Cineworld Unlimited Membership Review

Film lovers will appreciate the Cineworld Unlimited subscription and app. The membership allows you to watch as many latest cinema releases as you like throughout the Cineworld chain each month. For example, adult tickets at my cinema (Rugby) cost £9.99 for new films and £5.99 for special showings. Using the membership regularly can save you money.

This subscription provides an unlimited e-card allowing you to book up to five different movie showings in advance. You can manage your bookings and view your e-tickets via the app or book in person at a Cineworld using your unlimited card on your phone.

Cineworld cinemas are grouped from 1 to 4 depending on their location and size. Monthly subscription costs range from £12.99 to £22.99. You generally pay the group charge for your nearest or favourite cinema. For example, my local Cineworld is a group 2 cinema so I pay £17.99 a month. This allows me to use group 1 and 2 cinemas without extra charge. However visiting a higher-grouped cinema incurs a small £2 uplift charge.

Payments can be made monthly, quarterly or annually. Paying annually means you skip the three-month wait for additional features and benefits (listed at the end) and automatically receive the extra upgrade possibilities.

On the day I bought the card, I booked my first film as an unlimited member. Everything went smoothly and a new option appeared on my Cineworld app for unlimited purchases. At the time of writing I’ve seen eight films and booked five more. The savings are substantial and have allowed me to buy food and drinks during visits. I’ve even seen a favourite film twice!

The card offers many perks like food discounts and screen upgrades and I’ve listed them at the end of the review, along with some considerations before signing up.

“Unlimited” will encourage new viewing possibilities and behaviours. You might take a risk on a film you wouldn’t otherwise pay to see, book film types you’d wait for TV, or watch a film with a friend or partner that you wouldn’t pay to see otherwise. Of course, you get to see all the latest film releases and support your local cinema.

As my wife also bought a card, it will help us fund a few cheap date nights each month. We can also book for each other on our Cineworld apps after setting up a friends and family option, allowing us to book not only our tickets but each other’s as well. With “Unlimited,” you can cancel screenings you can no longer attend and rebook them. Previously, you would lose your ticket price along with any booking fee.

The app is quite decent though not perfect. After some online research I discovered some historical issues reported online by customers but they’ve since been fixed. Personally I didn’t encounter any major problems though there was a slight learning curve. Once you get the hang of the app, it’s smooth sailing. I hope they’ll add more features and improve usability in the future. The cancel feature also worked well when I needed to make a change to a viewing time so I could rebook a time.

My main worry about the membership is the overall state of UK cinema. While many screenings have been off peak, audiences in attendance probably does not represent normal viewership in peak. Hopefully memberships like this hopefully will help save cinema chains that are all known to have had issues since covid.

Before signing up for this membership, I weighed up Sky Movies but found it quite expensive for what you get. It offered a limited selection of new releases and mostly old catalogue films. The benefits weren’t enough to justify the subscription. Therefore, I think the Cineworld unlimited membership is better value as I can easily see any new releases that I want.

Another noteworthy aspect is the exceptional personal customer service. Everyone who has served me and my family has been incredibly helpful. The food and snacks has been decent as well.

Overall, I think the pass is excellent value for money and I’m excited to fully utilise my membership. I’ll keep you posted with follow-up posts including a post on all the Cineworld food options, a review of the Rugby Cineworld and an overview of special screenings.

Advertised Benefits

1. A fixed monthly fee for standard screen films.
2. If a member of the Cineworld unlimited membership and Meerkat movies scheme, you can book two free tickets on Tuesday or Wednesday. This is a combination of your unlimited membership ticket and a Meerkat movie ticket.
3. Cineworld frequently organises special screenings and advanced viewings of films for its members.
4. You can add friends and family to the app who also have unlimited cards. This lets you book films to watch together and their unlimited card covers the extra ticket. However this is a little fiddly until you get used to this as an option to add others is a little hidden.
5. Other perks include a 10% discount on in-house cinema food for the first three months followed by a 25% discount afterwards. This includes pick and mix and ice cream.
6. Enjoy free popcorn on your birthday.
7. You get free subscription months when you refer a friend who joins. I’ve already benefited from this and my first free months’ membership is being applied after ai complete three months of membership.
8. You’ll receive a free Super Screen Plus and 3D viewing upgrade after three months. Upgrades to 4DX, IMAX and other screens are available for a small fee.
9. Finally, you get a 50% discount on event cinema. My wife and I recently used this facility to watch a Depeche Mode M event.

Considerations Before Purchase

1. Do you always visit the same cinema chain? If not, you might want to consider your options more carefully before committing unless Cineworld is your go-to regardless of where you are.
2. The minimum subscription period is three months.
3. Unlimited offers a generous food discount but be aware it might increase your overall cost. Researching unlimited members behaviour revealed they do tend to buy more food and snacks.
4. Some might prefer a lower usage plan and find it more cost-effective to pay an uplift fee if they don’t frequently go to the cinema.