Here's how you can save on Amazon Prime Day this July

Amazon's annual Prime Day has been announced for July 11 to 12 this year. Here's how to navigate Amazon Prime Day so you can save money on your summer shopping this year.

The annual Prime Day deal event is only for Amazon Prime members, so your first step in taking advantage of the deals is signing up for Prime membership.

It's free to join for 30 days, after which it's $14.99 per month or $139 per year. If you don't think you'll use the membership beyond Prime Day, you can choose to do the trial. However, do keep in mind the perks that come with being an Amazon Prime member for those who often shop online.

As a Prime member, you can benefit from the below:

• Prime Delivery: Get your packages as soon as today. Prime Delivery offers fast, free shipping on all your purchases, including one-day delivery, same-day delivery and 2-hour grocery delivery. Speedy delivery certainly comes in handy around the holidays.
• Prime Video: If you're caught up on all your favorite Netflix shows, perhaps it's time for a new streaming service. Prime Video offers thousands of movies and TV shows, including its exclusive Amazon originals.
• Amazon Music: Prime members can access more than 2 million songs, ad-free, along with top playlists and podcasts from Amazon Music. For more song choices, they can currently get four months of free Amazon Music Unlimited. After that, the streaming service costs $8.99/month.
• Prime Try Before You Buy: If you don't feel like visiting a clothing store any time soon, Prime Wardrobe lets you try before you buy clothes, shoes, jewelry and accessories. Prime members can choose up to eight items at a time and only pay for what they keep.

You might be eligible for a discounted Prime membership if you are a college student and or if you qualify for certain types of government assistance programs.

• If you're a college student, you can sign up for a free six-month Amazon Prime Student trial. After that, the membership costs $7.49 per month or $69 annually. After enrolling, the student rate is valid for four years. In order to qualify, you must be enrolled in at least one course at an institution in the United States or Puerto Rico, have an active .edu email address and be able to show proof of enrollment if requested.
• If you have an EBT card or receive qualifying government assistance, you are eligible for an Amazon Prime membership at a discounted rate of $6.99 per month.

You can also share Prime membership access with a family member via Amazon Household. It just requires that two adults (ages 18 and over) each have their own Amazon account, though only one must have a Prime membership.

If you're an Amazon Prime Day beginner, know that some things sell out quickly. It's important to mark the items you want so you increase your chances of scoring them at a good deal.

Once you download Amazon's free mobile app, take some time to scroll through what you want to purchase. Prime Day deals will have a blue badge on Prime Day. You can get alerted when the price drops by tapping "Watch this deal" in the Amazon app. When the deal becomes live, add the item to your cart immediately and you'll have 15 minutes to complete the purchase.

For items you want that don't have a blue badge, add them to a wish list and Amazon will send a push notification to your phone if it becomes part of the Prime Day deals. To compare prices on items, use Amazon Assistant so you save time. The service will indicate items that are low-priced, as well as provide a 30-day price tracker and personalized shopping recommendations.

With the mobile app, you can get notified about your delivery arrival so you can easily track your orders in real-time and a 24/7 chat feature is available to connect to customer service.

Once you signed up to be a Prime member and downloaded the Amazon mobile app, you may want to consider maximizing your savings on Prime Day by opening one of their credit cards geared toward members.

There are two consumer credit card choices for Prime members: the Prime Store Card and the Prime Visa.

Users of the Prime Store Card with an eligible Prime membership earn 5% back on Amazon.com purchases or a chance to pay for their purchases over time. Cardholders have the option to forgo 5% cash back on their Amazon purchases over $150 in exchange for the ability to pay for their purchases over six, 12 or 24 months with 0% interest. With this interest-free financing option, however, you'll want to make sure you make your equal payments on time and in full each month to avoid paying deferred interest.

Cardholders of the more robust Prime Visa earn 5% cash back on purchases made at both Amazon.com and Whole Foods. They also receive unlimited 2% back at gas stations, restaurants and on local transit and commuting (including rideshare). All other purchases earn 1% cash back.

If you are not a Prime member but still frequently shop on Amazon, you should consider the Amazon Visa. This credit card offers 3% back at Amazon, Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods and Chase Travel, along with 2% back at restaurants, gas stations and local transit and commuting and 1% on all other purchases.

Without a Prime membership, you'll still need to sign up for a free 30-day trial membership of Prime to take advantage of Prime Day deals. If you decide later to become a Prime member, you'll be upgraded to the Prime version of this card, though you will not qualify for the welcome bonus.

Prime Day is not the end-all-be-all of online sales. Competing retailers are planning to offer sales on similar products throughout the week of Prime Day, and there may be better deals out there on the items you're looking for.

Most shopping extensions tell you if an item you want to buy can be found for less on another site. In order to take advantage of the best prices and not miss a more attractive sale, consider using an extension to comparison shop. Most extensions can be downloaded for free, and it only takes a few clicks to add them to your web browser, like Chrome or Firefox.

Shopping extensions like PayPal Honey offer price comparison, coupon codes and some form of cash back. All year long, using a shopping extension can save you hundreds of dollars and make you a savvy shopper.

With Amazon Prime Day just around the corner, set yourself up now to save some money during the approaching 48-hour event. It's the perfect time to stock up on electronics, clothing/accessories, shoes, jewelry and kitchen appliances that you have been wanting to buy.

If you do decide to become an Amazon Prime member for its 30-day trial just for Prime Day, consider shopping with other rewards credit cards that will still put money back into your pocket: the Citi Double Cash® Card (see rates and fees) or the Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card (see rates and fees).

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Information about Amazon credit cards has been collected independently by Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer prior to publication; if you purchase something through Select links, we may earn a commission.