Why I Recommend the AMC Stubs A-List
I, like many others, love seeing movies. Some of my friends may disagree, but I personally enjoy seeing movies in theaters. The whole experience, both the good (seeing movies on the big screen, the communal experience) and the bad (loud and inconsiderate people), is an experience I find worthwhile, and it’s one you can’t simply replicate at home. Unfortunately, it’s gotten increasingly harder to see movies in actual theaters due to the rise in ticket and concession prices. This has led to more people staying home and watching movies on Netflix or illegal streaming sites.
With Netflix quickly becoming a streaming powerhouse the last few years, it makes sense that some would try to replicate the subscription model to movie theaters. Despite all the issues it’s gone through, it’s actually thanks to the now-defunct MoviePass that more theater chains have implemented their own subscription models. Cinemark, Regal, AMC Theatres, and many others have their own subscription services - some better than others - but all still worthwhile attempts to convince more people to take time to see a movie in theaters rather than streaming at home. Having been an AMC Theatres loyalist since I was in high school (and working at one for almost two years), I’d like to personally recommend the chain’s subscription service to those of you who see movies all the time, or who want to see more movies but find them too expensive.
What is AMC Stubs?
Currently, AMC Theatres offers three tiers of its signature AMC Stubs rewards program, each with varying benefits:
AMC Stubs Insider (Free)
AMC Stubs Premiere (Yearly Membership)
AMC Stubs A-List (Monthly Movie Membership)
All three tiers share some of the same benefits, including:
Discounted Tickets on Tuesdays
Free Large Popcorn Refills
$5 Rewards for Every 5,000 Points Earned
Free Membership Wifi
Birthday Gift
Exclusive Offers, Screenings, and Other Misc. Benefits
Of course, with the free membership you’ll receive the least benefits, but at least it’s something. The free Insider membership earns you 20 points per $1 spent on movie tickets or concessions at AMC Theatres. And will waive you online fees for purchases of 4 tickets or more.
The Premiere tier costs $15/year + tax and will earn you 100 points per $1 spent on movie tickets or concessions, waive all online fees (even if you’re just purchasing 1 ticket), provide you with your own priority lines at the box office or concessions, and allow you to receive free soda and/or popcorn size upgrades (i.e. order a large but pay for a regular).
The A-List tier costs a little over $20/month + tax, with the actual price dependent on where you live. Expensive cities like New York or Los Angeles will likely cost more than most others. A-Listers receive the same benefits as the Premiere tier, with the added benefit of seeing up to three movies per week (in pretty much any format).
Which Tier Should I Get?
If you’re someone who rarely sees movies in theaters, or who doesn’t care for it, then you might as well go for the free Insider tier. However, my recommendation for the average moviegoer is the Premiere tier. $15/year equates to just $1.25 a month, which is dirt cheap and much more worthwhile than the Insider tier, even if it is free. Premiere will earn you rewards at a faster rate ($5 reward for every $50 you spend as opposed to Insider’s $250 spend requirement). The free soda and popcorn upgrades is always nice, but especially the exclusive lines at the box office and concessions. These can be lifesavers when you’re running late to your movie but still need to pick up snacks.
For those of you who watch a lot of movies, or if you want to start seeing more movies, then the A-List is the one for you. You can watch up to 12 movies a month for approximately $20, which is a big steal. Even if you don’t watch 12 movies a month, it’s still worth it if you see as little as two movies a month (the average movie theater ticket price is $9-$10). You get to reserve tickets for up to three movies a week and, unlike MoviePass, you can reserve these tickets in advance. This means you won’t have to get bad seats by getting tickets the day of. And not only that, the movies you’re able to see can be in any format, including Dolby, IMAX, 3D, etc.), without any added fees.
What’s also great is the $20 you spend on the monthly membership counts towards your rewards, so you’re already almost halfway to your $5 reward just by paying for the membership (A-List and Premiere members earn 100 points per $1 spent, with a $5 reward for every 5,000 points earned, or for every $50 spent).
The most common response I get when I try to encourage my friends to sign up for AMC A-List is “But I don’t see that many movies,” which is a valid point. My response is the ability to see up to three movies a week will encourage you to see more movies since you’re already paying for it monthly, and the more movies you see a month means the more you save. I see more movies than the average moviegoer anyway, but AMC A-List has allowed me to dramatically up that count.
Not only does it save me money and allow me to see more movies than I usually can, but it’s allowed me to see films I normally wouldn’t have due to my wanting to save my money. The ability to see so many movies a month lets moviegoers seek out more risky films, or films outside their usual preferred genre, etc. I used to avoid seeing movies with bad reviews because I’d rather spend money on critically-acclaimed movies, but now I’m able to see more critically-diverse movies without worrying about costs.
How Do I Use AMC A-List?
With AMC A-List you’re able to reserve up to three movies at a time. It doesn’t matter when your movie is, it can be tomorrow or it can be three months away. If the ticket is for sale, you can reserve it. You can even set all three reservations for the same day if you’d like, as long as the movie times do not overlap. However, you can’t reserve more than three movies at a time, even if those movies are for different weeks. For example, if you have reservations this week to see ‘Maleficent: Mistress of Evil’ on Tuesday, ‘Terminator: Dark Fate’ on Wednesday, and ‘Frozen 2’ for next week on Friday, November 22nd, you won’t be able to see a third film the same week as ‘Maleficent’ and ‘Terminator’.
The A-List week runs from Friday to Thursday, and your available reservation slots reset every Friday morning, so you can make new reservations every week. This means once you’ve used up all three of your reservations for the week, you have to wait until Friday morning to make three more reservations for the new week. If you ever change your mind and want to cancel a current reservation you can easily do that from the app. Once you cancel a reservation, that slot will become available again to reserve another movie.
Your A-List account is under your name, so you’re the only person who is able to use it. That means you can’t use one of your reservations for a friend or family member. When you show your ticket at the ticket drop at the theater, they’ll check your ID to make sure it matches your A-List reservation. However, you can purchase tickets on your A-List account for friends and family who are seeing the movie with you so that you can at least earn points for their tickets.
Other Things to Note About AMC A-List
When you sign up for AMC A-List you are required to commit to a minimum of 3 months. If you cancel, you cannot rejoin for 6 months.
There are no blackout dates.
You can see the same movie as many times as you like (with each viewing counting towards a reservation).
AMC Theatres recently launched an Entourage feature for A-List, which lets fellow A-List members make reservations together in a single order.
For more information feel free to check out the AMC Stubs FAQs page, or the AMC Stubs A-List FAQs page.
What If I Don’t Live Near an AMC Theatre?
Other theater chains have their own monthly subscription services and memberships. If you happen to live near any of the following theaters it may be worthwhile to check out their programs:
