The Double Hack I Discovered To See Free Or Significantly Discounted Movies
As I have mentioned previously one of my absolute favorite things to do is go to the movies with my family. There are plenty of theater chains out there, each with their own loyalty programs. Some are better than others. The largest chain in the USA is AMC Theaters. AMC is the one I go to the most because A. I like them and B. I am able to stretch my dollar there further than any other chain in my area. Now I am fully aware there are “Dollar Theaters” out there but if I am going to see a movie in the theater it is going to be when it is first released. Otherwise I would just Redbox it or wait for it to come out on Netflix. As I am sure you are aware, it is expensive to take a family out to the movies. It would be nothing to drop $50 just on tickets to get in! Let alone adding popcorn, candy, and drinks. This is where part one of the hack comes in. If you see a movie before 12pm at most AMC theaters the price to get in (At least in my area) is only $5 to get in! That right there cuts the price in half or more compared to seeing a movie at night. I understand it is not always possible to see a movie before noon but to get the most out of the hack it is necessary. The next thing (Which is nothing original) is we pop our own popcorn, hit the dollar store for candy, and bring our own drinks. I bring a backpack and load it up. I know this is frowned upon but let’s be honest. I am the Cheap-O Dad and I am not paying $20 for a tub of popcorn and a drink that costs the theater around $3 and that is being generous.
Not All Movie Theater Loyalty Programs Are Created Equal
AMC has several versions of its loyalty “Stubs” program that over varying degrees of benefits. They range from free to $20 a month for their A-List service which allows you to see 3 movies a week for free. You can see the different versions here https://www.amctheatres.com/amcstubs The one I participate in is the AMC Stubs Primer. It does cost $12 a year (Or $1 a month) but I can assure you it is well worth it. Some of the benefits include free size upgrades on popcorn & fountain drinks for those of you who feel the need to get your popcorn and drinks from the theater, Priority Lanes at box office & concessions, waived online ticketing fees (This is an integral part of the hack , more on that later) discount tickets all day on Tuesdays, free popcorn refills and others. The most important benefit is you get 100 points for every dollar you spend. Once you get to 5000 points you get $5 rewards which can be used towards tickets, concessions, even your yearly membership fee if you so choose. Basically every $50 you spend at the theater on anything you buy there equals a $5 reward.
Double Hack Explained
Albert Einstein was quoted as saying compounding is the most powerful force in the universe. He was referring to interest but in this case, we are going to compound movie rewards programs, enter Fandango. For years and years, I refused to use Fandango because I they charge a convenience fee. I understand they are a business like any other, but I was not about to pay extra money for something I am more than capable of doing on my own. Plus, most movie theaters have their own online ordering systems now. (Which they usually still charge a convenience fee to use) At some point they changed their policy and now partnered with several movie chains to allow people to connect their loyalty account and in many cases waive the convenience fee. Fandango also has their own loyalty program called Fandango VIP which you can learn about here https://www.fandango.com/fandangovip with their program you earn 125 points for every movie ticket you purchase through them. When you get to 500 points you earn a $5 reward which can go towards movie tickets or on demand rentals. If you have a family of four you can earn a $5 reward every time you see a movie through Fandango! Here is where the hack come in. Since you get to link your AMC stubs account with your Fandango account you still earn points towards your AMC Stubs plus Fandango! This is huge! Here is how to maximize the hack. Once you have earned at least a $5 reward through AMC stubs and a $5 credit through Fandango VIP you can literally get your family of four into the movies for only $10. That is a way better than $50 or more! If you want to get even more extreme see my post about how I get gift cards towards movies just for doing my regular grocery shopping here https://cheapodad.com/how-to-see-movies-and-eat-at-restaurants-by-doing-your-regular-grocery-shopping/ First log into you AMC Stubs account and activate your $5 reward. You want to wait for a couple minutes for it the reconcile when you log into Fandango as it is automatically applied once you activate it. Then, while you are waiting for that to happen go to Fandango and redeem your $5 reward there. They do it in the form of a promo code which you apply at check out. Order your tickets through Fandango (Make sure your AMC stubs account is linked) then go to the check out screen and add the promo code you got through Fandango. There is nothing like seeing all those credits applied and paying less than I would at the dollar theater to see a first run movie in a fantastic state of the art movie theater like what they have at AMC. When used correctly is not hard to get credit after credit to significantly reduce your cost to see a movie.
The Fine Print
Like any other hack I share with you there is effort required an always at least one hoop to jump through. This one is no different. The major setback is that the Fandango $5 credit you receive is generally only good for 3 weeks to a month. So, if there is not a movie coming up that you want to see during that time frame that reward could end up going unused. However, those of you know who know the Cheap-O Dad know we do not leave money on the table but of course I have a solution for that. As I mentioned earlier one of the things you can use the Fandango credit for is a rental for an on demand or streaming movie. So, if there is not a movie coming up that you want to see in the theater and the next 3 weeks to a month or whenever the credit expires then just use it for a rental Ann enjoy a movie at home! I have used this hack at least a half a dozen times and once you get it down it is breeze!