My second month of using Sinemia, sadly, did not go quite as smoothly as the first. The program itself is still great and I have had no issues using the app itself or any processing issues when attempting to purchase tickets. My main issue is some terms and conditions that changed without any real warning or advance notice when I signed up for the year.
Sinemia implemented a 'convenience fee' with their latest app update. The fee is currently $1.99 per ticket when booking an advance online ticket. This fee is on top of your monthly fee and is billed to the credit card you have on file. I am not thrilled that this fee was not originally disclosed and that I haven't been able to get a clear answer regarding what this fee actually is for and who is charging it. I've decided that it still provides me with enough savings to just pay it for the year but it will be part of my decision when it comes time to make a decision on renewing. My $14.99 plan is now around $20.99 which still gets me a free ticket after purchasing two so I still see the benefit but it is quite the jump. It is an extra $72.00 a year that wasn't disclosed at initial sign up. Other than this (pretty major) hiccup I have no complaints about the program.
The movies I used Sinemia to get tickets to in the month of September were White Boy Rick, A Simple Favor and A Star Is Born (which I will be seeing Wednesday).
My savings for the most of September are 17.26 after taking the new fees into account. This brings my total savings amount so far up to $52.00 (34.74 last month). I did not go watch a movie in one of the premium formats (IMAX, DBox, etc) this month so that brought my total savings down a bit as well. I am very curious to see what my year end total will be. I think that will factor heavily into my decision to renew or not.
Sinemia has pushed me out of my comfort zone because it is making me go see movies by myself. I am someone who is not comfortable doing that. I've made myself do it and it is getting easier each time I go. I feel self conscious and like people are judging me for being by myself. I am learning to enjoy my own company more (something I seriously struggle with) and this has been helpful with that. In a strange way it is almost a form of therapy because it is getting me to address things I want to help and helping me work towards changing them.
My friend Kelly, over at Kellyvision, is a pro at going to movies by herself. It is, in fact, her favourite way to go see a movie. I wanted to offer up some reasons on why you should go by yourself for those out there who, like myself, are reluctant to.
Kelly's response when I asked her to talk a little about why she liked seeing movies along is very Kelly and also makes some really great points.
I love seeing movies alone. Part of it is that I had no choice originally. When I first moved to Baltimore, I didn’t know anyone and I worked weird hours (nights and weekends). If I wanted to see a movie, it would be alone and probably on a Friday morning.
I could sit wherever I wanted. No one would judge me on popcorn or soda sizes. And best of all? No negotiations on what to see.
Twelve years later, I have local friends and a normal schedule. It’s a lot more rare to see movies alone. But—and don’t tell my friends this—I still prefer being alone. One of my friends is a talker and another falls asleep. Give me empty seats on either side of me and a popcorn the size of my face any day.
I have discovered that my favourite time to go the movies is the middle of the afternoon on a Friday or Saturday if possible. I am also discovering that I enjoy having the freedom to just go when I want. I still feel uncomfortable a lot of the time but I am slowly getting more comfortable with it.
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