where it is, who it’s for and when it’ll arrive. Once your order has been delivered, the Echo’s ring light will pulse yellow and if you have the Echo Show, the delivery notification will appear on the screen.

Shop Early Access deals before non-Prime members

If something you’ve been eyeing says «Prime Early Access,» as a Prime member you can shop that sale 30 minutes before non-Prime members. However, you’ll still have to compete with other Prime members who are interested in the product before it sells out.

Amazon can leave your package inside your house

When you know you’re not going to be home for a while and you’ve got a shipment on the way, it’s much safer to have an Amazon employee leave your items inside your house to avoid theft.

For in-home delivery, you’ll need a Key-compatible smart lock and an (optional) Amazon Cloud Cam. The Amazon driver will send you a notification when they’ve arrived at your house and will request to unlock your door. Amazon will verify the package is at the right address and the driver is near the door, then will turn on Amazon Cloud Cam and unlock your door.

If you’re wary of letting a complete stranger into your home, keep in mind that you’ll also receive notifications during the entire process. Note that you can opt to block delivery access to your home — for example, if you know you’ll be home during that time.

You can also have packages delivered inside your garage

«Porch pirates» — thieves who steal packages left in front of homes — are no joke. Security site SafeWise told CNET that about 260 million packages have been stolen from home exteriors in 2022. The Amazon Key in-garage delivery service can stop porch theft completely and is free for all Amazon Prime members.

When you use Amazon In-Garage Delivery, select Key Delivery at checkout. The garage kit is $26 right now and turns your garage into a smart garage. It works the same as in-home delivery so Amazon will do all the verifying for you.

Send a gift to someone without knowing their address

An Amazon Prime feature lets you send someone a gift, even if you don’t have their address. For instance, if you’d like to send a coworker something for the holidays or their birthday but don’t know what their address is, you can still send a gift. But there’s a catch — that person must also have a Prime account and you need either their phone number or email address associated with the account.

Just note that not every item on Amazon is eligible.

Share Prime perks with family

If you’ve got another adult living in your household, like a significant other or friend, you can share your Prime membership with them. You’ll still be able to keep your personal accounts separate, but you’ll both have access to all the same Prime benefits.

You can also share your account with up to four teens and up to four children in your household. While they’ll have their own logins, you can still manage their profiles.

For more shopping tips, here’s how to send your Amazon packages back the fast, easy and free way.

Get the best price with CNET Shopping.

Love shopping online but don’t have time to compare prices or search for promo codes? Our CNET Shopping extension does that for you, so you always get the best price.

Related Topics:

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Saturday, Sept. 6

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Sept. 6.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s Mini Crossword is extra-long, as usual on Saturdays. And a couple of the clues were stumpers! Need answers? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: U.S. prez who served four terms
Answer: FDR

4A clue: Hurry, in Shakespearean English
Answer: HIE

7A clue: Only country to have a musical instrument (the harp) as its national emblem
Answer: IRELAND

9A clue: Big name in rum
Answer: BACARDI

10A clue: She holds the record for most #1 Billboard hits by a female rapper (5)
Answer: CARDIB

11A clue: Ancient time-tracking device
Answer: SUNDIAL

12A clue: Ctrl-___-Del
Answer: ALT

13A clue: Opposite of SSW
Answer: NNE

14A clue: Used to be
Answer: WAS

15A clue: Jupiter or Saturn, primarily
Answer: GAS

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Small lie
Answer: FIB

2D clue: Whom Count von Count of «Sesame Street» is a parody of
Answer: DRACULA

3D clue: Takes back, as testimony
Answer: RECANTS

4D clue: 1920s U.S. president
Answer: HARDING

5D clue: Home to the W.N.B.A.’s Fever
Answer: INDIANA

6D clue: Weed gummies
Answer: EDIBLES

8D clue: Cooking grease
Answer: LARD

11D clue: Observed
Answer: SAW

Continue Reading

Technologies

Researchers Discover 18 Popular VPNs Are Connected: Why This Matters

All are owned by 3 separate groups but CNET’s recommended VPNs are not on the list

Virtual private networks are popular ways to keep your online activity private and hide your physical location from your internet service provider and apps. But it’s obviously important to choose a safe and secure VPN.

Three university researchers have discovered that 18 of the most widely used VPNs have shared infrastructures with serious security flaws that could expose customers’ browsing activity and leave their systems vulnerable to corrupted data. These VPNs are among the top 100 most popular on the Google Play Store, comprising more than 700 million downloads.

Read more: Best VPN Service for 2025: Our Top Picks in a Tight Race

The peer-reviewed study by the Privacy Enhancing Technologies Symposium found that these VPNs, despite calling themselves independent businesses, are actually grouped into three separate families of companies.

None of CNET’s recommended VPNs — ExpressVPN, NordVPN, Surfshark, Proton VPN and Mullvad — are on the list. (If you currently don’t have a VPN, here’s why you might want to start using one.)

According to the findings, these are the three groups that contain the 18 VPNs:

  • Family A: Turbo VPN, Turbo VPN Lite, VPN Monster, VPN Proxy Master, VPN Proxy Master Lite, Robot VPN, Snap VPN and SuperNet VPN
  • Family B: Global VPN, Inf VPN, Melon VPN, Super Z VPN, Touch VPN, VPN ProMaster, XY VPN and 3X VPN 
  • Family C: X-VPN and Fast Potato VPN

Researchers determined that the VPNs in Family A are shared between three providers linked to Qihoo 360, a firm identified by the US Department of Defense as a Chinese military company. The VPNs in Family B use the same IP addresses from the same hosting company.

Know your VPN’s parent company

It’s a cautionary tale about why it’s important to know who’s behind the VPN you’re using, says CNET senior writer Attila Tomaschek. 

«It’s also crucial to know what kinds of data the VPN provider is sharing with its parent company and affiliated entities,» Tomaschek said. «Some of these companies may even be compelled to log customer activity and share it with authorities, depending on the jurisdiction in which they operate.»

Despite the warnings, Tomaschek says it’s not so easy to figure out who controls your VPN. But he says there are measures that customers can take.

«Users can do a few things to help ensure the VPN they’re using is reputable,» Tomaschek says. «Check the privacy policy — specifically for terms like ‘logging,’ ‘data sharing’ or ‘data collection.’ A Google search of the provider can help determine whether the VPN has been involved in questionable activity. Read detailed, unbiased reviews from reputable sources. Be especially wary of signing on with a free VPN, even if it’s listed as a top choice in your app store.»

The PETS researchers examined the most downloaded VPNs on Android, looking for overlaps among business paperwork, web presence and codebase. After identifying code similarities, they were able to group the 18 VPNs into three groups. The study was initially spurred by VPN Pro’s own findings, «Who owns your VPN? 105 VPNs run by just 24 companies.»

CNET’s Tomaschek has advice for anyone who has been using one of these 18 VPNs. 

«I’d recommend deleting it from your device immediately,» he said. «If you suspect that any sensitive personal data may have been compromised, it’s a good idea to keep an eye on your credit report and look into services like dark web monitoring or identity theft protection.»

Continue Reading

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Sept. 6, #348

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Sept. 6, No. 348.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition was a stumper. But if you play cards, the green group is a fun one for sure. If you’re struggling but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.  

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Racket time.

Green group hint: Ante up!

Blue group hint: NY signal-callers.

Purple group hint: Coach’s CV.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Tennis statistics.

Green group: Poker variants, familiarly.

Blue group: Giants QBs, past and present.

Purple group: Teams coached by Lane Kiffin.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is tennis statistics. The four answers are aces, double faults, unforced errors and winners.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is poker variants, familiarly. The four answers are hold ’em, horse, Omaha and stud.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is Giants QBs, past and present. The four answers are Manning, Simms, Tittle and Wilson.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is teams coached by Lane Kiffin. The four answers are Mississippi, Raiders, Tennessee and USC.

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © Verum World Media