I have been using a cineworld unlimited card for about six months now and am overall pleased with it, but do feel that it is rather limited in many ways. I suppose that they decided that "Unlimited" sounded more appealing than "Rather limited and occasionally annoying".

==The concept==
The concept of this card is that you pay a flat rate monthly (or annual, but it works out as exactly the same per month) fee and then you are issued with a membership card which has a picture of you on it. You present your card in person and they check it to see that it really is you and give you a free ticket for whatever film you want to see. If it hasn't sold out, that is (see disadvantages). When you present your ticket at the door, they once again check it against your membership card to make sure that you aren't sneaking anyone in.

If you go to the cinema more than twice a month, then it works out as more cost-effective to get an unlimited card.

==Price==
The current prices are 14.99 per month for a regular card and £17.99 to get you a card that will be valid in West End cinemas.

You then have to pay a £1.50 surcharge per person for watching 3D films, but 2D films are free.

==Other advantages==
In theory, I would get to go to special member only screenings. Unfortunately, I've never found out about these in time, so I've never had the chance to take them up on this offer. There are partnership deals with various eating establishments near to Cineworld cinemas to offer special deals on food; however, my cinema is not one of these.

==Disadvantages==
The two biggest disadvantages in my opinion are 1)You cannot book a ticket online using your unlimited card and 2)You cannot book a ticket in advance, it has to be on the day itself.

Put these together and this means that you never get to see a popular film on the opening weekend - this seems a rather foolish way to treat members. At the Picturehouse cinema chain, members get special offers and the ability to book various films early, which is much better in my opinion.

I live and work on the other side of town from the cinema, so I often have to take pot luck in what film I get to see. I appreciate that they are doing this to cut down on the amount of fraud that goes on, but I don't think it creates a very good relationship between a business and a customer to put all these extra checks on your members because you don't trust them to use the card correctly!

==All day film marathon==
On the plus side, you CAN get tickets for more than one film at once, it's just that they have to be on the day itself and the films must not overlap. So I have had an occasional weekend where some friends and I have had a film marathon and gone to several films one after the other.

==How hard is it to get?==
If you go for this offer, I strongly advise you to apply online. This took me about ten minutes and gave me a piece of paper I could use until I got my membership card through. I needed my bank details and a recent passport-style digital photo. A few months earlier, I had tried to join in person and they refused to do so because "It's Saturday, we're too busy". In spite of the fact that there was nobody around. They then changed that to "It's too complicated, we need a bank statement and separate proof of your address so we advise you to apply online because it can be verified electronically instead". When I tried to present these, it was then on to "The system is down".

==You can use it in Ireland as well==
I discovered at the weekend that I could use my card in Ireland, which was an unexpected bonus.

==Would I recommend it?==
If you have a nearby Cineworld and enjoy going to the cinema often and don't mind if you can't see a film at the opening weekend, and don't want to book any tickets in advance then yes, this card is good. But if not, then I wouldn't bother because it ties you in to a single chain and you don't always get to see the film that you wanted.