Amazon increasing price of Prime subscription service

New York -- Amazon is increasing the annual membership of its Amazon Prime service from $79 a year to $99. The online giant, which made the announcement on its homepage, had suggested last year that increased shipping costs would force it to raise the annual price of its premium membership.



The price hike takes effective in seven says. Until then, customers can still sign up for the $79 rate. The increased fee will be charged when users renew their Prime memberships.



The service gives members access to unlimited free two-day shipping on many items, plus access to thousands of streaming movies and TV shows through Amazon Instant Video, a service similar to Netflix.