7 Strategic Ways to Save Even More This Prime Day

Amazon started this annual tradition in 2015, as a 20th anniversary celebration. Last year, shoppers spent more than $3.5 billion with third-party businesses over the 48-hour sale, taking advantage of $1.4 billion in deep discounts, Amazon says.

But this year’s sales are expected to be the company’s largest yet — likely approaching $12 billion worldwide, surpassing last year’s record take by almost $2 billion, according to projections from eMarketer.

So if you’ve got some spare change you'd rather spend than invest, here are seven of the best ways to stretch your dollars this Prime Day.

1. Get a discount on your Prime membership

All those great deals on Prime Day are exclusively for Amazon Prime members. That means unless you sign up for Amazon Prime, you’ll be missing out.

While a membership will usually run you $119 for the year, there are a few ways around paying full price that will still let you take advantage of Prime Day deals.

• Never had Prime before? Sign up for a free 30-day trial to give it a go.
• Have a family member who's already a member? Ask to join that person's Amazon Household to get all the Prime benefits for free.
• Still in school? Students can get a free six-month trial with Prime Student. And after the initial six months, it’s just $6.49 a month going forward.
• SNAP food benefits recipients and Medicaid card holders can subscribe to Prime for just $5.99 a month.
• Not ready to commit to a full year? Go month to month for $12.99 and just cancel when it doesn’t suit you anymore.

2. Set an alert on items you're interested in

While you can expect big discounts on all of Amazon’s own products like Alexa, Ring and Echo, you should be able to find some good third-party discounts too.

On the early deals already released, you can grab a great price on everything from headphones to kitchen appliances, and air purifiers to smart watches.

But the best sales will sell out fast. So you’ll want to pull the trigger immediately when you see a product you like at a price you love.

Instead of refreshing the pages of 100 open tabs on your browser, set up notifications for products you have your eye on. All you have to do is open your Amazon app and change your settings to include notifications for anything you add to your "watched and wishlist deals."

If you want a backup method, you can set notifications in your browser with the Amazon Assistant browser extension. You’ll just have to enable notifications in your settings.

3. Ask Alexa for her help

For Amazon Alexa owners, you can get the rundown of all your deals just by asking your device: "What are my Prime Day deals?"

It’ll give you an overview of some of Amazon’s featured sales.

In past years, the company has even given Alexa users exclusive discounts. The best way to find out if that’s happening again this time is to ask your Alexa about that while it's filling you in on your deals.

4. Spend a little in advance

Until June 20, if you spend at least $10 with a small business through Amazon, the company will send you a $10 credit to use on Prime Day.

There are tens of thousands of products that qualify, and some are even on sale right now.

You also can take advantage of the site's Amazon Reload program, which gives you $10 back on your Prime Day purchases when you reload a gift card worth $100 or more.

That offer is open only to new "reload" customers, but if you’ve never reupped an Amazon gift card before, this is a great chance to get 10 bucks free, if you were planning to spend $100 anyway.

5. Sign up for the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Card

Regular Amazon shoppers will like the perks of the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Card, which boasts no annual fee and comes with a $100 Amazon gift card when you sign up.

Then, you’ll earn 5% cash back on all your Amazon purchases, as well as 2% back on other purchases, including at gas stations, restaurants and drugstores.