Why So Blu?

Don't email them because they will not respond. Tweet them directly - they'll help you that way. FYI

tonyc3742

So trying to use this for the first time in a long time, and yes, I'm being charged 1.80 fee for the privilege of using their service. I tweetered and IM'ed them on Twitter. It's not much but it's the principle of the thing.
And of course I subbed when they weren't doing any other promotions like the Restaurant gift card.

I'm on the 2 a month (2d only) plan, for 6.99 a month. 3.50 a movie (if I use it twice a month). But adding 1.80 to that makes it 5.30 (which is still "cheap", yes, but both Regal and AMC have 5$ movies on Tuesdays anyway). I usually see matinees, for example, tomorrow's showing which is 9.32. So I guess I am still saving money, but when best case scenario they change the plan so it costs 51% more per movie than it did - that doesn't seem right.

Abob Teff

I'm not a Sinemia user, but in response to the above post ...

When are companies going to figure this out? Whether it is a cell phone plan, an airline ticket, or a movie subscription -- if you need to charge a higher price point, people typically don't mind IF they know the actual price point up front. Advertising a lower price point and then nickel-and-diming people with add on charges is just going to piss off the people who were trying to support you.

Of course, you'll always have the people who say "what are you complaining about, it's still a deal!"

You really would have thought Sinemia would have figured this out since MoviePass wrote an entire book on what not to do.

Why So Blu?

I'm still loving Sinemia. I have not been charged those fees yet. I will starting January 1st, though.

The_Cube

I was charged $1.80 in fees 3 times for the same movie because I had to create 3 advanced tickets because the Sinemia movie payment wasn’t processing the first 2 times. Plus I was charged the $2 Fandango fee. So basically I paid $13 for that movie ticket if you count the fees and $5 Sinemia base ticket price, lol. Normally it doesn’t give me that much trouble. I ordered the actual physical cards from Sinemia, so hopefully that takes care of the problem. At lease Creed II was a great movie.

Why So Blu?

Since I did not want to clutter the Movie Pass thread - I was just on the SInemia website and there are some changes for new folks it seems. They are running sales on their tiers and that 30 for $30 plan now has one for $19.99 per month. It's the "classic" tier, which will not grant you access to the fancier showtimes with gimmicks. The drawback is that you have to prepay the entire year.

I misspoke in that MoviePass thread and said that you can pay month to month. That may still be the case if you're a current member but NOT if you're going to be a new one. I thought I would clarify that.


EDIT - I am currently at the "classic" plan that was 30 for $30. The Elite plan version of that is now at $30, with the Classic plan down to $19.99. I sent support a tweet to see if I can either be upgraded to Elite or have the price lowered to the new one.

Why So Blu?

Sinemia finally responded to my inquiry ^

Looks like they will not upgrade my plan to the ELITE 30 for $30. Any promotions or new tiers are limited to new members only. It's fine. I'm still waaaaaaaaay in the green with what I currently have.

Spiderbite

Okay...my girlfriend bought me a new membership for my birthday for Sinemia without telling me. I already subscribe to AMC A-List because that is mostly all we have around here. I am fine with dumping A-List since it doesn't cover my kid's ticket when we go together but this still seems like not as good a deal as the A-List.

A few questions...it appears she bought a year's subscription for two people for 3 movies a month. Meaning two tickets to the same movie 3 times a month. It is the Classic plan for $15.99 so that seems decent. I only use my A-List at most 4 times a month if I am lucky so this seems pretty good. But it does appear they only let you use them for 2D only (appears no 3D or IMAX...not sure about AMC Prime) and convenience fees are not waived. I usually use Atom with my A-List and get whatever bonuses through them while getting points through my AMC Stubs account.

Can you use your Stubs account in conjunction with Sinemia? Can't seem to find anything on their website or app which lets you link it. Also, what the hell is up with the cardless activation taking a couple of weeks? Shouldn't something like that be instant by now? Of course they want you to pay $10 to have instant activation which makes the whole thing look like a scam. And what kind of fees are they throwing on the tickets? Is this just going to end up costing me as much, if not more than A-List after it is all said and done?

DaveNinja

They also charge a $1.80 Sinemia convenience fee per ticket (at least on the annual account I have; they introduced it a couple months after I signed up).

Why So Blu?

You cannot use it directly with Sinemia, but you can add it to your Atom Tickets profile, so when you do get your tickets via Atom (Sinemia is paying for the ticket), you will generate points to Stubs.

I have my Regal, Regency, Studio Movie Grill, and Disney Rewards all linked to my Atom account, so I will generate points depending on what theater I decide to go to. ArcLight and iPic Theaters are not supported by Atom yet.

Cardsfan111

I've been considering the 30 for $19.99 deal even with paying annually in advance. But the convenience fee sours me on giving it a go. There's no way to avoid it, correct?

Their FAQ make it sound like it's not a given that you'll be charged, but it sounds as if it is from what I'm reading here.

Why So Blu?

It can go either way.

I have not paid that fee for months now once they waived it to certain folks. They said it would be a 3 month temporary thing but I'm now on month 4 of the 30 for 30 plan and I'm still not paying that $1.80.

redstang93

I believe if you opt for a physical card (for $15), you bypass that fee. I ordered the card to have the option to purchase in person and in advance. I believe I wasn't charged the $1.80 for my last ticket, but have for others.

Spiderbite

Cool. Thanks Blu! I typically use Atom for all my ticket purchases since they were doing the buy 5 tickets get one free last year. Not sure if they are still doing that.

I would think you are bypassing the fees if you use Atom and have your Stubs account linked. Now I am patiently waiting for them to activate my account. Still seems weird that they say it takes up to 2 weeks for that.

One thing that caught my eye from them was this:

What is the Rollover ticket feature?
The rollover feature applies to every single Sinemia plan, for both new and existing subscribers. With the Rollover feature, one of the unused movie days rolls over to the next month for later use.

Why So Blu?

Atom still charges you their own convenience fee, but since Sinemia buys my ticket in full, they cover it. Beforehand, I was using the Facebook link to get Facebook to cover the Atom convenience fee. I think they renewed it, if you want to avoid that extra $1 from Atom, use:

www.facebook.com/movies

Why So Blu?

So I was at the bar last night and when I tried checking in to the movie via the Sinemia app I got an error prompt that said I needed to go to the website at www.sinemia.com/member and update my ID info. I was like, huh? So I get in there and it looks like they have implemented a brand new authentication system where you have to submit two pics to your profile. The first pic is of your driver's license or state ID. The second pic is that of you holding the DL, with your face in the frame (like a selfie of you holding the DL). Once you submit the pics you are able to check-in to the film. I got an email this morning from Sinemia saying that my pics were approved and all is good.

Be sure to take care of this asap, so you don't get caught off guard like I did last night.

tonyc3742

OMG. I hate Sinemia so much more than I hated movie pass. Admittedly I was sort not using mp much toward the end but Sinemias usage obstacles seem so much more convoluted and annoying than mp. And yes I'm still ticked about that dollar 80 charge.

The_Cube

Anyone else get their Sinemia account banned for misuse? I went to purchase some tickets today and apparently I have been banned from using Sinemia according a message that popped up on the app. I paid for an entire year ahead of time too and never once misused the card. I'm going to try contact their customer service which I bet will be impossible. I am still waiting for them to return a message I sent them on Facebook from about 3 weeks ago.

DaveNinja

I'm half way through my year with Sinemia but will probably not use it again since I dont want to upload a photo of my drivers license (which i can only assume will be sold or stolen). They already pissed me off after adding the $1.80 fee per ticket two months after I signed up. Its probably too late to contest this charge with my credit card company, though.

Abob Teff

The_Cube

Is this company the new MoviePass. First, they make me upload my government issued photo ID and take a picture of myself. They ban me from using the service until they "verify" the ID and photo. Then, they charged my wife's account for misuse and don't allow her account to purchase any movies!!! How could she possibly be banned when we have the service that allows us to use 3D and IMAX movies? We have checked into every movie we bought. I can't wait until my year long subscription runs out. I am going to purchase the 30 day per month movie plan and try to watch at least 15 movies a month just so they lose money.

DaveNinja

Its a Turkish company that probably going out of business and trying to pull in all cash (or data they can sell) as fast as possible.

Why So Blu?

Looks like they have revamped their tiers and no longer offer the 30 for $30 deal. I logged into my account and got the notice that said my current tier would not renew after it expires this month. Some of the tiers that they are now offering are not that great in terms of price point for existing members. New members will get better deals and prices.

The_Cube

So apparently Sinemia is randomly terminating accounts for misuse now. I'm assuming they are only terminating the memberships for people who use the service too much. My membership and my wife's annual membership were just terminated. I"ll be pissed if they don't refund me.

The_Cube

I was just told that they aren't refunding me even though my membership runs through August because the cost of my movie tickets exceeded the amount I paid for my membership. Well, isn't the point of having a movie subscription service to save money? What a scam. I'm going to write my credit card a letter to dispute the charge of my subscription.