NEW YORK (AP) -- Amazon is ending a program that allows members of its Prime membership subscription program to share their free shipping benefits with people who don't have the same primary address.
In an update to the customer service section of its website, the online behemoth says it will eliminate the sharing on Oct. 1 and is encouraging users outside the household of the account holder to sign up for their own Prime subscription.
Amazon is replacing the so-called Prime Invitee program with Amazon Family, which lets account holders share the free two-day shipping perk with only one other adult in their household, up to four teens (who were added before April 7) and up to four profiles for children, according to Amazon's website.
Prime members pay $14.99 monthly or $139 annually.
The news comes as the Seattle-based company is making big investments in expanding its network to bring faster delivery to customers in less densely populated areas across the U.S. The service is available in 1,000 of the more than 4,000 smaller cities, towns and rural communities targeted by year-end, the company said in late July.
