Amazon Prime, eBay Plus, One Pass, Uber One: are they worth it?

There are a number of paid shopping membership programs on offer but are they worth paying for? 

We often hear that you need to spend money to make money but what about spending money to save money? That’s the concept behind paid membership programs such as Amazon Prime and Uber One. You pay a monthly or annual membership fee and in return, you save money on delivery fees and get other rewards or bonuses. But how do you know if these memberships are actually worth it?

We take a look at four shopping membership programs available in Australia, what you get for your money and how to work out if they’re worth the cost.

Amazon Prime

Cost: $9.99 a month or $79 a year

Free trial: 30 days

What you get: There’s a fair bit included with an Amazon Prime membership. You get:

• Free expedited delivery on eligible domestic orders.
• Free international delivery on eligible items.
• Prime Video – Amazon’s movie and TV streaming service.
• Music Prime – listen to music and podcasts ad-free.
• Prime Gaming – enjoy a selection of free games every month.
• Prime Reading – choose from a rotating selection of over a thousand ebooks, comics and short works to read for free.
• Early access to special deals.

Is it worth it? If you want Amazon Prime to watch movies and TV shows on Prime Video then that’s a subjective decision and then you get the added bonus of free delivery and all the extra perks. If the free expedited delivery is the attraction, then you can work it out from a dollars and cents point-of-view. The price for delivery if you don’t have Prime depends on where you live and ranges from $7.99 to $9.99 for most items but is just $3.90 for books. If you live in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra or Perth, for example, where the delivery fee is normally $7.99 you’ll need to order at least two items a month to make savings if you pay by the month. If you pay annually then you need to make 10 purchases a year to recoup your costs.

 eBay Plus

Cost: $4.99 a month or $49 a year

Free trial: 30 days

What you get: There are a number of perks that come with eBay Plus including:

• Free express delivery to metro addresses on eBay Plus orders, and free standard delivery everywhere else.
• Free returns on eBay Plus orders.
• Access to member-only offers and discounts.

If you pay annually you’ll also get a $5 voucher each month for a year that you can use on eBay Plus items. You’ll have to spend at least $50 in one transaction to use the voucher but you can buy multiple items (up to a maximum of 10) in one transaction.

Is it worth it? If you take out an annual membership in theory you’ll end up ahead because you get a $5 voucher each month but you will have to spend at least $50 each month to take advantage of that offer. You’ll need to consider how often you shop on eBay and the cost of postage. Often, items to metro areas have free standard shipping anyway and the monthly fee just gets you an upgrade to express shipping.

OnePass

Cost: $4 a month or $40 a year

Free trial: 30 days

What you get: OnePass gives you perks with a variety of different brands including Kmart, Target, Catch.com.au, Bunnings and Warehouse and Officeworks. Here’s a rundown:

• Free delivery with no minimum spend from the stores listed above. It doesn’t apply to all orders. For example, big & bulky items are excluded.
• Five Flybuys points per dollar spent in-store at Kmart, Target, Bunnings Warehouse and Officeworks (normally one point per dollar spent).
• Two Flybuys points per $2 spent online at Catch.com.au (normally one point per $2 spent).
• If you change your mind about a purchase, you have 365 days to return it as long as it isn’t used or dirty, has its original packaging and tags, isn’t an excluded item and you have a copy of your proof of purchase. The 365-day return isn’t available on purchases from Bunnings.
• Express Click & Collect.

You can also bundle it with a Disney+ monthly subscription (normally $13.99 a month) and pay $14.99 just a month for the two combined –  $3 less a month than paying for them separately.

Is it worth it? As with most of these programs, it really depends on your shopping habits. Think about how often you shop at these stores. Target, for example, offers free delivery for orders over $60 but orders under $60 for standard items will set you back $9. So even if you make one purchase of less than $60 a month just from Target you’ll end up ahead. OnePass estimates you could save about $15 a month if you placed two orders and more than $40 if you ordered five times a month.

Uber One

Cost: $9.99 a month

Free trial: Four weeks

What you get: By joining Uber One you get savings and offers on both Uber and Uber Eats. These include:

• $0 delivery fee and reduced service fee (up to 30% off) on Uber Eats. It’s only available for eligible stores and a minimum spend applies to get the benefits – $20 at restaurants and $40 at grocery and other stores.
• 5% Uber credit on all rides.
• $5 credit if the ‘latest arrival’ estimate on your order is missed.
• Member-exclusive offers and promotions.

Is it worth it? If you order Uber Eats fairly regularly the savings could add up but if you order once a month then it’s probably not for you. Delivery fees can start as low as 99 cents or can be $9.99 or more depending on the restaurant. Let’s say you order twice a month and the average delivery fee is $4.99 then you would have more than covered the cost when you add in the savings from the reduced service fee. Stick to restaurants with a delivery fee on the lower end then you’d have to order quite a few times a month to get bang for your buck. If you’re using it for the 5% credit, you’d have to spend more than $200 a month on Uber rides to end up ahead.

Tips to make sure you’re getting value

• Most of these membership programs offer free trials for new customers. This is the easiest way to work out whether it’s right for you. Try not to change your shopping habits and make sure you keep track of your savings during the trial period (some of the programs will do that for you). Mark the date the free trial period ends in your diary so you can decide whether to cancel it or keep going.
• Think about your usual shopping and spending habits at the particular store. Most of these programs will only benefit you if you already shop there regularly.
• Make sure you know the ins and outs of the program so that you can use it appropriately to maximise the perks.
• You don’t have to commit for a whole year. Paying annually might be cheaper but if you want a quick saving you can always sign up for one month, get the discount or perk and then cancel your membership.
• If you take out a subscription, don’t just set and forget. Review things at least every six months to make sure you’re still benefiting from your membership.