Amazon is making up for ads with a free year of Prime

Last July, Amazon introduced ad breaks to its Prime Video streaming service in a rather aggressive way. Instead of adding a cheaper ad-supported plan like Netflix, Prime Video rolled out ads to all subscribers overnight. In order to go ad-free, subscribers would need to pay an additional $3 per month. 

Well, if Amazon's latest plea to subscribers is any indication, forcing ads onto its customers may have crossed a line. Particularly for those who had already paid upfront for the year before ads were introduced. 

Over the past few weeks, customers who have recently cancelled their annual Amazon subscriptions have been receiving an apology via email that comes with an offer that could be too good to refuse.

Amazon offers two options as reconciliation for unwanted ad breaks: a pro-rated refund of your Prime membership backdated to 2 July 2024, or 12 months of Amazon Prime for free (valued at $79). 

Here's an example of the email annual Prime subscribers would have received:

Following that link will lead to three options: receive a pro-rated refund to your Amazon account (credit to spend on the website), receive a pro-rated refund to the original payment method used to pay for your membership (money back in your pocket) or receive a code for 12 months of Amazon Prime for free. 

So if you're an annual subscriber who isn't too happy about the annoying ad breaks on Prime Video, cancelling could work in your favour (even if you weren't already planning on it). 

Note: We can't say for certain that Amazon offers the same deal for every subscriber but we have seen the offer first-hand.  

Wondering how that compares with other major streaming services? Check out the table below.