Is the Cineplex’s CineClub Worth it?
See also: Maximising Value of Cineplex’s CineClub
Cineplex’s rewards program, Scene+, has gone through a major revamp the past couple of years. One of the latest additions is the CineClub paid membership designed for movie lovers. Today, we will look at the features and benefits of the program to see how to maximize its value, and see its worth it.
CineClub highlights
Let’s start with mentioning the key features and benefits of CineClub. After listing them, we will go ahead with breaking them down the items one by one.
- Choice of membership options:
- $9.99 monthly membership fee (plus applicable taxes).
- $119.88 annual membership fee (plus applicable taxes).
- Receive 1,000 Scene+ bonus points for choosing the annual membership.
- Receive 1 free movie ticket (Monthly Movie ticket) every month (ticket never expires) for any regular admission movie.
- Pay $9.99 for each extra ticket to go with the free ticket (up to 2 per show).
- Earn Scene+ points when redeeming Monthly Member ticket and on all CineClub-Priced ticket purchases.
- Receive 20% off concessions, Outtakes, Playdium, The Rec Room and VIP lounge purchases.
- Receive 10% off all purchases and rentals on the Cineplex Store.
- No online booking fees.
Points redemption
First of all, let’s establish the value of Scene+ points. They are redeemable at a 100 points to $1 ratio. It is very easy to calculate the value of Scene points. Every 1,000 points is worth $10. Scene+ points are highly flexible because they can even be used to pay for other things such as dining, groceries or travel. So there is no need to recycle the points back to only the items mentioned above.
The rewards options are important to highlight because the membership can cover the theatres and the points can be used for other purposes, thus increasing the overall value of Scene+ points.
Membership fee
The CineClub has 2 membership options, monthly or annual. The monthly membership is $9.99 per month. This allows members to do a trial period with the program and can cancel any time. There is very little difference value difference between the annual membership. That is because the $119.88 annual membership fee is exactly the equivalent to $9.99 x 12 months. So dollar wise, one can argue that there is even a disadvantage to sign up for the annual membership because members need to pay the entire annual fee up front, and lose out on some opportunity cost.
The only extra value for the annual membership is the bonus 1,000 Scene+ points, which works out to $10 in value (mentioned above). So $10 divided by $119.88 equals a 8.34% return. In which case, that would be a personal choice on whether a 8.34% return is valuable enough for paying the annual fee up front.
Right off the bat, I would have liked to see a little more value for having an annual membership, because I would be more inclined to pay the monthly fee instead to give more flexibility (will be discussed further below too).
Monthly Movie ticket
The fine print for the Monthly Movie ticket actually gives more value than first glance. This free ticket does not expire, which means that members are not forced to watch one movie every month. Furthermore, the voucher can be carried forward indefinitely as it does not expire even if members cancel their membership.
This means that the $9.99 monthly fee, at the very base, is equal to one movie ticket for $9.99 plus taxes, which can be redeem for any regular admission with no blackout times or dates. This is a break even in my books, even if members do not take advantage of any other features and benefits of the program.
Furthermore, members can bring up to 2 additional guests into the theatres for the same $9.99 admission price, which can also count as savings if the member was going to pay for a ticket at a higher price anyway during the expensive times.
UPDATE (JULY 25, 2023) – Per comment section below, the monthly movie ticket is received when CineClub processes the monthly payment, based on subscription date.
10%-20% off purchases
The cash discounts is the hidden gem with the membership. Receiving 20% off purchases on concessions, Outtakes, Playdium, The Rec Room and VIP lounge can really add up. Assuming the person was making purchases at these places anyway, even without the membership, then this is straight up cash savings. It is a different story if the person was purposely going to these places only because of the membership, then the cash savings are not as direct.
The 10% movie rental and Cineplex store discount is really a case by case basis if a person would have spent on these items anyway. So this is a bonus to me, but it still counts.
No online booking fee
Cineplex charges an online booking fee if someone decides to purchase their ticket ahead of time online. Since all seats are reserved in advance, booking ahead of time allows people to choose their seats sooner. This practice is the same idea as paying to reserve a seat on a flight ahead of time.
The way to get around this fee is to go in person to purchase a ticket. I go to the theatres earlier in the day to reserve my seat in advance to avoid the fee. This would only work for people who live near the theatre. In some cases, the extra gas or transportation cost, along with the travel time spent may not be worth it.
The fee waiver can definitely come in handy and the savings can add up.
Who should sign up for a membership?
Personally, I do not plan to pay for this membership fee at the moment. I do not go to the movies often enough to justify it. Furthermore, I have enough points to redeem for movie tickets without paying out of pocket. I have been putting in more attention on loading up on more Scene+ points to give me more reward options!
Conversely, I do see a lot of value to be had with CineClub for people looking for date, entertainment or outing ideas. Moreover, for people who are willing to frequently stick with Cineplex branded places, like the theatres, Outtakes, Playdium, The Rec Room and VIP lounge, then it would be very easy to extra way more than $9.99 in value every month. This is in addition to all the Scene+ points that are being earned along the way that can be used for a wide variety of rewards.
Are you someone who already has a CineClub membership? If so, please let us know your experience in the comment section below!
See also: Maximising Value of Cineplex’s CineClub
This was super helpful, thanks. I got a cineclub membership when there were a few movies out I wanted to see but was considering cancelling now that it’s a bit of a movie lull. This explained a lot of the benefit to me and was really informative – thanks!
Awesome, glad this helped Huggins! And thank you for sharing your experience with us.
Is the free monthly ticket based on the calendar month or on when I subscribed?
The free monthly ticket is received every month that they receive payment, so based on subscription. That is a great question, I will actually add a note to the post too!
Would this benefit a senior who already pays less than 9.99 per movie.
In that case, I would say, it is only beneficial if they can take advantage of the other features and benefits (non-movie ticket benefits) of being a club member. It would not be very beneficial if they only purchase movie tickets and not do other spending.
What happens if your ticket cost more than $9.99, our VIP theatres are $25.00/ticket. I can’t find an answer about this.
Hi Jenny, I am not entirely sure what your questions. The $9.99 is the membership fee, not the price of each ticket. The $25/ticket is the regular fee which you would still need to pay. The membership is to be able to get benefits and perks along the way. It does not affect the regular price of the ticket. Hope that helps!
You can use the monthly ticket you get and apply that towards the cost of a VIP or AVX or IMAX (and any other premium ticket I’m sure) and you just pay the difference in price
Thanks for the heads up Alex! That’s a good feature they offer.
I had the same question as Jenny I think. I understand that $9.99 is the cost of the membership fee, but since that gets you a movie voucher/ticket each month, and as you said “This means that the $9.99 monthly fee, at the very base, is equal to one movie ticket for $9.99 plus taxes, which can be redeem for any regular admission with no blackout times or dates”……then that means if you want to go to a VIP theatre, and you pay $25, there is no way to use that movie voucher towards the cost of the $25 VIP movie ticket. They are separate.
I am trying to figure out if it’s worth it. I like going to movies, don’t go to nearly as many movies as I used to/would like to anymore, I live down the street from a VIP theatre, I would not mind getting dinner/drinks at the VIP theatre, but don’t buy popcorn and candy when I go to the theatre. I don’t use playdium, Rec room etc.
It seems if I were to buy a monthly membership, I would get the movie vouchers/tickets which as you pointed out, don’t expire, so I would use them at some point I am sure, and then save the online booking fee when I wanted to go to VIP theatre. My question is now, if I have a few movie vouchers/tickets that I have received over a few months but have not used, can I then go to the theatre with a friend and use TWO movie vouchers/free tickets at the same time (seeing a regularly priced movie, not the VIP) to pay for my friend and myself?
Those are all good questions A Stocker. I wrote up a new post to break down the value even more: “Maximising Value of Cineplex’s CineClub” https://pointshogger.com/maximising-value-of-cineplexs-cineclub/
In short though, it’s whether one can maximise the value of the outside-movie-ticket perks to extract value from the $9.99 monthly fee. I would say it may not be worth it for everyone.
I’ve read your new blog but it doesn’t answer A Stocker’s question. If I get a movie ticket for November but doesn’t use it for that month and then in December I get charge the membership fee, would I get a second monthly movie ticket and would it continue to build from there where every month I don’t go I continue to get a monthly ticket that I can then use all at once next time I do go?
Hi Jess. I hope I am understanding your question correctly. We have a updated post here that explains it: https://pointshogger.com/maximising-value-of-cineplexs-cineclub/
Basically, the monthly movie ticket can be carry forward if you do not use it.
Keep in mind, if you want to cancel then the tickets are void if not used up, you cannot use more than one free ticket per showtime, and they removed the discount at the Cineplex Store starting January (I skimmed the email I got). Personally, I don’t find it that useful and now I have to try and see a bunch of single movies alone in the next week to cancel the subscription and try to get my money’s worth that I already paid. Now, if this was available to rent-from-home movies, I would be all over that. Cineplex has ripped me off many times before and I’m getting tired of all the rules, regulations and quick expiration dates that come with overpriced movies and snacks. Live and Learn
Thanks for your feedback Megan. That’s very useful to know. No biggie if you feel you need to cancel for not getting enough value in return.
Actually your monthly member tickets are still available for you to use even after you cancel. I’ve seen my tickets still in my account even after I cancelled, and also to double check their website, specifically the terms and conditions says: In addition, you will still have access to any unused Monthly Member Tickets after your membership is cancelled by logging into your account. You can also use multiple monthly member tickets per movie (at least for me and my friends) so I’m not sure what Megan is referring to? There’s definitely a limit on the $9.99 priced tickets though which is 2
Awesome. Thanks for sharing your feedback with us Tiffany C! That is good to know.
Is it 12.49 membership fee including the tax?
Fee should be $9.99 plus tax.