Prime Early Access Sale: What to Know About Amazon’s Pre-Holiday Sale

A woman carries a stack of Amazon Prime boxes.
Chris Zuppa/The Penny Hoarder
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Consider it Prime Day for the holiday season.

Amazon is geared up to offer pre-holiday deals and discounts with the announcement of its Prime Early Access Sale in October. Amazon Prime members can take advantage of discounts sitewide, potentially nabbing a few great deals before the holiday shopping season fully kicks into effect.

Earlier this year, Amazon hosted its July Prime Day. Amazon might call this the Prime Early Access Sale, but it’s really a second Prime Day for shoppers.

What Is the Amazon Prime Early Access Sale?

Every year, Amazon hosts a Prime Day sale that offers members of its Prime program exclusive deals. The Prime Early Access Sale is a similar event, offering Prime members access to discounts before the start of the holiday shopping season.

When Amazon’s Prime Early Access Sale launches, those with an Amazon Prime account can take advantage of sales available on the e-commerce website.

When Is the Amazon Prime Early Access Sale?

The Prime Early Access Sale will take place Oct. 11-12, 2022. Amazon is calling the event “two days of holiday deals,” clearly positioning the promotion as a way to grab gifts for your favorite festive holidays.

It’s a chance for consumers to jump on deals before waiting for Black Friday and Cyber Monday in November.

How to Take Advantage of Prime Early Access Deals

If you’re interested in taking part in Amazon’s Prime Early Access Sale, you must ensure that you have an Amazon account with a Prime subscription. Amazon’s Prime subscription includes access to Prime special sales events, in addition to free delivery and a host of exclusive Amazon services.

Those who have never tried Prime can sign up for a 30-day trial. Continued membership will cost $14.99 a month (plus tax), but discounts are available for students and those on government assistance.

Once you have a Prime account, visit Amazon’s website during the Prime Early Access Sale and begin shopping for deals.

Pro Tip

Worried about spending too much during the Prime Early Access Sale? Check out our guide on Prime events and ensure you have the money to spend.

What Prime Early Access Deals Can We Expect?

We won’t know much about Amazon’s Prime Early Access deals until the sales event gets closer. However, Amazon has already made a few discounts and offerings available with the event’s announcement.

Amazon Prime members can immediately take advantage of four months of Amazon Music at no cost (normally $8.99 a month) and Prime Video deals of up to 50% off. Amazon is also offering Grubhub+ free for a year, a limited-time deal that we recommend you take advantage of if you love getting food delivered.

Amazon shoppers also can head to the Today’s Deals page to check out discounts offered for the day. We spotted 25% off Amazon’s Echo Home Theater Bundle and up to $100 off Sony’s X-Series portable speakers.

Are Prime Day and the Prime Early Access Sale the Same?

Amazon Prime Day and the Prime Early Access Sale are two different events but are very similar. Both are special sales events that provide Prime members exclusive deals.

Prime Day is typically held in late spring or early summer (this year, it was July 12-13), while the Prime Early Access Sale is a pre-holiday shopping event. As with any Prime event, you will need an Amazon Prime membership to take part.

Michael Archambault is a senior writer for The Penny Hoarder specializing in technology.