How to get great deals on movie tickets in UAE

Heading out to the movies with one’s family could turn out to be a costly affair. Add in the staple popcorn and fizz, and the cinema bill just gets steeper.

However, if you plan wisely, you can still enjoy the movie experience at (probably) half the price.

We tell you how.

All three movie showcasers in the UAE have tie-ups with bank cards that offer tickets at discounted rates, and buy-one, get-one free plans.

The Mashreq Novo credit card, for instance, allows 50 per cent on all tickets – Novo Cool, Imax, Edge, 3D – in addition to earning ‘Salaam Entertainment points’ (which can be redeemed for free tickets and snacks). There’s also the Masterpass that gets you free popcorn with every ticket you purchase.

At Vox Cinemas, for non-weekend days, Standard Chartered and Visa Platinum, Signature and Infinite cards get 50 per cent off, while the buy-one-get-one-free offer is available on bank cards of Citi, HSBC, and Visa Infinite – Vox Gold offer. The EmiratesNBD Go4it fetches two tickets for Dh40.

The NBD card can get you movies for just Dh10 on weekdays and Dh20 on weekends at Reel Cinemas, The Dubai Mall, and Dh15 on weekdays and Dh25 on weekends at Dubai Marina Mall. And to top it, you get 25 per cent discount on snacks and refreshments on weekdays, and 15 per cent on weekends at the same theatres.

Cinegoers at the Novo Cinemas in World Trade Centre Mall Abu Dhabi are compensated with two additional hours of free parking.

At Reel Cinemas, when you buy two movie tickets at The Beach you get a free main course at Le Paradis du Fruit. Or, when you dine at Le Paradis du Fruit, you get a free movie ticket from Reel Cinemas, The Beach.

Most movie showcasers even have bundle offers for top blockbusters, like the Interstellar in Novo Cinemas has a space combo that fetches one cool 2D ticket, medium popcorn and cola for Dh50.

Some offer loyalty cards that end up rewarding you with free movie trips, for the number of points accumulated over the last few viewings.

The Vox rewards clocks your every visit to the cinemas and wins you a free ticket. “You gain 10 points per individual movie watched. Every 10 movies watched, (or every 100 points collected on your card), means you are rewarded with a free standard movie of your choice at any of our VOX Cinemas,” reads the fineprint.

There are also promotions linked with UAE mobile providers. du offers buy-one, get-one free at Novo cinemas every Tuesday, while etisalat gives the same option on Wednesday.

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