The links in this post contain affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on my link.
As of the late, Redbox has been my go-to movie rental service. I've tried other movie rental services such Amazon Prime, Netflix, and Hulu... but found Redbox best suited my particular needs. Redbox is a self serve kiosk with tons of locations (often times in Safeways and 7-Elevens) that offer DVD charged by the day. Even though Redbox rentals are charged on a per day basis, most feature films are 90 minutes and only need to be watched one time. So a one day rental is perfect! The main reasons Redbox works for me is:
-
Lots of free Redbox one day DVD promotional codes. Getting free Redbox one day rental is how I first got hooked into RedBox. I didn't even have to pay for tax. You do however need to have a credit card on file, in case you keep the DVD for more than a day.
-
For when a one-day promotion code isn't available, Redbox movie rental only cost $1.20 for a DVD per day. I find this to be a very competitive and fair price. I personally don't watch a ton of movies, but enjoy watching a blockbuster film whenever one becomes available on DVD.
-
The Redbox website to reserve Redbox movies online. This is a huge feature of Redbox. Reserving a DVD online saves time so you don't have to endless scroll through movie titles at the kiosk. Choose the RedBox location you plan on picking up the movie at, and you can instantly see that kiosk's inventory online. It is also nice to know that when you get the kiosk, your rental is available.
-
Redbox has many convenient kiosk locations. There are TONS of Redbox kiosks available around the Bay Area. Just along my bike route home from Mountain View to Sunnyvale, there are two boxes (both outside 7-Eleven). Drop off rentals at any kiosk!
-
Much more convenient than rummaging through DVDs and BluRays at the Sunnyvale Library. Even though the movies at the library are free and you get to keep feature films for 7 days, finding a recently released movie is nearly impossible.
-
I can take advantage of my home theater when renting a physical DVD or BluRay from Redbox. When using streaming services (such as Amazon Prime, NetFlix, and Hulu), all 5.1 speakers are utilized, but all playing the same audio stream.
Given all that I liked about Redbox, I did find some aspects of the service confusing when I first started. First, it is unclear to me when a DVD needs to be returned.
-
[NOT CORRECT] A one-day rental (in my opinion) should imply I get 24 hours. So if I check out the movie at 8:00pm on Tuesday, it is due at 8:00pm on Wednesday (technically 7:59pm on Wednesday, but I'm sure Redbox can spare a few second for everyone's sanity).
-
[I THINK THIS IS CORRECT] But my understanding is Redbox gives you until 9:00pm the next day. So if I rent the movie at 3:00pm on Tuesday, it is due at 9:00pm on Wednesday. But what happens if I rent a movie at 11:00pm on Tuesday, is it still due at 9:00pm on Wednesday? Isn't this less than 24 hours?
-
Luckily, I don't live near a time zone border, but it gets even more confusing if you rent from one time zone, but return in a different time zone.
It does make it easier that Redbox sends emails upon rental that spell out when a DVD is due for return. I just wish a simple rule could be used to determine a due date.
Another small issue is the Kiosk at each location can only work with one customer at a time. So depending on the location and the time of day (or night), there can be a long line. Generally, new Redbox customer or a customer browsing for a movie (instead of reserving online) can take a long time!
All the problems are minor and only take a short while to figure out. All in all, Redbox runs an awesome service where I can find movies when I want it. And I pay only for when I use the Redbox service.