How to Turn Off Auto Renewal on Amazon Prime

Everyone is always looking for a way to simplify their life and make it easier. Sometimes, unless you’re reminded to do something, it’s just not getting done. You set up reminders on your phone, employ your loved ones remind you of important stuff, but still, it fails. When it comes to online memberships, auto renewals can come in handy.

However, there are times when that same auto renewal option isn’t what you need. Maybe you’re just signing up for your Amazon Prime account and you’re only in for a trial period. Or you just prefer to pay for memberships manually. In that case, you might benefit from turning off the auto renewal, and proceeding to do it manually.

Turning Off Auto Renewal

Many streaming companies, Amazon included, offer 30-day trials. They allow you to enjoy their services before you make up your mind about committing to them on full-time basis. It’s a very clever way of attracting new customers. It’s unlikely many would pay the sum up-front without knowing what that money is buying. Or maybe it’s just what everyone is used to now. Nonetheless, it’s all about maximizing the number of users.

When you first set up your Amazon Prime account, you have to enter all your personal details, like name and email address, but you also have to provide the payment info. When you do that, your Amazon membership is automatically set for being renewed at the end of the membership period you’ve selected. If that is not the setup you want for your account, you can turn it off by canceling your membership. What you need to do is go to your Amazon Prime account and then go to:

1. Manage Your Prime Membership.
2. If you have an Amazon FREE trial, select “End Trial and Benefits.” If you have a regular, paid membership, select “End Membership and Benefits”
3. Then you can choose “End Membership” which will stop the service from automatically renewing your subscription plan at the end of the contract. And if you’re on the free trial, just click “Do Not Continue.”

In case you change your mind, you can always just click “Continue Membership” on the same page. You can do this at any point in this process. Also, in order to not forget about turning off auto renewal, you can:

1. Go to Your Account.
2. Select “Manage Your Prime membership.”
3. Select “Remind me before renewing” in “Next Payment.”

Just bear in mind that this option is available only if the date of the renewal is in the next three days.

Pros and Cons of Automatic Renewals

As mentioned, auto renewed payments can be very useful. But if you’re not careful with them, you can end up with a lot of withdrawals from your bank account that you forgot about. Let’s take a look at some of the pros for auto renewals.

Time Saver

One of the most obvious reasons to go for auto-renew option is that it saves you time. You probably have more than one membership and it’s likely that all of those start and end on a different date. So, you have to make reminders for your reminders and so on. The bottom line is that it’s hard to keep track at times.

No Interruptions

Auto renewals ensure there are no gaps in the service you’re using. This is particularly handy if it’s something that you’re used to using all the time like Amazon Prime. If it’s a streaming service or a platform that is a part of your daily life, it makes sense to keep it on auto renew. It’s a real inconvenience to access your account ready to use it, only to discover that it hasn’t been renewed.

And what are the downsides of auto renew?

Overdrawing Your Bank Account

Overdrawing is the most common reason people opt out of auto renewals. This is especially true when the dates of your memberships don’t align with the time you have the most funds on your account. You can end up constantly maneuvering your memberships and worrying about the dates of auto renewals.

Overlooking Mistakes

When you put everything on auto renewal and don’t think about it anymore, you might be risking some potential problematic billings. Sometimes, there are errors and over chargers that are just that – mistakes. A system error can lead to you paying more than you’re supposed to. That’s why it’s not so bad to check in on those auto payments once in a while.

It’s up to You

You get to figure out whether you prefer to have your memberships, like Amazon Prime, on auto renewal or not. The important thing to remember is that in case you don’t want it, you can cancel automatic renewal. And it takes only a few easy steps to arrange that.

There are benefits to auto renewals, but it’s not for everyone. Most people first like to browse through the service and see if it’s worth the investment. Free trials come in handy for that specific reason. Auto renewals save you time and make things run more smoothly, but they can also cause inconvenience if you over-do it.

What do you think about auto renewals and how convenient they are in your life? Is your Amazon Prime account on auto-renew? Leave a comment in the comment section below.