Costco currently has a pretty nice deal going: a 1 year subscription to MoviePass and a 1 year subscription to Fandor for $89.99. Normally, MoviePass costs $10/month on it’s own ($120/yr), though they recently offered it for $89.95 for a year (since expired). The addition of an additional service for a year for the same price looks like a solid deal for movie lovers.
The Deal
- 1 year subscription to both MoviePass and Fandor for $89.99
- Direct link to deal
Quick Thoughts
I’ve written in the past about my love of MoviePass (See: Great deal: Go to the movies every day for $10 a month). In a nutshell, MoviePass works like a prepaid debit card. You go to the theater and check in on your smartphone and choose your movie and they instantly load the card so you can buy your ticket. This enables you to go to a movie every day if you wanted and it works at most theaters since it runs on the Mastercard network. You can check to see if your theater is available by going to MoviePass.com on a desktop computer and scrolling down to the map and the bottom and entering your zip code.
At ninety bucks a year, you’re paying $7.50 a month. In most markets, if you see one movie a month, you’re probably coming out ahead.
With this Costco deal, you get that and a 1-year subscription to Fandor. I wasn’t familiar with Fandor, but it appears to be a Netflix-like streaming website that claims to have “5,000 movies available for streaming”. I don’t know how it compares and whether or not the movies are any good — but even if you only find a few movies you like it’s just adding to the win.
I didn’t want to commit to a year of MoviePass with the upcoming changes in my life, but at this price, and bundled with an additional movie streaming service, I might be in after all. Furthermore, this is a really awesome gift for a movie fan if you’re running down to the wire and looking for a gift.
H/T: Several readers who emailed about this — thanks!
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If I pay $89.99 to Costco, am I then paying $7.95 per month in addition? If not, why are MoviePass and Fandor asking for credit card information?
Thanks,
No, you wouldn’t be paying in addition. I imagine MoviePass/Fandor want your credit card info in order to set up auto-renewal (I don’t think there is a way not to do auto-renewal, though you might be able to use a prepaid card or a virtual credit card number — I’m not sure).
Hey I just got the movie pass from your last thread. It’s excellent!
Is their way to get Fandor if you already purchased MoviePass?
I ended up choosing Sinemia over MoviePass. Sinemia gives you a choice of 2 or 3 movies per month (as opposed to unlimited). The benefit is that (i) you can buy advance tickets online and reserve seats (meaning you also accrue Stubs or Regal rewards), and (ii) you can see any format, including IMAX, Dolby, 3D, etc. I chose the 2-year plan so I pay $17 per month for my wife and I to see 2 movies in any format, with ability to book ahead. Added “benefit” is that Stubs rewards accrue very quickly if you live in a high price locale like NYC. For example, I just used Sinemia to see Star Wars in Dolby with reserved recliner seating. For two people, that would typically cost $50, but it was fair game with Sinemia.
That works perfectly for a coupla movies a month. I also receive Stubs points with Movie Pass by takiing it to the customer service desk at the theater for credit.
Nice. Earning Stubs rewards really helps offset costs. Since Sinemia allows you to book any format (and since movies are so expensive in NYC), a pair of tix can be as much as $50 if you choose a high-end format with recliner reserved seating. And that is good for $5 stubs reward right there. Add on top of that the points I earn from using a shopping portal before booking on Fandango and I not only negate the cost, but come out ahead each month.
On Sinemia’s website, the price for 2 ppl is $16.99, but you must prepay a year in advance. It doesn’t mention anything about locking in for 2 years as you state above? Have the terms changed since you signed up? Thx
I was charged for 2 years upfront so my price is locked in by virtue of already having paid.
Thank you. Does it work like it’s supposed to? No problems?
I have not had any problems with it. App is easy to use, never had any issue with the transaction going through, you just check in on day of via the app and you are good to go. Plus the customer support is responsive to any issues.
Sounds great, thanks! I do
like that both tkts are purchased under 1 member. Thx for the info.
Yep, that makes earlier. It’s a couples plan, so it’s meant to be purchased in pairs, though you can absolutely buy single tix even with the couples plan.
Just wanted to reply to say that, like Pam, I’ve racked up theater rewards with MoviePass. I don’t have an AMC nearby, but went in the past and I believe I remember buying my tickets at the human counter and giving my Stubs card before purchasing. Same thing at my local theater (which is independent), where I earned tons of free snacks and movie tickets over time. Also earned rewards with Regal’s program by entering my number at the kiosk in the past. Sinemia certainly sounds like it works for you, but figured I’d note that the rewards points add up the same way with MoviePass — though you do miss out on any portal rewards for Fandango (and as you note, you can’t book a seat days in advance).
Ok good to know. I guess it’s more just a rate of accrual difference. Since when you can book the premium formats in urban locations, you earn a ton of stubs rewards. But if you go see enough 2D showings via MP, you could earn even more.
Interesting concept- with one dealbreaker for me: inability to book in advance. I only book power recliner-equipped theaters whenever I can help it (why sit in economy if you can sit in biz for the same price) and that almost always works best if you book in advance for any kind of popular movie.
As long as you book THAT DAY you can use Movie Pass. So you can arrive earlier at the theater & get assigned seats when that is really important.
As noted in my other comment, this is why I chose Sinemia over MoviePass. I NEED to be able to book in advance and reserve seats. Plus Sinemia lets you book any format. And since you can book through sites like Fandango, you accrue Stubs benefits, plus Fandango gets me miles via a few portals. If you want to see a ton of movies, MoviePass is better since unlimited, but if you only see 2 or 3 movies a month, Sinemia is the better deal all around.
How many can you buy?
So, how does it work if I already have MoviePass? Is there a way to jump on this deal without getting 2nd account?
Really good question! I’m wondering the same thing.
I’m on a $10 month-to-month option with MP now…
took a month and half to get to me after ordering in September. i’ve had it for >1 month now and 15 movies later, i only encountered issues on 1 saturday night when it took about 20 minutes and multiple attempts to check-in. otherwise, i’ve not had any other issues. also if you experience a problem, don’t count on customer service rescuing you on the spot. it’ll take them 1 day to 1 week to respond.
I’m assuming you can’t see all movies, for example Imax 3D and new releases are probably not available are they?
You can see new releases. See my previous post on it for more info on how it works. 2D movies only. That never bothered me as I don’t enjoy 3D, but for those who are 3D fans, this won’t do the trick.
P.S. — re Fandor: er, I can’t say I’ve heard of ANY of the movies I looked over here:
https://www.fandor.com/movie-lists
…but that’s not to say there might not be some good gems. And considering that it’s basically a freebie… well, can’t hurt 🙂
Yeah, they have a ton of movies I’ve never heard of. That’s actually what interests me….when I had Movie Pass the first time around, I eventually got tired of the big-budget films and started going to an indie theater more. Looks like Fandor might have more non-mainstream stuff…which probably limits its usefulness for most people, but I think it might be a nice complement to MoviePass after you run through all of the blockbusters for a few months.
That said, on the first page of new releases, I saw a few recognizable movies – Carrie, Meatballs, The Crying Game, Mad Max — all quite old, but some big names anyway.
Ed, in MP’s defense… it seems they don’t charge the 2nd month subscription charge until 30 days after you’ve first used the pass and, from what I understand, they don’t start your year subscription until you first use the pass.
So yeah, they’re backlogged, but I don’t think anyone’s being gypped out of subscription time or money.
Be wary of these movie pass deals. they are having major issues and cannot keep up with demand. i subscribed over three weeks ago and still haven’t gotten a card or anything. they continuously tell me it should have arrived and promise to send a replacement card, but nothing ever comes. i finally just told them to cancel my subscription.
They are very slow initially shipping the card, but once it comes it’s smooth as butter. My wife and I have it, my sister and her husband have it, and a number of members of the Frequent Miler Insiders have it. I think it took more than a month to initially arrive for everyone once they cut the price, but it does eventually come and once it does it’s worked fine in my experience. My sister and her husband go much more regularly than I do and they love it. But you’re right that the initial shipping time can really feel insanely slow in today’s environment where you can open a credit card today and get it tomorrow or the next day. Not sure why it takes them so much longer.
I got mine in a week. Came on Monday.