This change makes an annual subscription, which is still priced at $99 (or $49 for students) look like a much better deal. Amazon is likely doing this as a way to push more customers to opt in for an annual deal, which saves customers money and also gives Amazon more guaranteed revenue to count on. If you're currently signed up for a monthly plan, it's probably worth looking at how much you use Prime every month and see if the more expensive price makes sense for your budget. Amazon will be holding its quarterly earnings call on February 1st, and we'll tune in to see if the company has anything to say about this new pricing scheme.