Free Netflix: How to get 2 weeks of movie rentals for FREE! Yes, free! 🙂
I don’t think that there is anyone with a computer or TV who doesn’t know about Netflix these days, but I have had several people ask me about them and what I think, so to answer all the questions, I thought I would do a quick how it works. As a bonus, CAFM readers can also get a 2 week free trial at Netflix if interested.
Renting from Netflix isn’t THE most frugal way to do things, alternatively one could borrow movies from friends and relatives (my sister does this method) or one could sign out movies from the library (in my case this isn’t effective since I would need to take off work to get there during open hours). So for me it is a controlled expense for a small luxury… we sacrifice in so many places in so many ways to repay debt that this is my little luxury to keep me sane.
Anyway, I have been a member since spring of 2004. I have canceled a couple times and taken a break now and then (moving and other life issues), but in the 5 years I have been using them, I have always been happy with the service. I LOVE movies, it’s my escape from the every day… but it gets really expensive renting 2 or 3 movies every weekend from the local place (let’s not even mention the late fees when you forget to take the dang thing back on time). With Netflix I get all the movies I want for less than 20 bucks a month… fixed.
Now like anything there is pros and cons: the only downside I have ever found with Netflix is that some of the “new releases” are slow to come out. While the local place may have it the day it is released, Netflix sometime gets it right away, but usually lags a few days or even a week or two on occasion.
I don’t really keep up with the movies and when they come out, so it doesn’t bother me. I like renting TV series like Stargate SG-1, Atlantis and such, plus they have some interesting music concert dvd’s and documentaries so that keeps me happy. Recently they have added the watch instantly which is free and lets you watch even more movies, so I can queue up a Barney video for the kiddo on demand when he is sick or cranky.
As mentioned, several people have asked me how it works… so here is a walk through for all who are interested:
1. Once you sign up you can browse movies and click “add” to add them to your queue, add as many movies as you want to see. They will mail them out right away.
2. You will receive you movie in a mailer like this. It is mailed to you free of charge, ours usually takes one day to get here (i.e. ships Tuesday, we get it Wednesday).
3. Tear off the cover flap, remove movie and enjoy!
4. Place movie back in mailer and seal.
5. Drop in mail. Postage is prepaid already so it is free.
Note: To answer your questions, when they get lost in the mail (has happened to me), you just log in and report it, they send you out a replacement the same day no charges.
The best part about it is Netflix gives you a free 2 week trial you can sign up and get your DVD’s to try it out for yourself and see what you think. If it’s not as expected you can cancel and you basically got free movie rentals for 2 weeks. With their 3 at a time DVD’s you can probably get 6 or more movie rentals in for free just seeing how it works.
Here is a link for a 2 week free trial if you want to try it out for yourself:
Access thousands of titles with Netflix free 2-week trial.
Anonymous says
My husband has also been an avid Netflix user for about 6 years. We live outside Chicago and have noticed that there are 2 addresses that the envelopes might have on it. He's found that by discarding the envelopes for the address that is further he is able to speed the turnaround time quite a bit. If you're in a big metro area this might let you get more bang for your buck. We also like the Tivo option to watch some Netflix movies in the que and that too can help keep movies coming quickly.