If you haven’t yet tried Amazon subscribe & save, you’ve been missing out on some pretty nice savings — both money- and time-wise! (I love subscribe & save over here, and get a shipment from Amazon just about every month…) So here’s a little rundown of how to use Amazon subscribe & save, and how to maximize your savings by stacking coupons with subscribe & save discounts and locking in good prices.
*** Important: Unless an item is listed as a “Prime only” item, you do NOT need an Amazon Prime membership to use subscribe & save — free shipping is included in the subscribe & save price!
Note: The screenshots below are for illustrative purposes only and don’t necessarily reflect current Amazon pricing or coupons, which are always subject to change.
How to Maximize Your Savings with Amazon Subscribe & Save
Here’s your step-by-step guide to how to use Amazon Subscribe & Save to maximize your savings. To summarize, you’re going to:
- Lock in prices & skip subscriptions til you need them
- Combine coupons with subscription savings
- Use filler items to bump up your savings
I’ll talk about how Subscribe & Save works and about each of these savings methods below.
How does Amazon Subscribe & Save work?
When you order an item on Amazon using subscribe & save, you’re signing up for repeat deliveries of a product in exchange for a 5-15% off discount on Amazon’s current price, as shown above. Rather than shipping immediately, any item you subscribe to is automatically added to your next monthly subscribe & save delivery order, which is scheduled for the same day each month (although you can skip a shipment or move items to a later month’s shipment at any time). Subscribe & save orders always ship for free; you don’t need to have Prime, and there is no minimum purchase threshold.
Most subscribe & save orders containing one to four items qualify for a 5% discount off the one-time purchase price, while most orders of five items or more qualify for a 15% off discount. You’ll need to have five items scheduled in the same month’s delivery in order to get the 15% off. Once you add the fifth item, the 15% discount automatically applies to all qualifying items scheduled for that month.
Example: Savings difference on the 15% off tier
It’s generally worth making sure that you have at least five items in any subscribe & save shipment so that you get that 15% off almost everything. When you add in a cheap $1-$2 subscribe & save filler item to get up to five total items, you can sometimes save more than that $1-$2 on just one of the more expensive items in your order (as shown in the example above).
- *** You can find a list of 20 subscribe & save items under $2.00 here (updated every Thursday, as Amazon prices are always subject to change).
Your first shipment of any item will be locked in at the price at the time you ordered, while future shipments of an item will be charged at the current Amazon price. You’ll receive an email about a week before your order is due to ship, however, and can make cancellations or adjustments at any time. Your credit card will not be charged until just before the items ship.
Combine Coupons with Subscribe & Save for Double the Savings
Now add a coupon!
Sometimes an item is just a good price with its subscribe & save discount — but sometimes, just as at your local grocery or drugstore, the real savings come in when you combine that sale price with a coupon! Amazon offers coupons that you can clip to your account, and these can stack with your subscribe & save discount to make for some great deals.
Let’s go back to our K-Cups example, for instance. At the time I took the screenshot above, a one time purchase of this 80 ct box of K-Cups would run you $31.03. This drops to $29.48 on the 5% off subscribe & save tier, and to $26.38 on the 15% off subscribe & save tier. But looking a little further up the page, you can see there’s also a $5.00 coupon to clip off the first delivery of this item. When you clip that $5.00 coupon to your account it will come off the subscribe & save price, making your 80 ct box of K-Cups just $21.38 shipped after the coupon on the 15% off subscribe & save tier — almost a $10 savings off of the one-time purchase price.
How to find Amazon subscribe & save coupons
Amazon subscribe & save coupons can be found in a number of places, so here’s where to look for them.
Look on individual item pages for coupons
Always check to see if there is a coupon listed on the product page for any subscribe & save item. There are three places to look: 1) under the item’s price in the upper right of the page, 2) under the subscribe & save price, or 3) in the middle of the page above the item’s description. To add the coupon to your account, just click where it says “Clip XYZ Coupon,” or check the box that says “Apply XYZ coupon.”
If you’re not logged in when you click to clip a coupon, a login screen will pop up — so then just log in to your account and click the coupon again to clip.
Browse all available coupons
Browse through all of the currently available subscribe & save coupons here. When you see a coupon you like, just click “Clip Coupon” to add it to your Amazon account. Then, either click the picture of the product or the product description line right above the “Clip Coupon” button to see all of the items that qualify for that coupon. Once you clip a coupon, it will remain in your account until you use the coupon or it expires. You need to clip the coupon before subscribing to the item, or it won’t come off.
Amazon coupons are one-time use per account, but they often run similar offers and re-offer coupons, so you can check back in the next month or so to see if a coupon offer has reset so that you can clip it again. Amazon generally releases a new bigger batch of coupons at the beginning of every month, but also intermittently adds more coupons throughout the month, so it’s worth continuing to check back for new offers.
Here’s how to combine coupons with subscribe & save
After you clip a coupon, as I did for this tub of EAS powder deal above, look under the item’s price to make sure that coupon is clipped and applied to the item you want to purchase. Then, look over on the right-hand side of the screen for your purchase options. You’ll want to check the radio button next to the subscribe & save option. Then, use the drop-down arrows to choose your delivery schedule (usually every 1 to 6 months), then click “Subscribe Now.” Note that you won’t see the coupon come off until the checkout screen.
Once you click “Subscribe Now,” you’ll be taken to the checkout screen to confirm your purchase. This is where you will see both the coupon savings and subscription discount come off to give you the final price after stacking savings. When you click “Confirm subscription,” that will subscribe you to that item and lock in your first shipment at that final price after coupon + subscribe & save.
How do Coupons stack with Subscribe & Save?
Dollar off coupons
The subscribe & save 5% or 15% off discount will come off the original price of the item, and then any $ or cents off coupons will come off that subscribe & save price. So again, as in this K-Cups example above, the $5.00 off coupon will come off the $26.38 subscribe & save discounted price for a final cost of $21.68.
Percent off coupons
Percent off coupons stack with your subscribe & save discount to take a total percentage off the one-time price of the item. So again, as in this EAS powder example above: You’re getting 30% off with the clipped coupon under the item’s price at the top, and a 15% off subscribe & save discount for having five items.
These stack together off the one-time item price, giving you 45% off the original price — which is how our EAS powder dropped all the way down to $10.99.
Some Subscribe & Save Offers are just for Prime Members
Some subscribe & save offers and coupons are reserved just for Amazon Prime members.
Diaper discounts
Amazon Prime members receive an Amazon Family discount of up to 20% off (rather than the normal 15%) on diaper subscriptions when they have 5+ subscriptions in a month — which, again, often stack with coupons for additional savings. Amazon also offers occasional extra subscribe & save family discounts & coupons for Prime members only on items like baby food and formula.
Other subscribe & save discounts and coupons
Amazon has started reserving more subscribe & save deals exclusively for Prime members. You’ll see this indicated over on the right hand side of an item page, and if you’re not a Prime member or not logged into your Prime account, you won’t be able to purchase the item.
If you are a Prime member, you’ll be able to purchase at the normal subscribe & save discount, and Amazon will let you know under the item price on the upper right that this is a Prime exclusive item (as one of the benefits of your Prime membership).
- See also: Is Amazon Prime Worth It?
Things to Know about Coupons and Subscribe & Save
A few basic things to know about combining Amazon subscribe & save with Amazon coupons:
- Coupons only come off your first subscribe &save shipment, not subsequent shipments of the same item.
- Coupons are limit one per Amazon account.
- Coupons expire and hit limits, just like printable coupons.
- Coupons often reappear the next month, just like printable coupons.
Cancel Subscriptions at any time
You can cancel subscribe & save items at any time with no penalty (up until the items lock right before shipment and Amazon charges you for them). I often cancel right after the first shipment arrives, and use that as my reminder to cancel. You’re not locked in to receiving these items forever! Just log in to your Amazon account at the top right of the screen, then click “Account & Lists” right under your name in the upper right.
Under your account, look under “More Order Actions” on the right and choose “Your Subscribe & save Items.” (If that’s not showing on the screen, click “see more” and then select your subscribe & save items.)
This will show you your current list of subscribe & save items, with the current month’s scheduled shipment listed first. On the left, just under the scheduled date, you have the option to change your monthly delivery day if you would like to receive your items sooner. On the right, you’ll see a list of the items you’re currently scheduled to receive in your next shipment.
Hover over any item in your next shipment, and Amazon will pop up “Edit” and “Skip” buttons. If you click “Skip,” it automatically moves the item to your next scheduled delivery month.
If you click “Edit,” it pops up a screen with several options over on the right hand side, the last being “Cancel subscription.”
When you click cancel, it pops up another confirmation screen. Click “Confirm cancellation,” and the item will be cancelled from this and all future shipments.
Lock in Prices, Skip Til You Need It
Skipping orders ahead really allows you to maximize your savings with Amazon Subscribe & Save. I generally have a ridiculous number of items in my subscribe & save, and here’s why. What I do is subscribe to things we will at some point need in order to lock in the price when it’s low, and then keep skipping items ahead a month until I actually need them.
So above, for instance: SunButter was ridiculously cheap at the time I subscribed, so I subscribed to two different varieties and locked in the price on both. I don’t need twelve jars of SunButter at once, though, so will just skip one of my orders ahead to my February delivery — and then will keep skipping it a month ahead until I am close to running out, because the price will remain locked in til I’m ready.
It’s Just That Easy
If you’ve been nervous about subscribe & save, give it a try — It’s super easy to cancel, and always worth it for the extra discount + free shipping. And, always look to see if there is a coupon to combine with your subscribe & save discount for extra savings!
Questions?
Please comment here with any questions!
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Don says
Quite often, nearly every month, once I have my 5 items and 15% off, I will change delivery date to the soonest delivery date available. In doing this, I must get 3 or 4 additional shipments over the normal 12 shipments per year, get my items quicker, lock in the price and run less risk of them items I order running out of stock before my shipment date.
era3335 says
They changed it to a max of 10%. hope you didn’t enjoy that extra 5% because it’s over…
rachel says
It’s actually still 15% on most items, but some items are a max of 5% or 10% now, indicated on the product page.
Sarah says
I’m wondering if I can make a one time purchase of an item I already have in subscribe & save? Like if I order it more often than once a month? Have you ever done that?
rachel says
Yes of course — you can order something for one time purchase at any time. Or, you can change the quantity of your subscription to two and just get two of the same item delivered at the same time in order to last you the month.
Mom_of4 says
I have new to Subscribe and Save. I have been pairing it with coupons and sale prices and have been loving it. However, today I noticed something, and it has me so flustered that I can’t find the answer. I am hoping you can help. My shipment for the month is on the way. I see some great sales that I want to add for the next month and catch my 15%. I already have 5 items in my subscription, so you would think that should not be a problem. Well, the wording is different this time on my Subscribe and Save. It says, “save 5% now and then save 15% on February 23” (next month). I want it only for February at the 15%. I cannot seem to bypass getting one now. I am wondering if it is because of my delivery date for this month? Maybe because my shipment is already out? In that case, I think I have to wait until after the 23rd to add anything to my subscription. I wasn’t expecting to be froze for a week. What is a girl to do?
rachel says
Hmm, I have never seen it do that. Maybe try and see if you can place the order and then right away “skip” the shipment to February? I’m not sure.
Mom_of4 says
I am really hoping it has to do with my delivery date being the 23rd, and not something new they are doing. It still says it this morning and there are so many good deals today that I would like to add to my upcoming month and not get it right now. Since all my items are already shipped for the 23rd, I am thinking I will try to change my shipment date now and see if that helps.
Mom_of4 says
It did not work because it can only change February and onward. January’s is locked in on the 15th of course. I should have known that. I think I am grounded until the 23rd. If you do subscribe and save…look the week before your subscription date and see if it is doing that to you, or after it has shipped out your items but hasn’t reached the date yet. I bet yours does the same.
Mom_of4 says
UPDATE – Problem solved. There is an option on the main product screen where I can select to order it for Subscribe and Save and not now. Whew. Time to have some fun now.
Mom_of4 says
It was hard to find this by the way… because the wording is so different when your subscription is in transit.
rachel says
OK — I’m actually now seeing what you’re talking about. It wasn’t showing this way for me yesterday, but it looks like they are rolling out an interface change so that it automatically shows the non-subscribe & save price, and you need to scroll down and check the subscribe & save box to see the subscribe & save price/option. Yeesh. I’ll try to update screen shots when I have a chance.
rachel says
And today mine’s back to the old interface. That’s confusing — but hope yours is, as well. 🙂
eleeny says
Locked in prices?? Is that really true? I think the price changes every month for subscribe and save items.
rachel says
It locks in your price on the first shipment only. Subsequent shipments are at current Amazon pricing.
Jerri Slifer says
Can’t find a way to suspend and also change recurring delivery schedule. HELP
rachel says
You can’t suspend. You can cancel individual items, or you can move them to the next month by clicking “skip delivery,” or you can change the delivery date.
Under your Amazon account, go to your subscribe & save items. On the left, you can click “change delivery date” to move the date for your whole next subscription order. Or to move or cancel an item, hover over the individual item. Pick “skip” to move it to the next month, or “edit” to bring up the option to cancel.
Tori says
Trying to set up my first subscribe and save order. Can you pick your shipping date? Like if I want to wait until March instead of ordering in February, but I’m picking things out in February… can I select a date in March to have things shipped?
Also, I have five items in my cart, but the 5% discount is still showing up instead of the 10 or 15% discount that should be applied. Will that additional discount be applied after I hit order?
rachel says
Yes, there is an option when you are looking at your subscribe & save orders to change the date. And once you hit five, it should change everything eligible automatically — check your account under your subscribe & save items to make sure you really do.
Aly says
Hi Rachel – do you know if they’ve changed their S&S program? I’ve tried googling this and found nothing. But I have Prime and I have 5 eligible items in my cart for subscribe and save, but they are all reflecting the 5% off, not the 20% off I should be getting with Amazon Family. It says I will get 15% off “my next order.” When I go to “Manage My Subscriptions” there is nothing there, as I haven’t hit order yet, I suppose, but I did already proceed with the “Subscribe now.” Very frustrating! I’m not sure I’ll be able to change my delivery date quickly enough if I hit order now. Not sure if this is just a glitch or Amazon wants to make this as difficult as possible for new S&S users!
rachel says
Make sure you are subscribing and not adding them to your cart as a one time order. With s&s each subscription is its own separate order.
Ingrid says
The one thing NOT mentioned here (unless I completely missed reading it – which is EXTREMELY likely!): Is there a monthly charge over and above the cost of the products and your already existing monthly charge for your account? Other than that, thank you for your article – albeit I’m a little at the “information overload” point at the moment which is quickly turning into the “does not compute” area in the brain!!
rachel says
No, there is no monthly charge — just what you’re paying for the products 🙂
Martha says
Awesome article, thank you!! Just got 24 packs of 16.9 oz of evian water for $13!
Tins says
Can I order once to lower the price and the cancel the subscription when it’s delivered? Or is there some loop
rachel says
Yes — I do it all the time. 🙂
David says
Recently several subscribe and save items have shown up as “unavailable” due to the COVID-19 situation. If I have five items in my monthly subscribe and save “basket,” and one of them is unavailable, will the 15% discount revert to the 5% discount available for 1-4 items, or will I still get the larger discount? If the discount drops, I know I can add one “filler” item to bring the discount back up to 15%, but I would rather not do that…
rachel says
If they are unable to fulfill an item you still get the 15% off discount and they’ll ship just the four available products. (I have also had it where if that item comes back in stock within the next few days, they send it along in a separate shipment but as part of that same month’s subscribe & save order.)
David says
Wow! You answered just 7 minutes after I sent you my question! I am VERY impressed with you, Rachel! That answered my question, and your hints for maximizing the benefits of subscribe and save will certainly save me money. I especially appreciate your list of 100+ cheap subscribe and save items. I have often taken the time to search for some filler item, but this list will eliminate the need to do so much of that!
Thanks again for the prompt and helpful answer! Have a great day!
holly says
I have 10 or so items i subscribe and save monthly. Do I save 15% on all 10 items? Seems too good to be true.
rachel says
All that qualify. Not all qualify for 15% off, some max out at 5 or 10% off. If you go in your account under subscribe & save and look at your upcoming delivery, it will show you under each item the % that you are saving on that product.
Carol says
I have been trying to figure out if the 5 qualifying items have to be 5 separate products or if I can order quantities of products that total 5 and still qualify for the 15% discount. I placed my first order with 5 separate products and each qualified for 5% with this first order. Do you know if I can delete some products and increase quantities on others to still get 15% on the upcoming orders?
rachel says
It has to be five separate subscribe & save orders delivered on the same date; increasing the quantity on one product won’t work, unfortunately.
Carol says
Oh well. Thank you for being so quick!! Love your blog!!!
Julia says
If I locked in a price of something for 15% off coupon clipped as well as 15% off since I qualify with 5 items, how can I move this from December to lets say May and still lock in the price? Do you change the date for the first shipment or click skip this month?
rachel says
It doesn’t always stay in locked if you move the date, so to play it safe I would not.
Jesse says
👋 hi!
So….I’m purchasing a years subscription of nat geo magazine, which normally is 45.00 for one year of monthly magazines. With ‘subscribe and save‘ it is 29.00. However this is a gift and I don’t want to forget to cancel it on time, after a whole year has passed. So I’m wondering if I purchase this Magazine Subscription with ‘subscribe and save‘, and I then cancel _Next Years_ subscription today right after purchasing , will that interfere with my one year of magazines for 29.00?
rachel says
Do you mean it’s a subscription with auto-renewal? You can turn auto-renewal off under your account without it affecting the current subscription period.
Elijah says
You cannot lock in the price. They explicitly state subscribing does not lock in price and it can change any time which is why they send reminder emails with the current price so you have time to cancel of you don’t want to pay the current price.
BJ says
Thanks so much for all this info. I always saw Subscribe and Save and can’t believe how many I skipped over because I did not realize how anything worked. I assumed if I clicked on it then I would be committing to something long term. Off to try this now. This was great.
Jane says
Hi, do you know how it works when an item is currently on sale and I subscribe to it, is the additional 5-15% discount applied to the sale price or the original price?
rachel says
The sale price. The % is off the price at the time you buy it.
Darlene says
Hi I have a question. I have an item in my subscribe and save that shows I pay $13.72 (saving 5%). If I click on this item to purchase it outside of my subscribe and save, it says that the cost is $13.49 for a 1 time purchase and $12.82 with a 5% savings if I order it on subscribe and save. So in this case should I cancel this item on my current S&S order and reorder it on a new S&S and if so, should I check all of my items monthly to see if they changed price as well?
rachel says
Yes — prices can change, so always check. You can subscribe and save at the new price, and then cancel your original one.