If the frugal you is busy comparing household budgets from 2018 to 2019, one prime thing may jump out at you. Yes, you're paying $20 more a year for your Amazon Prime subscription than you did at the start of 2018. The retail (and more) giant increased its membership fee for Amazon Prime to $119 in June. There are no similar increases on deck for 2019, but that 20% rate hike may make you pause. I know it did for me.

The big reason back in the day to hook up with Amazon was the free two-day shipping, the very roots of Amazon Prime. But since my Amazon shopping addiction has waned, I thought I'd explore what other perks an Amazon Prime membership gets me, among the more than 100 million Prime subscribers worldwide. You may be surprised by some of today's best Amazon Prime benefits -- free two-day shipping aside.

Free Same-Day Delivery

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Free two-day shipping is so 2005, the year Amazon launched Prime. Today's Amazon Prime is all about getting more stuff to members at an ever-faster pace. Free same-day delivery doesn't apply everywhere, mind you, but more than 10,000 eligible cities and towns and counting is a fairly wide swath. If your ZIP code, which you can check out right here, offers same-day service, when you order before noon and choose the same-day shipping option at checkout, Amazon says the package will be delivered by 9 p.m. that night (Sundays included, and don't be surprised to see the U.S. Postal Service delivering, though I'm seeing more and more Amazon-branded delivery vans). If you order past noon, an option is next-day delivery. Two caveats: The same-day order must total $35 or more, and not every product Amazon stocks is eligible (but more than 3 million are, so there). If your same-day-delivery swag is under $35, Amazon will dock you a surcharge of six bucks, so you might want to slow your roll.

Free Two-Hour Delivery

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Talk about impulse shopping. Amazon's Prime Now service delivers the goods to Prime members for free within two hours, currently in 66 select markets (located near Amazon warehouses, naturally), including Atlanta, Boston, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, San Diego and Virginia Beach. Free two-hour delivery includes grocery orders from Whole Foods in select cities. Can't wait two hours? You can get the goods delivered for free in