Split Prime accounts across different addresses just became expensive. Amazon ends its Prime Invitee Program on October 1, 2025, killing the feature that let you share shipping benefits with one person outside your household. Your college-aged kid living across town? They’ll need their own $139 annual membership.
That friend who’s been riding your Prime benefits for years? Same story. The change redirects everyone toward Amazon Household, which sounds generous until you hit the fine print. All members must live at the same verified address. According to Doctor of Credit, this eliminates the workaround that allowed cross-household sharing for years.
The Real Cost of Going Solo
Individual memberships could double household shipping costs for separated families.
Breaking down the math stings. Your invitee now faces $14.99 monthly or $139 annually for individual Prime access. Students catch a break at $7.49 monthly after trial periods, while EBT and Medicaid users pay $6.99 monthly.
Those discounts don’t help most affected users—parents supporting kids in different cities, or friends splitting costs informally. TipRanks confirms the October cutoff leaves no grace period. This shift forces immediate decisions about who pays what. This feels especially painful for families already stretching budgets across multiple addresses.
Amazon Household Works—If Everyone Lives Together
The replacement program offers robust sharing scope but demands address verification.
Amazon Household still delivers impressive sharing scope within its limitations. Two adults get full access, while up to four children and four teens receive managed profiles. Benefits span:
- Shipping
- Prime Video
- Music
- Kindle libraries
- Grubhub+ membership
- Fuel savings
Everything the Invitee Program offered, according to Amazon’s official details.
But that address verification requirement isn’t optional. Amazon tightened eligibility specifically to prevent the creative interpretations that made cross-household sharing possible. This mirrors Netflix’s crackdown on password sharing, reflecting industry-wide moves toward stricter account boundaries.
October gives current invitees two months to decide: pay up or lose access. Subscription services continue tightening sharing policies, leaving users to adapt their strategies or absorb the costs.
