In an effort to reduce the strain caused by Amazon Prime Members taking advantage of free 2-day shipping, Amazon currently gives you $2 credit (recently up from $1) if you opt instead for “FREE No-Rush Shipping” when checking out. “No-Rush” shipping means it will take about a week to get your package delivered and the $2 credit can be used to buy Kindle eBooks, digital music, and movies.

What if I were to tell you there was a way to still get free 2-day Prime shipping and the $2 credit? No joke, it can be done.

We’ve recently discussed the little-known perks of Amazon Prime, as well as the best and worst buys on the online giant, so now it’s time to start digging deeper into some more actionable tips for Amazon Prime members. This tip is a perfect start for doing just that.

Here’s what you need to know to make this killer Amazon Prime trick work:

1. Wait Until You Have a Few Items to Buy – This trick only works if you’re buying at least 4 items. This is not very hard for most Amazon Prime shoppers.
2. Pick “FREE No-Rush Shipping” – When checking out from Amazon, on the “Checkout” page, pick the “FREE No-Rush Shipping” option in order to get the $2 Credit to be used towards eBooks, digital music, and videos, added to your account.
3. Place a Separate Order For ALL Items – By placing a separate order for each item, and selecting “FREE No-Rush Shipping”, you’ll get the free $2 credit for each item purchased. Do this for every item EXCEPT the last. So, for example, if you were ordering 8 items, you’d do this for the first 7 items and collect $14 in credits. Easy enough, right?
4. Select “FREE Two-Day Shipping” on your Final Item – This is where the magic happens. By selecting “FREE Two-Day Shipping” on your final item ordered, Amazon is going to end up mailing ALL of your items together, via 2-day shipping, as it’s much cheaper than sending all your orders individually. So you’ll end up with the credits to your account to buy eBooks, digital music, as well as TV shows or movies, PLUS you’ll still get free 2-day shipping.
5. Always Look for New Credits – The $2 credit for selecting “FREE No-Rush Shipping” ends at the end of July. Like any good shopping hack, they never last forever. More details here. But…Amazon always replaces the credits with new offers. For example, I’ve also seen a $5.99 credit to be used towards Amazon Prime Pantry.

Important KEY – Be sure to place each order one after another. By placing each order consecutively, with little time in between, you ensure all of your items get mailed together via 2-day Prime. Will this work every single time? I can’t guarantee it, but you might as well try it as you have nothing to lose and a bunch of free credits to gain.

Managing your free credits:

• There is no limit to the number of times you can select No-Rush and get free $2 credits and they are stackable.
• You will not get your $2 credit until the item has shipped.
• You can find your available credit/promotional balance by clicking the “Redeem Your Amazon Gift Card or Promotional Code ” link under the video player on any Amazon Instant Video product page.

This is a great Amazon trick to not only get all of your items quickly, but to score some free media as well.

By Kyle James