MoviePass + Theater Rewards Program = Heaven for Movie Lovers 🎬

by Harlan 36 Comments

My sordid MoviePass history

I had a MoviePass back when it first came out in… 2012? I was in New York at the time. And IIRC, it cost $30ish a month. But in New York, that was still a great deal… when it worked.

The service was glitchy AF. For one, you had to be within 100 yards of the theater to activate the card. That’s fine, except the GPS back then couldn’t locate me properly. Other times, I’d check in via the app but the card would be declined and I’d end up paying for the movie myself.

moviepass

It’s baaaack

If you have an issue, they say to “chat” them through the app – which simply is NOT practical when you’re standing in a line with a movie about to begin. Worse, if you call, they say to leave a voicemail. 🙄

A couple of times, I just went ahead and bought my ticket and asked for reimbursement later. But that was a days-long process that was tedious for something as small as a movie ticket.

The final straw was when – I remember it – I wanted to see Lincoln in Brooklyn. It was a cold winter day… Seriously, it was freezing. I got the GPS to work but had to go outside the theater in the gross snow.  Then the ticket machine inside kept declining the MoviePass card. So, on my phone, I brought up the theater’s mobile site and bought the ticket online. Somehow, the MoviePass worked.

But they knew. Like clockwork, the next morning, they told me my account was canceled. By that point I was so frustrated with the whole thing that…

a pair of scissors next to a broken credit card

…I said eff it!

And the whole thing left me feeling bitter.

A new MoviePass deal

But when I saw they had a change in ownership and dropped the price to $10 a month, I decided to give it a try… again. Nick at Frequent Miler shared his experience and how the card works now.

I got my card this week and have already seen It, Ingrid Goes West, and mother!  And today, I’m going to see Beach Rats. MoviePass, so far, works as intended – no issues whatsoever. And I am LOVING combining it with AMC’s Stubs loyalty program!

Here are the MoviePass deets:

  • 1 movie per day for $10 per month
  • Can e-ticket at some theaters
  • Not every theater is included, but most are
  • No IMAX, 3-D, etc. – just regular 2-D films
  • Need the app to see movies
  • Cannot purchase tix online – must be at the theater
a screenshot of a map

There are a ton of MoviePass theaters in Dallas

You can see what theaters are near you – go here, scroll to the bottom, and enter your zip code.

It’s annoying that you have to be physically present at the theater to get most tickets. But I get why they do that. Otherwise, you could buy a ticket online every day and never show up.

Even if you only see ONE movie per month, this thing pays for itself. And I’m already up to 4 this week. If you and a partner both had it, that’s a cheap date night. Or if you just really love movies. 😸

I have no idea how they intend to sustain this pricing – they’re definitely losing money – but this is a crazy good deal. I say hop on it while you can and enjoy it while it lasts. All good deals end. But I plan to ride this one until it does. Total no-brainer here.

Add a theater loyalty program for an even better deal

Here’s where I get super geeky. You can combine MoviePass with theater loyalty programs. I quickly realized my go-to theater was AMC-branded, so I joined their Stubs program and paid $15 to upgrade to Premiere for a year, which gets me:

a black and gold ticket with red arrow pointing to a black box

Yee haw

It’s that 100 points per $1 that caught my eye (as opposed to 20 points per $1 as a basic member). If a movie is $10, that’s 1,000 points. So you get a $5 reward every 5 movies, say. You also earn rewards on concessions. And on the purchase of the membership itself.  So you start off with 1,500 points and see a movie, you’ll have 2,500 points right away and are well on your way to getting a $5 reward. I already have one in my account!

a screenshot of a computer

Raking in the bucks

Considering I’ve only paid $10 to see all the movies I’ve attended this month, I thought I’d throw $15 into Stubs Premiere and see how it goes. The points add up fast. It earns $5 credits here and there, and you can use them for snacks, drinks, or movie tickets for someone else. In fact, if you go even once per month to an AMC theater, I’d say it’s worth it.

See what’s around you

Other theater chains have their own loyalty programs. Like Regal, the largest. I signed up and put in my email and they gave me 2,000 credits right away.

a screenshot of a website

Super easy

And there’s a nice Alamo Drafthouse 10 minutes from me. They have a program, too.

a person standing in front of a movie

Done and done

I love the economics of this. Basically, MoviePass is paying for the movie reward programs and only charging me a flat $10 per month.

I love scanning my Stubs card and racking up those points. If you don’t like theater snacks (because they’re um, terrible for you), you can always bank the rewards and buy someone else a ticket. 🙂 Obvi, you’re better off if you’re loyal to one theater chain. But I like hopping around, so I signed up for all of ’em. Why not, if it’s free to join?

The life impact

Right now, I feel like I have a new toy. I’m going crazy and catching up with movies I wanted to see before they went away. By next week, I should be caught up and down to 1 (or 2) movies per week.

a man sitting on a couch holding a remote control

Literally me this past week 😐

But… I’ve only been to the gym once this week. So the MoviePass is definitely eating into my other hobbies/activities. Which is fine. I’m sure the novelty will wear off and I’ll normalize.

For now though, I’m like, going crazy and seeing so many movies. But I gotta say… it’s been a really fun week because I’ve been inviting friends along. The socializing combined with a good deal has just been really good for me, mentally. I’m sure it’ll all even out soon.

Bottom line

There’s no way this deal can last. So I’m gonna enjoy the ride while it lasts, as I do with all deals of this caliber. If you see even ONE movie per month, MoviePass easily pays for itself. See 2 and you’re already ahead.

It’s also almost “Oscar season,” where the studios put out all their best movies in hopes to earn nominations. I’m excited for that! So yeah, I plan to get plenty of use from my MoviePass while the gettin’s good.

Make the deal even better by signing up for your local theater’s loyalty program. Get free movie tickets (for someone else), snacks, or even merchandise.

For $10 a month, I’d call this a no-brainer. It’s month-to-month anyway, so if you hate it, there’s little risk involved – just cancel. For now, I am loving it! Especially with my AMC Stubs Premiere membership. So fun, so cheap, and getting me out of the house. 5 stars lol. 😉

What do you think of this deal? If you have it, do you like the reboot version of MoviePass? 

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About Harlan

Just a dude living in Memphis, traveling, and working toward financial independence.

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  1. Awesome! Glad it’s working out well for you. We were excited to put ours to use this weekend, but colds may have sidelined us. We’ll see. At any rate, the Stubs program is a great stack. Wish I lived closer to an AMC (closest one is about 90 miles away….it’s so nice that we still go now and then — might have to join Stubs again!). Thanks for the link and great write-up.

    Reply

    • I am LOVING the Stubs program. It’s surprisingly lucrative and they have a promotion for double points (200 points per $1 for Premiere members!) through the end of October. So I am raking it in with Stubs!

      I’m convinced, finally, of the usefulness/practicality of MoviePass. I’m just worried the deal is unsustainable which is why I’m trying to go hard on this deal while it’s still *this* good.

      It was comforting knowing you had a similar experience back in day. But I think they’ve stepped it up big time. And $10 a month is a deal I think most everybody can jump on. Truly a no-brainer of a deal.

      It’s so good to hear from you, Nick – thank you for commenting! 🙂

      Reply

      • Yes I am loving it too! But with the AMC stubs, if you already have money as rewards, people say they will use up the rewards money first if you give them your stub code to scan. So how do you get them to credit your Stub rewards without using the rewards money while you’re buying the ticket? After I pay for the ticket, they have no way to scan the stub code to credit it, it has to be scanned first. So they told us to go to customer service and enter information on a hand written log, just hoping they have time to do the data entry! So far has not received any! Any tricks? Thanks

        Reply

        • You have to “activate” your rewards before you can use them. And usually, they’ll ask if you want to use a credit for your ticket because they know you can use it for snacks or other stuff. If you know you have rewards, you can say you don’t want to use them for the ticket – and activate the rewards when you’re ready to actually spend them.

          I def wouldn’t trust them to manually enter anything – just scan every time and be proactive about it. They usually ask me and my friend if we want to use our rewards before they take them out. I always just say, nope saving them for later and it’s been easy to bank them so far.

          Reply

  2. I’ve used MoviePass three times myself and I’m definitely a fan. How were you able to add other Loyalty Programs to it?

    When I check out the Loyalty Programs in the app I’m only seeing “Goodrich/FMG Club” and none of the more popular ones. I’ve used Crown and Stubs before, but don’t see them in the app. Or do you just show them when you pickup your tickets?

    Reply

  3. If I ever get my pass it will be great. It’s been over a month since I signed up and I still don’t have a card. I’m glad to see some people are getting their card and have been able to use it.

    Reply

    • I don’t see how AMC could block certain MasterCard debit cards. But I guess anything is possible. That’s why I’m gonna ride the deal while it’s still around!

      Reply

  6. The last time I was at the AMC in Century City in Los Angeles doesn’t give Stubs points for MoviePass. All the Regal Theaters I’ve been to do give you credits but strangely there’s only one Regal that I can find in Los Angeles.

    Reply

    • Went to the AMC in Dallas last night and earned double Stubs points! Already have a $10 reward. I have no idea how individual theaters are blocking these cards. :/

      Reply

  7. Debbie downer here…per the AMC Ts&Cs, tickets paid with Moviepass will not earn rewards. Will be interesting to see how they enforce this on the AMC side as it does not currently appear to be in effect.

    Reply

  8. I actually used my MoviePass the first time while visiting Dallas before getting my card. I did an e-ticket at Studio Movie Grill. It’s very convenient and that theater is awesome. When I returned home, my card was in the mail and I’ve seen a handful since. Let’s be more optimistic about the survival of MoviePass. They’re going public next year and will be able to get great partnerships with their increasing subscriber base. I’m sure the data selling doesn’t hurt either.

    Reply

  9. Looks like you can double the reward now til 10/31. For every $25 you spend, you get $5 reward!! Watch 3 movies with the moviepass and get $5.

    Reply

  11. So how long did it take you to receive your Moviepass? Asking because:

    —I ordered mine on August 15th (still don’t have the card yet, and tweets/emails to MP have gone unanswered)…so I’m at 40 days and counting
    —ordered wife one on August 16th and she got hers on August 31st
    —son ordered his on August 17th and he finally got his today, Sept 25th!…appx 38 days

    Reply

  12. So you can use this at any movie theatre that is listed? Sounds good if you are on vacation somewhere and want to take in a move.

    Reply

  13. Awesome post. I’m a big MoviePass fan, as I finally got it. 4 movies so far in about 2 weeks. 🙂

    How did you manage to link your Alamo membership with your MoviePass?

    Reply

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