Good morning everyone, happy Friday! A few weeks ago, I wrote about Sinemia’s Summer Sale, where you could get 3 movies per month for $9.99 (same price as MoviePass without the BS!). I didn’t want to wait for my Sinemia card to arrive in the mail, so I paid extra to activate Sinemia Cardless, which lets you start using your Sinemia membership right away. With Sinemia Cardless, you get a virtual debit card number that you can use to purchase movie tickets through AtomTickets.com or MovieTickets.com. You can purchase movie tickets up to 30 days in advance and select specific seats, if your theater allows that feature. In this post, I will walk you through the complicated process of using Sinemia’s Cardless advance ticket purchase feature. Now that I’ve booked my first advance ticket (I watched Peppermint), I will show you how to use Sinemia Cardless.
After downloading the Sinemia app (Apple App Store or Google Play Store) and signing into your account, go to the Planning tab and click the Advance Ticket box. The app will then walk you through the steps of using the Advance Ticket feature. All screenshots come from my iPhone, but I assume the Android version of the app is very similar.
Here are the Advance Ticket Rules. Basically, all you have to do is find the exact movie you want, tell Sinemia which movie you want to see, and then purchase your ticket online. I will explain more as we go through the process. To get started, click the Get Advance Ticket button.
Select the movie theater you want to visit. Then select the website you want to purchase your ticket from. I had never used AtomTickets.com or MovieTickets.com, so I checked out AtomTickets.com first to see if that website would work for me.
Unfortunately, the movie theater I wanted said “Ticketing is not available at this location.” That was disappointing. Maybe other movie theater chains will show up on AtomTickets.com. Up next, I checked out MovieTickets.com and hoped that website would work for me.
Thankfully, my theater worked with MovieTickets.com and I found my movie. MovieTickets.com runs on the Fandango network. Make note of the date, time, and movie format. You will need that information in order to use Sinemia’s advance ticket feature.
Back on the Sinemia app, I clicked the MovieTickets.com button. Since I found the exact movie I wanted on MovieTickets.com, I clicked the green button.
I then selected the date (September 13), the starting time (4:50pm), the movie format (2D), and clicked the Reserve Ticket button. I confirmed all the details and clicked the Confirm button.
My Sinemia virtual debit card was loaded and I could see the card information to purchase my movie ticket. This virtual debit card number is valid one time and you must purchase your movie ticket within 2 hours. Sinemia will also remind you to check in for the movie when you get to the movie theater.
I went back to the MovieTickets.com website and proceeded to purchase my movie ticket. I selected a matinee ticket and clicked the Buy Tickets button.
If you have a Fandango account, you can sign in and earn Fandango VIP Rewards. If not, you can check out as a guest. Then enter the Sinemia virtual debit card information into the website and click the Complete My Purchase button. Remember to use the zip code linked to the Sinemia virtual debit card. By going through MovieTickets.com, you can earn Fandango VIP Rewards and your theater’s rewards (if applicable).
My movie ticket was purchased and paid for with my Sinemia virtual debit card. Sweet!
Back in the Sinemia app, you are again reminded to check in for the movie when you get to the theater. Sinemia lets you check in for the movie between 30 minutes before the movie starts and 30 minutes after the movie starts. If you do not check in for the movie, your credit card on file with Sinemia will be charged.
A minute later, I received the Fandango confirmation email. You can either print out your ticket or get a QR code sent to your phone via text. First, I clicked the VIew My Ticket button.
I then clicked the Print At Home link.
I then clicked the Print Ticket button.
Here is what the Fandango ticket looks like. Print out the ticket and bring it to the movie theater.
If you want a QR code sent to your phone instead, click the Text My Ticket button in the Fandango email. Then enter your cell phone number and click the Send Mobile Ticket button.
Congratulations, you just texted your movie ticket to your cell phone!
Click the link in the text to view your Fandango QR code movie ticket. I took a screenshot of the QR code and saved it to my phone.
Before I entered the movie theater, I opened the Sinemia app, clicked the Watch tab and clicked the Check In button. Select your movie you are seeing or scroll to the bottom and search for the movie. Once you find the movie, click the Confirm button.
Congrats, your check in was successful! You can view all the movies you’ve seen with Sinemia by clicking the Profile tab, then clicking on your profile, and then click Watched with Sinemia.
If you have any questions about Sinemia’s cardless advance ticket purchase feature, please leave a comment below. Have a great day everyone!
If you are not a Sinemia member, please use my referral link to join! Thank you.
Haha, I feel like I need a PhD to get a ticket using this method! I wish Sinemia streamlined this system so that it was more like moviepass (for those theaters that did e-ticketing).
Although I canceled my membership with moviepass, it was super easy to get a ticket ahead of time.
I haven’t received my physical Sinemia card yet, but I’m hoping that movie ticket purchase process is a little simpler to figure out.
Are you sure we will receive a Sinemia card? I don’t want to continue the advance ticket process and pay additional fees. Facebook does pay the fee if you use their Fandango movie link. I really want a card like Moviepass but have not been able to get an answer from Sinemia
I haven’t gotten my card either. Part of me thinks if you have a Classic Plan, you do not get a card, but if you have an Elite Plan, you do get a card. I’m really not sure. I’d love to get a card too so I could use the card similarly to MoviePass. I will do a post when I get my card (if it ever shows up).
They haven’t answered any of my e-mails either! When I signed up it said to wait for my card. Then my friend said look at my e-mail, they’re going cardless. You’re not getting a card. Now when I logged in, pop-up said ‘Order your card’ and ontop of that – Atom.com wouldn’t accept my Advanced Planning cardless info! /annoyed. Was also converted from moviepass.
Sinemia changes their story/plan on a monthly basis. I hope my physical card arrives soon so I can start using it at my local theater.
Hi I have about 167,000 miles with American Airlines my husband and I want to go to Barcelona in May and I am having such a hard time booking points. They don’t use point for premium economy and then I thought I could use the avíos points to book through Iberia or Finnair but they won’t let me transfer points to those airlines. So what’s so great about avíos points if you can’t transfer them? So frustrating!
Hi Debbie, I totally understand your frustration. Redeeming miles for flights shouldn’t be this hard. I would use an award booking service to help you find and book your award ticket. I’ve had very good success with Juicy Miles: http://www.juicymiles.com/request-pricing/?affiliate=10
I hope they can help you find flights.
Debbie – It sounds like you want to transfer American points to Avios. If you have American AAdvantage miles you have to book using American’s program which you found that does not allow Premium Economy. You mention Avios. This is another company’s program. You cannot transfer American Airlines points to Avios or any other program, which it sounds like you want to do. There could be other options with your credit cards.
Good points :)
when i select ATOM or MOVIETICKETS i dont get movie and showtime listings, ?
Correct, you have to go to those websites separately outside of the Sinemia app to see showtimes. Then you plug that info into the Sinemia app to create a virtual Sinemia debit card. Then you use that debit card info to purchase a ticket on AtomTickets.com or MovieTickets.com. Does that make sense?
Hello,
What about the convenience fees charged when you use those movie ticketing websites? Did the virtual debit card Sinemia give you take care of the service fees as well? I heard customers were being charged for service fees, and Sinemia only pays for the ticket price. Did you happen to notice on your bank statement to see if those service fees were being charged to your credit card on file with them? Thanks
I have not seen any convenience fees charged to my credit cards on file. I believe Sinemia covers the convenience fees when you buy tickets online.
I activated my membership several weeks ago and just got the ability to use my account but only virtually. I thought they were going to send out a physical card which I prefer so I can just buy a ticket at the kiosk of the theatre. This system is super complicated and cumbersome.
I agree, I am still waiting for my physical card too. Once you have done the eticket one time, it gets simpler.
Hi Grant. You mentioned they didn’t charge you any fees for using that eticket feature. But when I did it today my external credit card (that I signed up with Sinemia) was charged $1.80 for using this feature. So this is kind of a bait and switch and false advertising. Seems like they are forcing you to use the virtual card with no plans of ever sending out the card.
People can say what they want about Moviepass but at least it worked (up until the end).
Hi Earl, unfortunately it looks like Sinemia started charging this fee recently. I can understand the fee if the sent out the physical card and let you decide if you wanted to buy the tickets online or at the movie theater and only charge the fee for buying tickets online. This is very disappointing from Sinemia. I am still waiting for my physical card to arrive in the mail, I’m not sure if it is ever coming :(
Update, here is an email I sent to Sinemia:
“Please let me know when my physical card is going to be sent to me. I do not want to be charged fees for purchase tickets online with the cardless feature. Thank you.”
Here is Sinemia’s response:
“Hi, Sinemia is Cardless for our members. You can issue a card order once this option is available. Best regards, Sinemia Support Team”
Dear Sinemia user,
We’ve got great news to share!
At Sinemia, we strive to provide the best movie-going experience possible and we always think of ways to develop what we offer. In our journey, we introduced advance ticket feature, 3D-IMAX-4DX option, flexible tiered plans, plans for couples and more to elevate your movie-going experience.
Sinemia Cardless, Effortless
In May, we introduced Sinemia Cardless which eliminated the need of a physical Sinemia card and the Cardless adoption rate of existing physical card owners exceeded our expectations.
Sinemia Cardless, effortless way of enjoying Sinemia, is designed to make getting your movie tickets online simpler and maximize your movie-going experience.
Now, only a small group of our members currently use physical Sinemia cards and more than 96% of our customers are already using Cardless. This had been a great transition period and now we’re fully implementing this new feature: As of October 30th 23:59 PDT, all physical Sinemia cards will be depreciated and all members will be using the new convenient Sinemia Cardless.
As an added bonus and to make sure you are all set for Sinemia Cardless, we’ll ensure all our existing physical card users that are affected by this transition will not have to pay any convenience fees & processing fees at least for the next 90 days beginning October 30th or until the end of their current monthly/annual plans.
By fully integrating Sinemia Cardless into all Sinemia subscriptions we will be able to give our members the power to get their movie tickets wherever they are, whenever they want, in a more secure way – in other words, the card will be in the app, accessible on their mobile devices.
Using Sinemia Cardless is almost the same as the old process, you will continue to get your tickets online under Planning tab as you have always done. The app will guide you through the steps and once complete, you’ll receive a one-time only payment information in order to make the purchase online, every time you want.
That’s all! Now it’s the best time to enjoy more movies with Sinemia.
So I guess I’ll never get a physical card from Sinemia, huh?
interesting considering I just purchased a ticket and was charged 1.50 AND 1.80 separately. When all this is added to the per-ticket cost for the plan, for an early day ticket I’d be better off paying at the theater. Highly disappointing. I joined in the spring of 2018 and never got a card, either, which is what I wanted when I signed up, but was told I wasn’t getting one because they were phasing them out. I’ve only used it twice in all this time because it’s such a huge hassle and in the end only barely worth it monetarily.
You might be better of downgrading to a 1 movie per month Sinemia plan.
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I referred my friend and got $10 bonus and I tried to use that credit for next billing cycle but i don’t see any option there, can you please guide through and help me to use those $10 credit?
I believe you can use the referral credit by clicking on extend membership. Then use the referral credit to pay for another month.
When i try to pay with extended membership, it’s again charging me initial activation fee. My plan is 3 movies month $9.99. Monthly plan.
Sinemia is a major pain. Sucks always having to pay that $1.80 fee to book ahead. And some of the tricks to avoid even more fees like on Fandango going through Facebook page don’t seem to be working. I was previously able to use Fandango with my virtual card but I think Fandango is blocking all charges from Sinemia now.
I had to resort to booking directly on the movie theatre’s website which worked. But all these fees add up.
That happened to me too. Their system is messed up. You need to contact them to apply the credit toward your membership then.
I just got an email from Sinemia saying they are bringing back cards! (Sign up available next week). Also, they are going to make it so you have the same set credit card # instead of having to get a new one each time. Will make it MUCH easier so you can store it in your favorite movie theatre.
More features coming soon which is welcome news.
Great news. That would cut down convenience fee and processing fee I guess.
I’m going to write up a post about the new Sinemia features coming soon :)
I tried to ugrade my membership through the extended membership tab to anyday 3 movies a month from weekday only and was charged an additional membership fee. (Actually 2 additional membership fees as it was for 2 of us ) I was told there is no upgrade feature yet, and that they referred my refund request to their finance dept
Their billing process sucks when you try to extend a membership. I am not sure why it is so complicated :/
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Why do we have to pay $15 for the physical card? We never had to pay anything outside of MoviePass. This is another scam. I literally just signed up for a year with Sinemia and I’m ready regretting it. They won’t offer me a refund or any kind of credit.
Hi Grant, so is there any way to buy ticket going at movie theater and avoid convienience fees ? I just joined and trying to understand how it works ? I am on cardless feature
Unfortunately not. If you use careless, you will be charged a fee. If you order the physical card ($14.99 fee), you avoid future purchase fees when you buy online or in person.
This service is waaaay too cumbersome. I wish I never signed up. Terrible customer service. It sounded so good.
Have you tried to request your physical Sinemia card? That should make the service a little easier to use. Happy New Year!
What is the first name and last name you gave to book ticket using Sinemia Cardless
Should be your first and last name. Same name as on your Sinemia account.
If I have Sinemia card I know I can use advance planning. But if I click on watch with that stop me from having the ability to do advance ticketing?
No, the Watch tab doesn’t do anything until you buy an advance ticket or load your physical Sinemia card.