Amazon is kicking off the holiday shopping season in October with its first-ever Prime Early Access sale. The event runs Oct. 11 and 12 and offers deals the kind of deals that make it worth starting your holiday shopping early.
What is Prime Early Access?
Think of this sale as the second coming of Prime Day. Because, just like Prime Day, you need to be an Amazon Prime member to shop it.
Amazon Prime costs $139 per year, or $14.99 monthly and comes with a slew of benefits at Amazon itself and at Whole Foods. You can even get free GrubHub delivery. But one of the biggest benefits is access to sales like this.
Amazon’s members-only Prime Day sale took place in July this year, and this is the first time Amazon is offering an additional Prime-members-only sale in the same year. And it’s only the second time the retailer has offered a members-only sale in October (Prime Day itself took place in October in 2020, delayed from July due to the pandemic).
Basically, think of this sale as a second chance at Prime Day AND Round 1 of your holiday shopping.
Best Prime Day Early Access Deals
There will be thousands of deals dropping during this event. But read on for our editors’ favorites, based on what Amazon has announced so far. Whether you missed out on Prime Day this year, or can’t wait to start your holiday shopping early, these are the best Prime Early access deals to snag.
We’ll be updating our list as more deals drop. Note that **some of the deals below won’t be live until the event drops at midnight Pacific time on Oct. 11.** Just sit tight (or add to cart early, so you’re ready). Also, you must be signed in to your Prime account to see the deals.
4 Months of FREE Amazon Music Unlimited OR $0.99 Echo Dot With Subscription — LIVE EARLY!
This deal runs through Oct. 12. Prime members who haven’t tried Amazon Music Unlimited yet can get four months FREE (that’s a roughly $40 value, as the service normally charges Prime members $8.99 a month). Amazon Music Unlimited lets you stream 90 million songs ad-free.
Or, opt for a free Echo Dot (third generation) when you sign up for a one-month subscription of Amazon Music Unlimited. Yes, it’s the older third-generation model of the Echo Dot, but that’s still an $18-value freebie. Not a Prime member? You can still get three months of Amazon Music Unlimited for free.
Up to 60% Off Ring Video Doorbells & Bundles — LIVE EARLY!
The Ring Video Doorbell is discounted, and you get even bigger savings when you purchase one with an Echo Show 5. These two devices make a great team, letting you speak with whoever is at your door and view a live feed. Normally, you’d pay $150 to get both the doorbell and the Echo Show 5, but you can get both for just $59.99 total.
$10 Amazon Credit When You Buy Select Gift Cards
Buy $50 worth of gift cards from select brands (including Amazon, Panera, GAP and Fanatics) and get a $10 credit to use on Amazon. We LOVE gift card deals like this right before the holidays because gift cards make great presents. Plus, you can stock up on gift cards you know you’ll use yourself. Either way, you get $10 to spend on Amazon.
20% (up to $10) off Grubhub Orders
Prime members can use promo code PRIME20 on their Grubhub orders during the 48 hours of Prime Early Access to score a 20% discount. This promo code is valid only on orders over $15 and can be used only once. To take advantage, you’ll need to sign up for your free Grubhub+ membership trial.
This deal is just the latest installment in Amazon’s new (and very beneficial) partnership with Grubhub.
Toys Up to 50% Off
During the Prime Early Access event, Amazon’s offering:
- Up to 50% off Hasbro toys.
- Up to 40% off select Barbie toys.
- Up to 30% off select LEGO sets.
- See more Prime Early Access toy deals.
If you have kids on your gift list, consider this an opportunity to pick up some gifts and stocking stuffers, so that you have plenty of options wrapped and ready, just in case certain other hot toys don’t drop in price.
TVs Up to 80% Off
Amazon has announced it will offer the following TV deals during the Prime Early Access event:
- 80% off an Amazon Fire TV Omni Series 55-inch 4K Smart TV with hands-free Alexa. Yes, you read that right — 80% off. That’s a Black Friday-worthy TV deal if we’ve ever seen one, more than a month before Black Friday.
- 70% off an Hisense 50-inch U6 Series 4K Quantum Dot QLED Fire TV.
If you’ve been meaning to update to a 4K TV and are looking for a mid-large-ish (the official technical term, we’ve decided) screen size, get ready to pounce on these deals.
40% Off Small Kitchen Appliances
If your coffee maker just broke or you’ve been meaning to pick up a food processor/blender to upgrade your Thanksgiving cooking game, Amazon’s sale arrives just in time with deals including:
- 40% off select Keurig products.
- 40% off select Ninja products.
- 40% off Vitamix blenders.
Up to 30% off Solo Stove Products
If you’ve been meaning to replace your rusty fire pit with the sleek, smokeless Solo stove, but balk at its price tag, good news! Amazon is going to offer up to 30% off select Solo products during Prime Early Access. Which ones remains to be seen, but 30% off a $300 stove is a $90 discount.
Discounts Galore on Amazon Tech (Fire Tablets, Echo Devices and More)
It wouldn’t be an Amazon sale party if its own devices weren’t invited. Expect some of the sale’s biggest and most dramatic discounts on Fire tablets and Echo devices. Those will be up to 55% off, and Amazon promises some bundled deals as well.
The post Amazon Prime Early Access Sale: The Best Deals to Shop (Updating) appeared first on The Real Deal by RetailMeNot.
