wow! I can hardly believe that HDL is still working... I may have to get motivated to check out what's available... it's been well over a year since I went through my last crazy round of ch tv club memberships... lol

I've tried HDL twice in the last couple of weeks and received a confirmation e-mail that they received the application both times. I also had the $9.95 temporary hold on my MasterCard both times. However, I have yet to be approved for either application and it would appear that these applications are now in the CH black hole. I wish you better luck.

I have probably tried the same and no good.

Same here. Seems like it's very difficult to get approved for a tv account as well as a ch.com account.

Weird. It only took me once to get approved for a tv account.

did you use HDL?

If I joined the TV Club would I be able to purchase movie dvds (ie The Simpsons Movie) or am I just limited to TV and mini series DVDs?

not limited to tv/mini series. can buy anything they offer.

I applied for the TV DVD club on Friday Nov. 2nd using the HDL link in the TV enrollment thread, just got my welcome to the club email a few minutes ago, since I have recently fulfilled my membership in both the regular and TV edition I think I will cancel those since I now I have a new one in the TV edition.

Here is what I choose...
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Season One
Planet Earth: The Complete Collection

I've tried twice with HDL, got the confirmation emails and $9.95 holds (which drop off after 48 hours), but never the welcome emails. When I call customer service to cancel my fulfilled account i'll ask about the status of other applications. I think I read in another thread that CH sees these in their system, but have to manually push them through. Not a very good system IMHO.

applied on nov. 2nd as well with HDL and received my 'welcome to the club' email today :)

I also applied on Nov. 2 and got my welcome to the club email yesterday, however there were two holds 9.95 on my card so hopefully two enrollment packages do not arrive as I already have one open tv account which will be closed end of the week.

I finally got in with the HDL code!:banana: I applied on November 5 and just got accepted on the 8th.

Does HDL work over the phone? I tried to sign up with it a few days ago and was denied.

From the first post in this thread:

Cheato, you must have put a LOT of time and effort into your set optimization figures. Nice job!

Thanks, but it's really based on calculations that I first saw you and others do on these forums. And I was primarily doing it for myself. And by going through all the reasoning step-by-step, I was able to check my math that I use in my spreadsheet, and my reasoning, so it wasn't completely altrusitic. I want to optimize my TV accounts, too!

^The problem with optimizing TV Edition accounts is that it can be very hit-or-miss when applying with HDL. That code was pulled some years ago but it continued to work on the website. Columbia House chooses to honor it on occasion (and has never fixed the website to deny use of it) but it shouldn't be considered routine to be able to open multiple HDL accounts.

If one is able to open an HDL account, great. But if not, other options to get sets will need to be considered, for the ones that would be most cost-effective as HDL enrollments.

NOTE: Moved to this thread, as per BYork's request.


I was just looking at joining the TV club again, and thought that some of this info might be useful for others thinking of joining the club, or trying to decide which enrollment titles to select.

Financially, the best deal for joining the TV Club is dependent on getting your enrollment title box sets that you save the most money with. To figure that out, we need some pieces of information:
1) the real Net Club Price of the cheapest fulfillment-eligible DVD from the regular DVD club (Club Price = $19.95),
2) what enrollment code you will use to join the TV Club,
2) a formula to determine the real Net Club Price of a box set, and
3) the Club Prices and the numbers of discs in the box sets you're interested in.

Let's look at the real Net Club Price of a fulfillment-eligible DVD. The best kind of account at this time is a 7:2, and there are usually B1G1 w/ free shipping--B1G1FS--sale codes available, so the "best price" in such an optimized account would be:
($12.89 for 7 DVDs + 2x$19.95 B1G1FS) / (7+4) = $4.80
Without the B1G1FS sale code (worst price):
($12.89 for 7 DVDs + 2x$19.95 + $2.99 + $1.99) / (7+2) = $6.42

Then, an HDL account makes the price per set:
Using the best regular DVD price w/ a B1G1FS sale code:
($9.95 for 2 sets + 2x$19.95 B1G1FS - 4x$4.80) / 2 = $15.33 each
Without the B1G1FS sale code (worst price):
($9.95 for 2 sets + 2x$19.95 + $2.99 + $1.99 - 2x$6.42) / 2 = $21.00 each

And a 6J1 (or possibly 8T4?) account makes the price per set:
Using the best regular DVD price w/ a B1G1FS sale code:
($19.95 for 2 sets + 2x$19.95 B1G1FS - 4x$4.80) / 2 = $20.33 each
Without the B1G1FS sale code (worst price):
($19.95 for 2 sets + 2x$19.95 + $2.99 + $1.99 - 2x$6.42) / 2 = $26.00 each

And a standard online account makes the price per set:
Using the best regular DVD price w/ a B1G1FS sale code:
($19.95 for 2 sets + 5x$19.95 B1G1 - 10x4.80) / 2 = $35.85 (ouch) each
Without the B1G1FS sale code (worst price):
($19.95 for 2 sets + 5x$19.95 + $2.99 + 4x$1.99 - 5x$6.42) / 2 = $50.27 (double ouch!) each

Therefore, as long as the Net Club Price is greater than $15.33 (using an optimized $4.80/DVD value and an HDL account), the box set is a better deal as an enrollment title instead of a fulfillment purchase. If you are going to use a different code, then add the value differences from the above calculations to the calculations below. For example, add $5 to each if using 6J1 instead of HDL because, from the values above, $20.33 - $15.33 = $5.00.


Now we need to look at the Net Club Price of a box set:

Buying a set through the regular DVD club, and using it as a fulfillment title along with a B1G1FS code is the following formula:

$2.94
+ $9.95 (if the box set you're looking at is less than $59.95)
+ $19.95 (if the box set you're looking at is also less than $39.95)
+ $19.95 (if the box set you're looking at is also less than $19.95)
+ box set Club Price + box set shipping cost
= your total cost for the membership
Now subtract out the Net Club Price of the $19.95 DVDs (and their free ones from the B1G1FS code like this from the total cost):
- $4.80*8 (if the box set Club Price you're looking at is at least $39.95) OR
- $4.80*10 (if the box set Club Price you're looking at is inclusively between $19.95 and $39.94) OR
- $4.80*11 (if the box set Club Price you're looking at is less than $19.95)
= your Net Club Price of the box set


All those calculations can be summed up in the following table for an HDL enrollment code comparitively using B1G1FS sale codes:

Club Price range => Net Club Price
(less than $19.95) => Club Price + shipping cost
($19.95 - $39.94) => Club Price + shipping cost - $15.15
($39.95 - $59.94) => Club Price + shipping cost - $25.50
($59.95 and above) => Club Price + shipping cost - $30.65 (you should decline the $9.95 DVD during enrollment in a 7:2 club so it becomes a 6:3 account instead of 7:2)

Combining the discounts above and the $15.33 optimized enrollment value of a box set into one table tells us to use box sets as enrollments as long as Club Price + shipping cost is based on the following:

1) If the Club Price is less than $19.95, then use as an enrollment title only if the box set's Club Price + shipping cost is greater than $15.33 (and you don't want to use or don't have FunCash). If it's less than that, it's a better deal as a regular club purchase (here is your best use of FunCash, actually).

2) If the Club Price is $33.48 or above, it is always a better deal as an enrollment title in the TV Club (using HDL).

3) If the Club Price is between $19.95 and $33.47, it depends on the number of discs, which determines the shipping cost, to determine if it is a better deal as an enrollment:
2 discs, use as enrollment if the Club Price is higher than $27.49
3 discs, use as enrollment if the Club Price is higher than $24.49
4 discs, use as enrollment if the Club Price is higher than $23.49
5 or more discs, use as enrollment if the Club Price is higher than $22.49


Here are some examples based on current Club Prices:

Honeymooners "39" ($25.77 + 7.99):
$18.61 as a fulfillment title
$15.33 as an enrollment title with HDL
$20.33 as an enrollment title with 6J1
= Use for enrollment with HDL
= Use for fulfillment with 6J1

Planet Earth ($43.97 + 7.99):
$27.79 for fulfillment (2 fulfillment credits because $43.97 > $39.94)
$15.33 for enrollment with HDL
= Use for enrollment

Moonlighting Seasons 1&2 ($17.97 + 7.99):
$25.96 for regular purchase ($17.97 price is too low to count towards fulfillment)
$15.33 for enrollment with HDL
= Use for enrollment

Munsters Season 1 ($20.97 + 5.99):
$11.81 for fulfillment
$15.33 for enrollment with HDL
= Use for fulfillment

Teen Titans Season 4 ($11.97 + 2.99)
$14.96 for regular club purchase
not available for enrollment in the TV Club
$4.96 after using $10 in FunCash
= Use your FunCash (even compared to the $12.63 current DeepDiscount 20% sale price, you save $7.67 in real cash using $10 FunCash, so it's a 76.7% efficiency in your FunCash, which is pretty hard to beat without something like an ordering glitch on the Columbia House website)



Of course, you should also use common sense. If the title is within a couple of dollars and is easily available from another retailer, I'd go with the other retailer. Sometimes it's difficult to get a club application approved, so you might have trouble cycling an account using 2 enrollment titles you could have picked up for $2 more each at amazon or DeepDiscount or wherever. And, of course, there's no guarantee the B1G1FS sale codes will be available when you want them (or at all) in the future.


I'd appreciate any feedback if I made some mistakes or overlooked anything. Feel free to copy any portions of this for use elsewhere. I don't need to be cited as a source or anything--these calculations are just extrapolations of information freely available on the forums and other calculations by people before me.

I really miss the data miner that would give the list of all available titles. It would be great to throw those figures into the table along with these calculations to really see which box sets are REALLY the best deals.

And before I forget, thanks so much, BYork, for maintaining the TV Club Available for Enrollment thread and thank you, Lizard, for maintaining this one!

I hope this isn't a very newbie question or anything.

I tried code HDL and got accepted. This is my first try at a DVD club. I read the faq at the website and it says it could take up to a week for my account to update with shipment information or something like that and in one of these threads somewhere I read your card doesn't get charged until the package ships. Is that for enrollment too? I ordered Planet Earth and Freaks & Geeks and in my order history it shows Planet Earth as backordered or open and awaiting stock but there's no sign of Freaks & Geeks. Will that come later?

Like I said, hope this isn't too much of a newbie question.

Pepsiguy, the free set of your enrollment order will not show in the history. That's just they way they do it.

^Columbia House doesn't charge your card until the order is being processed and about to ship. That should be the case for enrollments also. But a backorder on an enrollment is a bit unusual. If your card has been charged, it is likely that the package is on the way, regardless of what your account history says. Both sets should ship together.

As dadaluholla said, the fact that one of your sets is not listed in your order history is just standard procedure for Columbia House. Free or 49¢ enrollments are considered "promotions", not orders and are not listed. Only the titles ordered at higher prices, such as $9.95, will show up in your order history.

Thanks for your help dadaluholla and lizard. I actually got an email that said half of my order shipped which was Freaks and Geeks, but Planet Earth still shows as awaiting stock.

And i'm kinda kicking myself cause I also just got an email from mypoints with the same offer, 2 for 9.95 + free shipping, only Heroes was listed as an enrollment title. I know that people have more than one account open but I just wonder how long I can wait before I try to open a second one. Shoulda waited.

Don't wait. Go for it. You should have no problems other than being patient enough to wait for a really good code with which to fulfill your accounts. 2 open accounts with the same club is common around here. :)

I think you only have to wait like a day. I have submitted two apps in the same day, and the second one has ALWAYS been "lost." I get the acknowledgement email, but then never hear back after that.

As for your offer from mypoints, if you follow the link to CH's website, please look for a 3-letter/digit alphanumeric code in the URL and post it here. If it's another 2/$9.95 with 2 fulfillments, that would be a good code to know in case HDL stops working.