Airtel Discreetly Removes Free Amazon Prime from Rs 979 Plan

Bharti Airtel has quietly modified its Rs 979 prepaid plan, eliminating the much-appreciated free Amazon Prime membership benefit. In place of Prime, Airtel now grants access to more than 20 OTT (over-the-top) apps through its Airtel Xstream Play service. This suite includes popular platforms such as Sony LIV, Lionsgate Play, Fancode, Eros Now, hoichoi, and ManoramaMAX.

Enhanced OTT Benefits with the Rs 979 Plan

Previously, the Rs 979 plan bundled a 56-day free Amazon Prime membership. With the recent changes, subscribers will now receive an expanded array of OTT apps for a longer duration of 84 days. This shift underscores Airtel’s emphasis on broadening its content portfolio, offering users diverse streaming choices beyond Amazon Prime.

Amazon Prime Moves to Higher-Tier Plans

For those who valued the Amazon Prime perk, Airtel has shifted it to plans with a higher data allowance. The membership is now exclusively tied to plans offering 2.5GB or more data per day, such as the Rs 1,199 and Rs 838 plans. In the past, users could enjoy this benefit with the Rs 979 plan, which provided 2GB of data per day. This change suggests Airtel’s strategy to incentivize users to choose pricier plans for premium benefits like Amazon Prime.

A notable enhancement to the Rs 979 plan is the extended validity of the new OTT offerings. While the Amazon Prime membership was limited to 56 days, the new OTT bundle now aligns with the full 84-day validity of the plan, ensuring uninterrupted entertainment throughout the plan’s duration.

Even with the removal of Amazon Prime, Airtel maintains the same core benefits in its Rs 979 plan, including unlimited 5G data, unlimited calling, and 100 daily SMS.

Comparison with Jio

In a similar vein, Reliance Jio has also fine-tuned its prepaid offerings. Recently, Jio reintroduced its Rs 999 prepaid plan, now featuring 2GB of data per day for 98 days. This plan includes unlimited 5G data, 100 SMS per day, and unlimited voice calling. However, the overall data allowance has been reduced compared to its previous iteration, which provided 3GB per day.