Wondering just exactly, “How does Redbox work?” You’ve come to the right place. I’ll share all of my family’s tips and tricks. Read on!

When you’re trying to entertain 7 people on a budget, while throwing every extra penny at debt, you find some pretty cool ways to chill out with the family without paying big bucks.

Viewing movies at the theater gives way to the discount cinema. Bowling and pizza make room for the free variety. New release movie rentals take a back seat to free or 50 cent family films.

Come to think of it, we don’t even need the budget that we do have. There are plenty of cheap and free opportunities to entertain a family. While we’ve decided to keep our current entertainment budget, it’s really nice to know that we could do with much less if necessary.

One of our favorite ways to save money on entertainment is by using RedBox. If you’ve heard of this service before and wondered, “How does Redbox work?”, let me shed some light on the topic.

Redbox is hands-down our favorite way to save BIG on movies. Here’s the rundown, plus seven tips to help you stretch your entertainment budget.

What is Redbox?

Redbox is a movie and game rental service. The company uses small red kiosks installed at thousands of locations to provide their service.

Each kiosk contains DVDs, Blu-Ray discs, and games for rent. Chances are, there’s a Redbox at a quick stop or grocery store near you.

How does Redbox work?

There are two ways to use Redbox. The easiest way to try out the service your first time is to do the following:

Locate a Redbox in your area
Hustle down there with a credit (or debit) card and spend a few minutes poking the buttons on the screen to preview the available movies inside your chosen kiosk.
Ignore the guy behind you that, though putting on a calm exterior, is going bonkers waiting for you to finish up and make a selection. That’s just my husband. He reserved his movie earlier in the day and wants everyone to be as techie as he is and use the app instead of the kiosk screen. Tell him that I sent you and that he needs to take a chill pill 😉

Alternately, you can make your movie watching decision beforehand by following these steps:

Sign up for an account at Redbox.com.
Browse the available movies at the site (or the app– see Tip #2 below). When you’ve found a movie that your family will enjoy, search by location to find a Redbox kiosk near you that carries your selection.
Reserve the movie. When you get to the kiosk, just swipe your card and the machine will spit out your selection.

How can I get cheap or free movies through Redbox?

Now that you understand how Redbox works, it’s time to save some serious money!

It’s easy to get cheap, or even free movies through Redbox. We often pay just 50 cents for a Blu-Ray rental. If your family is fine with DVDs, you can almost always get them for free.

I’d be just fine with a DVD, but that techie husband that I told you about earlier prefers the Blu-Ray experience 😉

Redbox Tip #1: Create an Account

Creating an account allows you to reserve discs. This will save you a huge headache trying to figure out which kiosk contains your desired movie and driving to town only to discover that someone else beat you to the disc.

With an account, you can also create a wishlist and track your rentals.

Redbox Tip #2: Download the App

Download the App. Available for iOS, the Redbox App is convenient when you’re on-the-go. The added GPS feature allows you to easily find nearby kiosks.

Redbox Tip #3: Sign Up for the Text Club

Redbox Tip #4: Join the Mailing List

Want a free rental? Get a free movie rental just for signing up. Plus you’ll receive other discounts through your email. Head over to Redbox to join the mailing list (scroll to the bottom of the page for the signup form).

Don’t want to hand out your regular email address for promotional marketing? Here’s one way to keep your inbox from getting out of control.

Redbox Tip #5: Sign up for Play Pass

Sign up for the Play Pass program and get points that can be redeemed for free rentals. It takes 10 rentals to get one free. We haven’t taken advantage of that freebie very often since we’re typically using free codes, but…

…you’ll also get a free rental on your sign-up anniversary, and your birthday. That makes signing up for this free program a very good idea.

Redbox Tip #6: Sign up your Spouse Too

Have your spouse sign up for these programs too. It’s totally legit, here’s the fine print right from the terms & conditions on the Redbox site:

Redbox Tip #7: Find Free Codes

Before reserving a movie, enter your free code, received through the mailing list or text service above. If you don’t currently have a free code, do a quick online search to see if there are any Redbox codes available. Some great places to start your search are:

Hip2Save Redbox Codes
Money Saving Mom : Click on giveaways and freebies/ freebies

Thanks for sticking with me! I hope I’ve answered the question, “How does Redbox work?”

Our favorite way to take advantage of this service is to rent a movie on the weekend. We let the kids watch a new movie on Netflix, then get them to bed. Then it’s time to cook up a pizza or some brazi bites and enjoy a date night in the comfort of our own living room.

Life’s not too bad around here 🙂

How does Redbox work? 7 ways to save big on movies