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$5 Per Month for 1 Movie Ticket Per Month, $7 for 2 Tickets Per Month (Billed Annually) (+ $10 Activation Fee) @ Sinemia

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Looks like they've just launched in Australia but not much info about it yet. Currently supported cinemas are severely lacking in all major cities at the moment, no idea if that's just because they haven't added more yet. Does anyone have any more info?

Edit: I bit the bullet and signed up. I'm hoping that it would be easy to cancel if they don't add more cinemas given that their whole motto is "Any cinema, any time".

Edit 2: There are a lot more participating cinemas in the app compared to those on the site. Almost all the major ones from what I can see, more info in the comments.

Edit 3: Make sure you enter the coupon to see the pricing. The website does not always automatically apply it, sometimes the correct pricing isn't even displayed. Try again later if it's not. If (high) pricing exists for multiple days, mark expired.

22/6 Mod note: See this comment. Warning that users are being told to pay a $4.99 - $9.99 fee to be able to use the service immediately (despite the annual fee having been already paid).

31/7: Activation fee reported to be $10 in all cases.

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        • Oh okay thank you!

        • I didn't specifically purchase for 12 months but my CC was charged for 12 months so I assume I have 12 months of the same pricing.

        • They may have changed their billing structure then as I have only been billed for the month. Will reach out to support to see if I can get membership for the year. Thanks for your replies :)

  • I successfully used Advanced Ticket to purchase 2 x IMAX tickets for last Saturday night and successfully checked in (after about 4 attempts) with the Android v3.2.5 app. Hopefully next time i try with v3.2.6 or above its a bit smoother.

  • Not sure if this has already been posted but I just successfully booked 2 tickets to Hoyts Lux on Sinemia for 2 elite plan. I combined this with optus perks though so it mightve gone through due to the discounted optus lux ticket.

    • +1

      The only thing you need to be careful of is if they think the ticket is not right they will simply bill your credit card and you won't know till after the event. Its VERY unclear what is and what is not included at this point and with them having everyones credit card they can decide later and bill your card if they want.

      • That’s a good point! Willing to give it a shot based on the lack of clarity around what is included since e.g Lux isn’t explicitly excluded

        • Its a great point and given they are in the US they might not know anything about pricing in OZ so we might be able to get away with it for some time…

        • @Savitar: Can you prove that you got the right ticket by taking a photo of your check-in time on your phone and the movie screening time?

    • How much does lux cost under optus perks?

  • Android V3.2.7 is here.

    • I just updated to v3.2.7 and it all looked ok but when i now goto Watch - Theathers, the app crashes. I have uninstalled and re-installed with the same result. I have also left feedback. Hopefully this will be fixed in the next release. :<

      • My Play Store still showing 3.2.6, but I'm quite happy with this version so won't be updating.

        • 3.2.6 is working flawlessly.

        • @El Grande: I have rolled back to v3.2.6 for now as its the more stable version on the S8.

        • No probs here with v3.2.7

  • Booked and saw Avengers at iMax. Booking and check-in went smoothly. After check-in if you tap on the movie poster under the succesful check-in banner it asks you to take a photo. I took it but I was still waiting outside the theatre. Is that for verification purposes that you are actually there or just random photo feature because it didn't say anything.

    • I never had to take photos when checking in even when I'm outside the cinema. Having said that, because I'm usually in a rush, I just breeze through it and not really paying much attention. The check-ins were successful though.

    • I think the photo-taking is an optional exercise because they run a sort of movie-driven social network.

  • For those buying hoyts lux… what kind of ticket are you selecting on sinemia app? 2d, 3D, iMax2d or imax3d? Thanks

    • +1

      Selected 2d, since my movie session is a 2d screening. I suppose just follow whatever type of screening the session is

  • Hi all,
    So I just signed up and it's not a year in advance anymore, just your monthly cost (which apparently can be cancelled anytime).
    I couldn't get my temporary credit card to work at Hoyts, tried the Paypal option but the Hoyts site isn't forwarding to the paypal portal. So I cancelled that ticket and tried going for a more local cinema (Palace Westgarth in Melbourne). The temporary mastercard worked!

    My suggestion is maybe only sign up if you have some nice local cinemas, next time I'll try for the Melbourne IMAX!!

    Let me know if you have any questions!
    Terry

    • I successfully saw a movie at Palace Westgarth last weekend as well, worked like a charm indeed. Then booked tix to see Jurassic Park at IMAX a week from now - no problems whatsoever, temporary card worked great there too :-)

  • +5

    After lots of rigmarole i have followed the US paypal steps and it finally worked.
    Just saw Oceans 8.
    PS.
    Don't see Oceans 8.

    • +1

      +1 for your honest feedback :)

      • Hahaha….Nice…even for $3.50!! :)

  • Just received an update for Android app. V3.2.8.
    Can’t see any difference from previous versions. I am guessing that they might have fixed those crashes which a few users have reported. I think the frequent updates are a good thing.

    • Looks like it fixed most crashing issues with v3.2.7. Mine still locks up on the Watch screen when you select a movie and scroll up and down a few times but i don't got into this section much so not a major concern.

  • Still haven't recieved my card and i ordered when this deal was posted. 😓

    • Have you tried Cardless? No card here yet either, but Cardless works very well.

    • I don't believe anyone here has and by the sounds of the sucess of the virtual cards we "might" not ever get one….

  • I am comfortable using the advance payment option to buy tickets. Not sure if I want to carry the physical card in my wallet. My wallet is very bulky as it is :)

    • +1

      Agree, with advanced ticket I can choose suitable seats early as well instead of having left over.

  • I have spent the whole day trying to book tickets to Hoyts. No answer from twitter. So angry!

    • +1

      How do you do it? Most people are able to book successfully now.

      • +1

        Did you follow the paypal method on page five? Works perfectly.

        • For some reason hoyts website doesn’t connect to PayPal. Something like “can’t connect to PayPal. Try again later”.

        • @desertsand: I will be booking with Hoyts tonight so will let you know how I go…

        • @desertsand:

          I am guessing you are going onto the cinema page and after selecting the seats and stuff, you are clicking onto paypal and when it goes to paypal you are clicking on “Add a card” and entering the virtual card details.

          I did the same thing for my last movie and was given a “payment declined” message.

          There is an extra step here. When you get the virtual card details from Sinemia, open a new tab, open paypal and add that virtual card details. Then go to the cinema page and book tickets. When you get to the payment details, click paypal and select the (virtual) card that you wish to pay. Payment should go through.

          Give it a go and let us know

        • +2

          @ashdays: Here are the details instructions I posted earlier :

          Here are the steps I followed. Paypal is the key here.

          Create a new Gmail account
          - Don't put in a phone number as if you do you need to verify it.

          Create a new paypal account
          - When creating the new account, put in the address details as
          925 N La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038
          - don't put a phone number in as you will need to verify the text, which you will not be able to. Its not mandatory
          - Put in your new Gmail account details as per above (I recommend this as it means you can keep this completely separate to your daily transfers)

          Go to hoyts and find a movie you want to see, note down the time

          Go to your Sinemia app and select "Advance purchase"

          Put in the details of the movie and get your temporary payment information

          Log into your paypal account and link a new card with the details above

          To back to the hoyts website and proceed through to payment

          Select the paypal payment type, log in with your new paypal account and pay.

          And there you have it!! Your ticket will be sent to your new email address and you are good to go.

          The next time you want to see a movie, you follow from step 3 onwards however in step 6, add the new card then remove the old to ensure your payment information is up to date.

          Sure its a bit of a pain, but once you get it set up, there is very little more effort than what you would have to do anyway and when we finally get our physical cards you can just link that to your paypal account and you are good to go.

          Let me know if you get it working also.

        • @Savitar:

          Hey Dude, I know that. My post is on page 5 just a few posts below yours.

          I am just troubleshooting @desertsand ‘s query

        • @ashdays: hey guys. Thanks for trying to help me out. I have tried the PayPal thing before but hoyts website isn’t connecting to PayPal for some reason (only me???). When I click PayPal it gives a error on hoyts website. (Something went wrong. Try again later)

        • @ashdays: Opps sorry, I responded to yours but meant to respond to desertsand…my bad.

        • @desertsand:
          Is it because you have an existing hoyts account using that email address? I found that if I logged in with that email account paypal works fine! Give it a go.

        • @Savitar: sounds like you are the guru. I'm on the same boat with those who got paymemt defined using virtual card paying for a movie ticket on vendor website. I also tried to add the virtual card to my PayPal account. But PayPal won't accept the virtual card for the billing address. I can't put US address in as a new billing address under my Australian PayPal account neither. I don't want to go through all new gmail, new PayPal, new virtual card just for purchasing one movies ticket… What can I do now…

        • @jjjjjj: Being a bit blunt, follow the instructions above. It takes about 1 minute to create an email address and about 2 mins to create a paypal account. I created one that was VERY obviously just for movies (that I could remember), I.e. something like [email protected] then a new paypal account. Then, on going you just use those for buying the movies (you don't need to create a new one each time, only once then just add the new card each time you want to see a movie). Many people have tried with very little success to try to avoid 3 minutes of their lives but if you do, you will get $3.50 movies till Sinemia goes under, which we all hope will be some time to come…

          Edit - I see you have worked it out now, great you have it working….

        • @desertsand: Just an update for you. I just booked successfully with Hoyts and paypal….no issues what so ever….

          Can I suggest the following

          • Get onto a PC / Mac
          • Find your movie on the hoyts website and LEAVE the tab open
          • Get your virtual card informtaion
          • Log into paypal and add the new card (Do NOT log out of Paypal)
          • In the same browser (chrome / safari etc) go back to Hoyts and start the booking process over again
          • When it comes to payment choose paypal. It should take you straight to the payment information page as you are already logged into Paypal.

          Let us know if it works.

        • @Savitar: I am guessing gmail is not mandatory here. we can use any email (different from one's usual paypal thats all)

      • Just using the virtual card. Payment declined always

        • I'm on the same boat. I also tried to add the virtual card to my PayPal account. But PayPal won't accept the virtual card for the billing address. I can't put US address in as a new billing address under my Australian PayPal account neither. I don't want to go through all new gmail, new PayPal, new virtual card just for purchasing one movies ticket… What can I do now…

        • @jjjjjj:
          Wait until your card arrives

        • @ashdays: will I still get a card after I activated the cardless function?

        • @ashdays: thanks for your help. Your steps worked. I now have dedicated PayPal account for watching movies. I wish I saw your steps at the beginning of this hectic process then I won't bother to purchase the yearly membership. Hopefully someone can put your posts on the front page so that more people can get their tickets quicker n easier.

        • @jjjjjj:

          Thanks fellow ozbargainer! Glad to be of assistance

  • This is what I found on wiki:

    In order to purchase a ticket, members must be within 500 feet of the chosen theater. The members must check into the theater via the Sinemia smartphone app and select their preferred movie. Once they check-in, their debit card is automatically loaded with the exact amount for a single ticket at the chosen theater.

    • +2

      You don't need to be near the cinema to book the tickets. In the app, goto PLANNING - ADVANCE TICKET and it should explain how to purchase a ticket. You only have to Check-in once you are at the location within 30mins of start time of the movie.

    • +1

      @desertsand Why are you quoting the wiki here. We’ve read the wiki, realised that it is for the US and there are heaps of postings on how it works here.

  • Anyone else noted that there doesn't seem to be a monthly billing option anymore? I got a monthly subscription last week and wanted to get one for my girlfriend as well, but guess I'm out of luck!

    • Yeah looks like they have switched back to annual billing.

    • Damn I signed up yesterday and thought it was only taking $19.99 but I see a pending $240 on my account

      • Haha.But it is a nice deal.

  • How to book on IMAX Melbourne? I am trying payment is getting decline

    • Just confirm you are typing in the correct CC number, CCV and expiry. I stuffed up first attempt as i was putting in the wrong month. If it still doesn't work, are you on the Elite Plan and not the Classic plan as Imax is only included on the Elite plan? If you on the Elite plan (and you haven't booked an IMAX ticket in the last 30days) then contact support via Twitter and they will get you to send them a DM (Direct Message) and they will reset the Virtual Credit Card so you can try with a new one. Good Luck!

      • got it working thanks.

  • I seem to have a problem booking tickets tonight with Village Cinema Jam Factory, have tried both US Paypal and AUS. when paypal is processing payment on the Village website it comes back with error "We're sorry, we can't complete your purchase right now."

    • Did you follow the instructions above? Completely new paypal account, add the new card to the account when you get it, then use that account to pay? I.e. don't try to add the card during payment…

      Worth checking you put the details in to paypal correctly, could just be an incorrect CCV or expiry date.

      The other thing you can try is to cancel the advanced booking and then re-create it to get a new card.

      • Yeah I created a completely new one, added the VCC, went to the village page and got the same error message during the paypal checkout. I also tried 3 different VCC's. I'll try again later this week.

        • Let us know how it goes. Has worked perfectly for me. Are you using a completely new email address that has not been associated with Village before?

        • @Savitar: It finally worked using the Aus Paypal method, so weird the US method wouldn't work for me.

  • Seems to work fine for me with the newest version (3.2.8?)

    I went to advance tickets, chose my movie and time and then it gave me a virtual card. At this point i was like wtf do I do now. I thought the app took me to a ticket buying website.

    I created a paypal with the card details it gave me, using the address of Sinemia as the address on Paypal and then purchased 2 tickets through the village website with paypal. Used a fakegps app to say I was at the cinema and checked in (only live 5 mins away) and i've done this twice this month.

    Is there a limit on how much you can purchase with the prepaid card? could I add popcorn to my purchase for example?

    Adult tickets are already $19 + $2.20 processing fee.

    • The Sinemia business model is tough as it is and there are a few theories on how long it might last here in Aus.
      I usually stick to the tier I have subscribed to and only buy tickets using their virtual card. I’m not certain if you can buy popcorn or anything else on the ticket. Even if you do and they find out, they might introduce an additional layer of security to prevent it from happening, not to mention you might be charged for anything you bought other than the ticket.

      I know you mean well, but please don’t take the P*** and ruin it for everyone

      • Nah I wouldn't want to do that. I'm invested as everyone else is.

        I think on Reddit someone said the prepaid card is loaded with the amount for the price of a ticket. So I assume it knows how much a ticket costs. I wonder if Sinemia have regrets charging aussies so little when our tickets are so expensive.

        • I doubt it. In the US tickets are only about $10 but they have plans that given them 30 tickets a month (one per day) for about the same price as we are paying here. So while the average price is higher here, they probably make more money off us than the US customers….

        • @Savitar: That's with Moviepass though. Not sure the pricing of Sinemia in the US.

  • For those using the Paypal technique be sure to remove it after the transaction. Otherwise no-one else can use that technique with that card (since PayPal knows it is assigned to a different PayPal account).

    • Does everybody get issued the same virtual card number though?

      • We get a different virtual card for each transaction. Unsure of if they rotate between people. I would assume every month the same cards are loaded with an amount and then given out.

        So his point may be valid.

    • Have you had the issue of Paypal saying your virtual card was locked to another account? It is a very good point though otherwise each card gets locked to a paypal account and you can't use it….

      • Yes I have.

  • I'm trying to book tickets with Hoyts but my virtual card keeps getting rejected. I tried to use the paypal method people recommended but when trying to create a US paypal account it won't let me continue without a US phone number.

    • choose a home number and enter +1 209 xxxx xxx (209 being the code for California)

      • I managed to create a paypal account using a random phone number but got an error when I tried to pay and got sent back to the hoyts website where it would no longer let me pay using paypal.

        I emailed hoyts about not being able to pay using paypal and got this reply:
        "HOYTS is an ongoing target of attempted fraud and we’re forced to take steps to review customers and transactions for suspicious behaviour. In this particular case, our payment processor has flagged your account as being potentially fraudulent. While they don’t give us exact details why, this is often because of activity you’ve undertaken at other online merchants that doesn’t appear consistent with your activity at HOYTS.

        Upon review, we can see that you have a good history with HOYTS and have lifted this block for your email address. If this error occurs again via PayPal, we would recommend using a credit or debit card for your booking."

        I think trying to pay with the Sinemia cards is triggering their online fraud system, they then seem to block the paypal option to your email and IP addresses.

        • If you follow the insructions I posted above you will not need to enter a phone number in paypal. It works perfectly with both Hoyts and Village every time.

        • @Savitar:
          I get to the 2nd step of the PayPal sign up and get told a phone number is required.

          https://imgur.com/a/JqIWWmZ

        • @twadds: Can't you use your old account of US which U created earlier ?

        • @agam2104:

          Yes, though when I tried to pay with paypal it was telling me that there was an issue and I would need to use another payment method.

          I just tried it again and was able to buy tickets, I suspect there was an issue with hoyts/paypal somewhere that's not resolved.

        • @twadds: So you can now buy the movie tickets using the virtual card? Is it hoyts/village with paypal?

        • @searider: yeah for past 2 -3 weeks now.

        • @agam2104:

          Thanks agam2104, but I want to check twadds specific experience, as he mentioned that he has trouble with paying with Paypal. I just want to know whether the Paypal workaround still working or not at the moment, as most who were able to get it to worked earlier already used up their monthly allocation (like me).

        • @searider: I will book ticket this Sunday .I will let you know.

        • @searider:

          Yes, I was able to buy tickets to hoyts with the paypal workaround today, though I couldn't yesterday for some reason.

        • @twadds:

          Great. So I guess we can assume it was temporary glitch and our workaround still works.

  • I posted the deal and a month and a half later still haven't received my card. :(

    • +1

      Use the Cardless feature? Works remarkably well here!

  • Had a weird experience last night - just wouldn't accept my purchase for an Xtremescreen session at Hoyts (was at cinema, using their self check in hub, had a premium 12 month subscription). Figured it was cost of ticket, tried a different movie at normal screening, also declined. Was about to call it a night and go home - tried the other hub on the cheaper option, went through.

    Now have just processed an even more expensive ticket on the Hoyts website for Jurassic World without any issues. Very odd.

    • +1

      I also couldn't buy tickets at hoyts yesterday using paypal but was able to today.

      • Hoyts is very hit and miss with SiNEMiA.

  • Still a bit skeptical but going to give it a shot and go for the $7 for 2 ticket per month plan. Has anyone been checked by staff to find that the sinemai ticket is in under your name or anything?

    • I've successfully watched two movies on my first month. So has many others. Since you the one who purchased the ticket (in person or online), it will be under your name.

      • I've successfully used 1 of 2 tickets via Village Cinemas. Going to watch incredible 2 next Monday. Do I need to watch my first movie before I book my second ticket?

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