As we look for Prime Day in October, now's a good time to learn about Amazon Lightning Deals. They are exactly what they sound like, flash sales that last just a few hours (if you’re lucky!). So to get these savings from Amazon, you have to act quickly and do a little strategizing, which means clicking “add to cart” so you officially “claim it.” You have to hurry though, since these deals only stay in your cart for 15 minutes.
Amazon has also made some recent changes to how shoppers can find Lightning Deals on their site. So if you're wondering, "Hmm where did all the Lightning Deals go?" you're not alone. We'll tell you the new way to get to the Lightning Deals.
Although you can't mix a Lightning Deal with an Amazon Subscribe & Save discount, you CAN stack them with Amazon digital coupons — and the perks of this otherwise outweigh the cons. Here's everything you need to know about Amazon Lightning Deals, plus our favorite tips for maximizing your savings.
For more smart shopping tips and savings hacks, download the KCL app or text HACKS to 57299.
What are Amazon Lightning Deals?
Lightning Deals are Amazon's timed, flash sale deals. With a good Lightning Deal, you can often save as much as 80% or more on any given item. You'll find stuff in pretty much every category goes on sale, including tech, beauty, home decor, gift cards, and more.
Note that Lightning Deals are limited by time and quantity, so once a deal is 100% claimed, you won’t be able to add it to your cart. As you browse the best Lightning Deals, pay attention to the “claimed bar” on each listing to get a better sense of how quickly you’ll need to act. The hottest deals get scooped up fast, so if something you love shows it’s over 50% claimed, the time to buy it is ASAP.
Once you add a Lightning Deal to your Amazon cart, you have 15 minutes to check out and confirm your purchase. If you don’t finish checking out before the 15-minute countdown, the item will stay in your cart, but it’ll reflect the original price — not the Lightning Deal price. You can delete the item from your cart and re-add it to get the Lightning Deal price, but only if it’s still available for you to claim.
Did Amazon get rid of lightning deals? I can't find them.
No, Lightning Deals did not go away. However, Amazon has made some recent changes when it comes to finding them on their site. You used to be able to navigate to Today's Deals and filter by "Lightning Deals" specifically.
But that filter went away recently. We noticed it was gone on our Amazon accounts, and we started seeing Reddit chatter about the missing Lightning Deals filter in May 2024.
We confirmed with Amazon's media contact in July 2024 that, in fact, the filter is no longer available. However, Lightning Deals are still very much available if you know where to look.
How do you find Amazon Lightning Deals?
There are a couple of ways to do this. The easiest way is to:
During Prime Day, click Prime Day Deals on the homepage, then tap the yellow lightning bolt image under the Prime Day banner.
Click "Today's Deals" on Amazon's top banner.
Scroll down look for "Prime Early Access" on the left menu bar.
You'll see a stream of deals that include Lightning Deals and other deals. To spot the Lightning Deals, look for the ones with a countdown clock and "percent claimed" tracker, like so (image provided by Amazon's media relations team in July 2024, so these deals aren't guaranteed to be available):
If you’re looking for the BEST of the best Lightning Deals, Amazon’s search tools will help you find them. You can sort your search by Discount — High to Low to see the deals with the highest percentage off first. I’ve seen some Lightning Deals hit up to 91% off regular prices.
Shop Lightning Deals happening now.
Can I get alerts when a specific item has a Lightning Deal?
No, Amazon doesn't offer alerts for upcoming lightning deals.
Are Amazon Lightning Deals even worth the hype?
Most Lightning Deals definitely are. Most recently, we saw the Bunfly Dog Hair Vacuum & Dog Grooming Kit (reg $999) with a Prime Day Lightning Deal for $89.99. That's 90% off!
However, it's important to beware of some deals, especially those sold by third-party sellers. Sometimes, a storefront will jack up the original List Price of an item to make it look like you're getting a really good discount, when in reality, you're paying the same price as any other given day. To make sure something's a good deal, copy and paste the Amazon URL for the item into a Keepa or CamelCamelCamel search. (I personally like Keepa more!).
You’ll be able to see the item’s price history and whether it’s been sold for less than the Lightning Deal price you’re seeing now. If the item had an even lower price in the past, it might be worth waiting for that price drop to come around again. If not, snatch that Lightning Deal while you can and rest easy knowing you’re getting a great deal.
Related: 5 Scams to Avoid When Shopping Third-Party Sellers on Amazon
What should I know about Amazon Prime Day Lightning Deals or Black Friday Lightning Deals?
Hands down, Lightning Deals are way better on Prime Day and Black Friday. You may find gift cards — which rarely go on sale on Amazon — with discounts of up to 22%. Or get a deal like $4 for car vacuums, with overall savings of up to 80%.
Do you have to be a Prime member to shop Amazon Lightning Deals?
No, with the exception of Prime Day. For Prime Day, only Prime members have access to Lightning Deals during the 2-day Prime Day event. On Black Friday, Lightning Deals are available to both Prime members and non-Prime members.
Look for the “Prime Early Access” labels as you search for Lightning Deals to snag them before they go public.
TIP: Add Lightning Deals to your cart before they’re released to the public, and make sure your payment info and shipping address are up to date. This will help you move quickly on a Lightning Deal that’s sure to sell out fast.
Can you stack Amazon coupons with Lightning Deals to save even more?
Yes. Some Lightning Deal items come with Amazon coupons you can clip!
Can you stack Subscribe & Save discounts with Amazon Lightning Deals and coupons?
Unfortunately, you have to either shop the Lightning Deal OR use the Subscribe & Save discount and stack any eligible coupon on top of that. You can’t have it all!
Can I still shop a Lightning Deal after it's 100% claimed?
Sometimes you’ll see a Lightning Deal that’s 99% claimed, but once you click it, the deal’s already gone. In this case, you’ll see a “Join Waitlist” button where you’d normally see the “Add to Cart” button.
Joining the waitlist gives you another chance to snag the Lightning Deal you just missed. So if other shoppers added it to their cart before you but missed their 15-minute checkout window, you’ll have another shot at it. This depends on where you are in the waitlist queue, of course.
The waitlist is a “first come, first served” kind of thing, so if dozens of other shoppers joined the waitlist before you, they’ll have the chance to grab the Lightning Deal first if it becomes available again.
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