Question for you theater buffs (not home theater) (1 Viewer)

[gadgtfreek]

I have not entered a movie theater in over 2 years, recently the one by me was purchased by AMC and it seems it has been upgraded. My wife and I went almost every week for a Sunday 11am, etc... early flick to avoid crowds, I always loved and this was actually a pre-wife ritual back to my younger days. I always picked a flick that had been out for a few weeks, so coupled with early Sunday, no crowds/annoyances.

If I decide to start doing that again, is it beneficial to look at Movie Pass or the AMC memberships? To me, Movie Pass seems ridiculously priced at $39 for unlimited and $29 for 3.

Sunday morning pricing would be $8.89, so I don't see Movie Pass as an advantage. The AMC stubs seems interesting with the premiere, at $15/month.

Thanks.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

If your theater is an AMC, I absolutely recommend AMC Stubs.

Benefits include:
-$5 back for each $50 spent.
-Upgrade to next size concession at no extra cost (i.e. pay for small popcorn and get medium for that price)
-Online ticket fees waved
-Dedicated line at ticket window and concession stand

 

[gadgtfreek]

If your theater is an AMC, I absolutely recommend AMC Stubs.

Benefits include:
-$5 back for each $50 spent.
-Upgrade to next size concession at no extra cost (i.e. pay for small popcorn and get medium for that price)
-Online ticket fees waved
-Dedicated line at ticket window and concession stand

Thanks, that is how I saw it, I paid the $15 bucks for the Stubs Premier and got 6500 points off the bat for a new account. Bought two tickets to GotG2 this weekend for $15 lol with my first $5 rebate.

I was wondering how the upgrade works, so I just order mediums (if I want large) and tell them I am a premier member, cool. I installed the app on my phone so they can scan my card. Will prob see Fast and Furious this weekend too.

Between the free online ticketing, 100 points for every $1 spent, and free upgrade, it will easily pay for itself.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I was wondering how the upgrade works, so I just order mediums (if I want large) and tell them I am a premier member, cool.

Just order the size you want, and the system will take care of the discounts. (I fumbled with this at the beginning of my membership, and they told me it was easier to just say, "I'd like a large popcorn" than to say "I'm a member, so I'd like a large popcorn at the medium price" or "I'd like to pay for the medium but the get the large".)

 

[gadgtfreek]

Just order the size you want, and the system will take care of the discounts. (I fumbled with this at the beginning of my membership, and they told me it was easier to just say, "I'd like a large popcorn" than to say "I'm a member, so I'd like a large popcorn at the medium price" or "I'd like to pay for the medium but the get the large".)

The way the website reads is a bit confusing. But it does say order and scan your card and it automatically applies discount. I did not think about it just seeing what you bought, and changing your price to the next tier down.

 

[Tino]

Yup. AMC stubs premiere membership all the way.

 

[gadgtfreek]

Cool deal. Now I just hope I can go watch some flicks in the updated theater without texting and talking. Granted I don't think there will be a huge showing this Sunday morning at 0945 LOL.

 

[Mark Booth]

I am an AMC Stubs Premier member and have enjoyed the savings. However, my favorite AMC theater has recently stopped offering the small soda and small popcorn. Where I used to be able to pay for a small of each and get a medium upgrade for free, now I have to pay for the medium and get the large for free. I don't want that large of a soda OR that large of a popcorn. So, the value of the free upgrade is lost for me.

I won't be renewing the Stubs Premier when it expires.

Mark

 

[Josh Steinberg]

It's not just your local AMC; it's a company-wide switch.

However, they have a smaller size that's called something other than "small". It's called the "cameo". It's sometimes not advertised as loudly as their other offerings but provides a reasonable single-serving portion at a discounted price.

 

[Mark Booth]

It's not just your local AMC; it's a company-wide switch.

However, they have a smaller size that's called something other than "small". It's called the "cameo". It's sometimes not advertised as loudly as their other offerings but provides a reasonable single-serving portion at a discounted price.

Thanks. The Cameo size price is the same regardless if I'm an AMC Stubs member or not.

I just sent an email to AMC Customer Service. I feel eliminating the small size of soda and popcorn AFTER I had already paid $15 for a Stubs Premier membership is BAIT AND SWITCH. I requested that someone contact me to to discuss the issue.

Mark

 

[gadgtfreek]

So do they not allow you to get the medium at the cameo price?

It will work fine for me because we usually would get the same thing. Wife gets something like goobers, or milk duds, I get the ginormous popcorn, because that is what I do, and we split one large beverage.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I respectfully disagree that it's a bait & switch - you're still eligible to receive an upgrade to the next size at no additional charge. If they had eliminated that provision, it would be one thing, but they've simply changed their offerings. And it's not as if the Stubs program works on a calendar year basis, people are free to sign up at any point, and my renewal date is not based on a common date shared with others. So it's not as if they could simply say "This is our 2017 concession stand lineup, but next year we will be carrying different options."

The $5 back for every $50 spent (formerly $10 back for every $100 spent) is where I derive most of the value, though I understand if your experience is different. Two IMAX movie tickets here are $54, which triggers a reward. The card pays for itself if my wife and I see three movies a year, which isn't a hard threshold to hit. Additionally, we generally purchase our tickets online in advance - the fee for doing so is generally $2 a ticket for those IMAX engagements at our local theater, so if we saw 7-8 movies a year, still not a hard threshold to hit, the card pays for itself.

The concession upgrade, while being one of the "flashier" perks, ended up being of less value to me overall than the 10% back and the no-fee online purchases.

For the past several years, I have used rewards money earned on the card to pay for the renewal. I don't think I've actually given AMC cash money to renew since I first signed up.

 

[Mark Booth]

So do they not allow you to get the medium at the cameo price?

It will work fine for me because we usually would get the same thing. Wife gets something like goobers, or milk duds, I get the ginormous popcorn, because that is what I do, and we split one large beverage.

When I go to AMC I typically go on Tuesdays when my wife is playing Rummikub with her girlfriends. So, ginormous is too much for a single person.

Maybe I should pay for the medium and take the ginormous and then dump half of it all over the floor on my way to the theater.

Mark

 

[gadgtfreek]

I respectfully disagree that it's a bait & switch - you're still eligible to receive an upgrade to the next size at no additional charge. If they had eliminated that provision, it would be one thing, but they've simply changed their offerings. And it's not as if the Stubs program works on a calendar year basis, people are free to sign up at any point, and my renewal date is not based on a common date shared with others. So it's not as if they could simply say "This is our 2017 concession stand lineup, but next year we will be carrying different options."

The $5 back for every $50 spent (formerly $10 back for every $100 spent) is where I derive most of the value, though I understand if your experience is different. Two IMAX movie tickets here are $54, which triggers a reward. The card pays for itself if my wife and I see three movies a year, which isn't a hard threshold to hit. Additionally, we generally purchase our tickets online in advance - the fee for doing so is generally $2 a ticket for those IMAX engagements at our local theater, so if we saw 7-8 movies a year, still not a hard threshold to hit, the card pays for itself.

The concession upgrade, while being one of the "flashier" perks, ended up being of less value to me overall than the 10% back and the no-fee online purchases.

For the past several years, I have used rewards money earned on the card to pay for the renewal. I don't think I've actually given AMC cash money to renew since I first signed up.

At first I thought it was $15/month, when I figured out it was yearly I knew I could easily make it back.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

When I go to AMC I typically go on Tuesdays when my wife is playing Rummikub with her girlfriends. So, ginormous is too much for a single person.

Maybe I should pay for the medium and take the ginormous and then dump half of it all over the floor on my way to the theater.

Mark

Do you eat popcorn at home? Most theaters store it for about three days in large plastic bags, it's rare that you have a chance to buy 100% freshly popped popcorn. At best, it's usually a mix of pre-made popcorn topped with some fresh stuff. So I don't think there's any health or safety danger or harm to taking your leftover popcorn home on and snacking on it for a couple days if you so desired.

 

[Tino]

If your theater is an AMC, I absolutely recommend AMC Stubs.

Benefits include:
-$5 back for each $50 spent.
-Upgrade to next size concession at no extra cost (i.e. pay for small popcorn and get medium for that price)
-Online ticket fees waved
-Dedicated line at ticket window and concession stand

Also $5 off admission on Tuesdays (matinees not eligible).

 

[Mark Booth]

Do you eat popcorn at home? Most theaters store it for about three days in large plastic bags, it's rare that you have a chance to buy 100% freshly popped popcorn. At best, it's usually a mix of pre-made popcorn topped with some fresh stuff. So I don't think there's any health or safety danger or harm to taking your leftover popcorn home on and snacking on it for a couple days if you so desired.

All of the theaters that we patronize pop their popcorn fresh each day. I've watched it happen. But I wouldn't have a problem with stuff that was popped a day or two in advance. When I make a batch of popcorn in our popcorn machine for the Booth Bijou we almost always have some leftovers. Even 4-5 days later I've been known to turn the machine's warming tray and warming lamp on to warm the leftovers for a mid-week movie. It tastes just as good as the day it was made.

Mark

 

[Tino]

All of the theaters that we patronize pop their popcorn fresh each day. I've watched it happen. But I wouldn't have a problem with stuff that was popped a day or two in advance. When I make a batch of popcorn in our popcorn machine for the Booth Bijou we almost always have some leftovers. Even 4-5 days later I've been known to turn the machine's warming tray and warming lamp on to warm the leftovers for a mid-week movie. It tastes just as good as the day it was made.

Mark

It's all popped fresh at my local AMC.

 

[gadgtfreek]

Going to be curious to see what I think of the newly converted Carmike, after using nothing but my HT setup at the house for 2 years. It was literally May 2015 since I last stepped into a theater.

 

[Mark Booth]

I just received a call from a person on the AMC management team. She said that the small sizes were discontinued because they weren't selling. Well, duh! I've watched how associates ring the free upgrades at the theater. When I ordered a small popcorn it went into the system as a medium popcorn with a discount to the small price. Thus, when I pay for a small the system records it as a medium. Their own Stubs program affected the way sales (by size) were recorded.

In my mind, AMC's move to eliminate the small sizes was an intentional move to get more money from Stubs Premiere members that were using the free upgrade feature. Absent the Stubs Premiere free upgrade feature, they can do whatever the hell they want. But eliminating the small sizes while the Stubs Premiere free upgrade feature is active is completely improper. It's absolutely bait and switch. Advertise a feature and then take away a way that feature can be used. I honestly feel there's a good class action lawsuit here. I've already reached out to one attorney and plan to contact others.

Edit: I dug out a receipt from a recent visit to the AMC concession stand. I was with my wife that day (we share a single drink and single popcorn) so I took the free upgrade from medium soda to large soda. And, sure enough, the sale is recorded as a large soda, NOT as a medium soda. The discount is shown directly below it as "AMC Stubs Benefits".

Mark