Why SCENE Rewards Is One Of Canada’s Hidden Gems
We don’t go to the movies too often any more because we either need to find a babysitter or else we haul the entire family to the latest kids’ flick (and there’s only so much Frozen I can take).
But recently I’ve uncovered a hidden gem among rewards programs in Canada – the SCENE rewards card. The program is free to join and you get 250 points just for enrolling. SCENE members get 100 points with every movie, 10 percent off movie snacks, and save 10 percent more on Tuesday movie tickets (on up to six tickets).
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Just 1000 points gets you a free movie, whether the movie is in 2D, 3D, or IMAX. Have you looked at the cost of movies lately? Regular admission is $13.99 and it costs up to $19.99 to see it in 3D.
That means to earn 1000 points toward a free movie you’ll need to spend at least $139.90 (10 movies x 13.99 @ 100 points each). Redeem your points for the big blockbuster 3D movie at $19.99 and you’ll enjoy a 14 percent return.
SCENE Rewards Visa card
Enter the SCENE Visa card – a favourite among University students across the country. First of all when you sign up for the SCENE Visa you’ll get 4000 points after your first purchase – that’s good for four free movies.
You’ll get five SCENE points for every dollar spent at Cineplex theatres or online at Cineplex.com, and one SCENE point for every dollar spent elsewhere.
The SCENE Visa is a no-fee credit card, so it’s perfect even if you only use it for movie tickets and concessions to maximize your points.
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Let’s say you spend $25 on a night out at the movies, including the ticket, a drink, and popcorn. With the SCENE Visa card you’ll get 100 points for the ticket plus an additional 125 points just by using your card.
That means you’ll earn a free movie even faster – within four or five trips to the movies. Now we’re talking about an 18 percent return on your spending!
If you’ve got a smart phone just download the SCENE app and then you can check your balance, buy movie tickets, and redeem your rewards. Just show your SCENE barcode at the theatre.
wow! thats pricey. in myrtle beach its $6.75 – $8.75 and $5.50 for seniors. maybe we should all wait for red box and rent the dvd for $1.50??? thanks for the info though.
Hi Gary, one of the reasons why this program has such a high return is because the price of a movie ticket has gone up so much. In your case, you’re better off watching X-Men down in Myrtle Beach 🙂
One of the best ways to earn Scene points is by buying movies through the Cineplex store. You can buy physical copies on Blu-ray or DVD as well as digital copies.
If you wait for a good sale around Boxing Day or several other times through the year they discount the movies by as much as half price AND give you 1000 scene points per movie. That happened boxing day 2013.
I racked up about 15,000 points in a couple of days through buying a bunch of movies for my 4 year old daughter half price. We didn’t have a movie collection at all for her before that and just relied on Netflix. Since then, we’ve gotten to enjoy multiple movie nights at home and I still have almost 10,000 points in the bank to go out on dates with my wife or to take my daughter to the movies.
For those that like going out to the movies even with the extreme price, it’s incredible value.
Great tips, Stephen – thanks!
My wife uses the SCENE Visa exclusively for work reimbursements so we enjoy the occasional movie out without any cost to ourselves. For our local theatre it actually is more cost efficient to use the points for a popcorn combo as our ticket prices are much less.
@Ashley – Here in Lethbridge a ticket costs $10.99, so I’ll check out the combo price and see which is the better deal. Thanks!
Robb, here in Calgary we are at $13.25 for a single ticket. At that price, plus snacks, I much prefer to rent a movie from home in HD 🙂
Love the Scene card. Here in Montreal movies are $13.50 at Cineplex, so we’re really getting our money’s worth.
There’s only one problem with the Scene Visa card program that takes away from its greatness. It would make a GREAT student credit card, given the low redemption hurdles. The problem is, Scotia requires a part-time income and proof of income to get approved if you’re a student. Which seems a little onerous given a $500 limit.
Buy your tickets one at a time when using the scene card to collect the points. If you buy two or more tickets at a time and give them your scene card you will only collect points for 1 ticket! Most people don’t believe me when I tell them.