I recently opened a new Amazon account to keep personal and business separate. Since each Prime account is allowed a secondary Prime account which shares all benefits of the main account, it was free for me to create a second Prime Amazon account for business purchases.
Without Prime I could have opened a second Amazon account for business purchases just as easily. They even advertise a special Amazon Business account which works like a standard Amazon account but has increased functionality for businesses, such as multi-user accounts and better free shipping terms. I opened my second Amazon account as an ordinary account since I didn’t need these benefits.
Interestingly, over the past few months, I noticed a few perks of having a new Amazon account and having a second Amazon account.
15% Off Each Category
While browsing my new Amazon account, they continuously pop up with 15%-off deals on various items (it shows on the regular product page). Upon closer inspection it became apparent that as a ‘new’ customer, Amazon was offering 15% off in some/all categories for my first purchase in that category.
Months after opening the account, this still shows (inconsistently, perhaps) on various categories in which I’ve never made a purchase. Presumably, this is a standard feature on a new Amazon account, or perhaps it’s only on Prime accounts.
Below is a sample of what this looks like. The terms aren’t always the same: usually there’s a $15 max, once it was $5 max. You have to check a small box next to the offer (“clip coupon”) and the discount shows automatically at checkout.
Initially, I was slow to use these on small-dollar purchases with the goal of saving the 15% discount for a larger purchase. At one point it seemed like the 15% discounts weren’t showing anymore. When they began popping up again, I decided to just take them as they come, even if they were tiny discounts, e.g. 15% off a $9 purchase.
Promotions
There are some set promotions Amazon has for new accounts, such as to reload your Amazon balance with $100 and get a $5 or $10 bonus. As a new Amazon accountholder, I was able to do the reload deal again. Some of the Amazon’s other services, like Music Unlimited and Audible offer free trials for new users, and each account is treated separately.
On a related note, having a second Amazon account allows me two shots at getting targeted for various Amazon promotions, such as the current $30 off $60 when using Pay-with-Points. In the event both accounts were targeted, it means being able to do the promotion twice. I got lucky on the $30-off-$60 promo and was able to do that one twice.
It’s especially useful for me as a blogger to be able to verify the terms of any given deal and to see whether it’s being found on all accounts or it’s targeted. I even have a third Amazon account which is non-Prime to see which deals are targeted at Prime.
See also our Complete Guide To Saving Money On Amazon (Save 8% – 27%+).
Double Orders
Amazon has various Daily Deals or Gold Box Deals or Lightening Deals which are limited to one per customer. Often they put out deals on gift cards which I buy, and these are limited to one per customer as well.
I wondered whether it was allowed to order one on a personal account one on a business account. I chatted with Amazon and they informed me that so long as the billing address on the purchases are different, it would be fine. It’s probably not smart to play with Amazon’s limits, but in this case of a personal account and business account they were okay with it.
