Kids Pass review: Great for cinema tickets, not for everything else

Looking for fun things to do with kids but don’t want to break the bank? Then a Kids Pass may be the answer for you. But is it worth the cost? Let’s take a look at what Kids Pass has to offer and if it’s really worth the subscription cost.

Raising a family is not cheap, and I’m sure other parents agree that one of your main considerations on days out is the cost. There are five of us, and we are lucky to see any change from £80 when we go out. And that doesn’t include food and drink. I recently wrote a couple of posts about cheap family days out by finding half-price Legoland tickets and free entry into UK attractions for Blue Peter Badge holders. Although these are great value, they are a little limited.

So the question is, if you want other fun things to do with kids, what is the cheapest way to go about it without missing out? This is where Kids Pass steps in.

What is the Kids Pass?

Quite simply, it’s a membership scheme that gives you exclusive discounts for family-friendly entertainment, including restaurants, shopping, and cinema tickets. You can pay monthly or for a year.

All of the discounts can be found on the desktop site, but most people will find it much easier to download the app. That way, you can access the discounts easily when you’re out.

How much is membership?

You can currently sign up for £39.99. And if that seems too much, you can take out a £4.99 monthly rolling contract, which you can cancel anytime. At one point, they did charge £75, but that was quite a few years ago.

So, what do you get in return for a Kids Pass membership?

Cinema ticket discounts

Probably the best deal from Kids Pass comes from their discounted cinema tickets. In fact, it’s one of the best sites to All of the major chains are listed and you can save up to 30% per ticket. Plus, you can also get discounts on food and drinks combos, which can save another few quid.

It’s very simple to do and they can usually be used any day of the week and for any movie. As a family of five, it usually saves us over £15 per visit.

Why not check out other sites that can save you money on cinema tickets?

How do Kids Pass cinema tickets work?

All you need to do is click on the cinema tickets option in your Kids Pass account. From there, you need to select the chain of your choice and purchase how many tickets you need. You will then be sent a code by email. Depending on the chain, they can be redeemed at the cinema or online.

Restaurant discounts

One of the original reasons we signed up for the Kids Pass was the sheer number of restaurant discounts. However, they come and go and at the moment, there arent a great deal to choose from.

At the moment, there are discounts for Harvester, Toby Carvery, Ember Inns, Stonehouse Pizza and Sizzling Pubs.

And the discounts aren’t huge, with the most being 20% off food only. If you search around or join any of these restaurants’ email lists, you can probably find bigger discounts.

Shopping discounts

As an extra bonus, you can also receive discounts on your shopping. All you need to do is buy a gift card before you make a purchase and you’ll automatically get money-off

For example, you can buy a £100 Sainsbury’s gift card for £97. Just use the gift card when you are at the checkout (online or in person). There are lots of retailers on the Kids Pass site and others include Asda, Tesco, Amazon and Morrisons.

None of these discounts are unique to Kids Pass though and you can find them with other providers like JamDoughnut. Plus, JamDoughnut doesn’t charge you a fee to be a member.

There are other shopping ‘discounts’ such as £5 off a £45 spend at Iceland. But these can be found anywhere and are certainly not unique to Kids Pass.

Cheap days out

Kids Pass offers discounts at a lot of theme parks and attractions around the UK. I’m not permitted to mention specific theme park names, but the majority of the main parks are included.

Many of the tickets offer up to 50% off the gate price or a half-price child ticket when you purchase an adult’s.

Although this may sound tempting, many theme parks offer discounts through various schemes (why not take a look at how to get cheap Legoland tickets?) In fact, most theme parks offer fairly substantial discounts if you buy a ticket in advance.

Money off family holidays

Haven, Parkdean, Butlins, Forest Holidays and many more offer discounts if you book with them through Kids Pass. If you fancy staying at a Eurocamp site, the average family saves £200. In general, expect to save around £50 per person.

Kids Pass Referral scheme

There is a rather generous referral scheme. If your friends and family decide to join Kids Pass, thanks to you, you’ll earn a £5 referral fee. Just find your unique link in your dashboard and send it on.

Is Kids Pass worth it?

I don’t want to sound non-commital, but it really depends on you and how much you use the cinema. If you go as a family at least once a month, I would say the savings are worth it. Plus, there are a few extras such as restaurant and shopping discounts thrown in.

If you’re not a fan of the cinema, I don’t think you can justify the monthly cost of Kids Pass, even though it’s not a huge amount. Most of the savings can be found elsewhere.

If you’re unsure, why not take out a 30-day trial? It will only cost you £1 and will give you a good indication of how useful it is for you. Just click on the link below to get started.

Kids Pass

Are there any Kids Pass alternatives?

If you like the idea of saving money on everything I’ve listed above, take a look at my Tastecard review, which offers similar discounts. Or, take a look at my review of Meerkat Meals. Although there aren’t so many offers compared to Kids Pass, it’s possible to get a year’s membership for little more than a £1.