New Delhi: Amazon Prime subscription charges are set to get costlier by 50 per cent in India in December. Starting December 14, Amazon Prime's annual membership will be available for Rs 1,499 instead of the current charges of Rs 999 per annum.
The global retail giant had earlier mentioned it will hike its subscription charges but did not add a timeline. However, a new screenshot has confirmed that the previous subscription charges will remain valid till December 13 only.
A screenshot shared on Desi Dime discussion forums, by a member revealed that Amazon Prime annual subscription plan will now cost Rs 1,499 instead of Rs 999 while the three-month plan will increase to Rs 459 from the current Rs 329. The one-month Amazon Prime subscription plan will increase to Rs 179 from the current Rs 129.
Amazon India, in its webpage, has mentioned the reason behind the increase in membership charges.
"Since the launch 5 years ago in India, Prime has continued to increase the value it offers members. Prime provides an unparalleled combination of shopping, savings and entertainment benefits to make life more convenient and entertaining every single day, and we continue to invest in making Prime even more valuable for customers. Prime 1- day delivery is available on millions of items," the company explained.
"Prime Video offers unlimited access to award-winning movies, TV shows and Amazon Originals in 10 languages. In addition, members have access to 70MM songs ad-free with Amazon Music, unlimited 5% reward points on Amazon shopping with the Amazon Pay ICICI bank credit card, access to free in-game content on popular mobile games with Prime Gaming, free access to a rotating selection of thousands of books with Prime Reading," the company added.
Also, Prime Members get Prime Early Access to sale events, new product launches as well as Lightning Deals along with global shopping event Prime Day amongst others.
It should be noted that Netflix mobile-only plan costs Rs 2,388 per annum (for one screen) and goes up to Rs 9,588 for the premium plan (4 screens). Disney+ Hotstar plans begin at Rs 899 per year and cost Rs 1,499 per annum for the premium plan.
Zee5 is currently offering 12-month plan for Rs 499 (for 3 screens).