AMC Theatres has found its next investment to appease its retail investors.
The movie theater chain is set to launch an AMC Entertainment Visa Card in early 2023 in partnership with Visa and Deserve, a digital credit card platform. Credit card holders will be able to earn additional AMC Stubs Rewards points when making purchases at the theater, as well as purchases outside of the theater chain. The card is only available to AMC Stubs members.
Demand for the new credit card is expected to be high, so much so that AMC is offering those who sign up for the waitlist the ultimate prize (for some): a chance at meeting AMC Chairman and CEO Adam Aron, who has been the rallying force for the retail investors who saved the company from bankruptcy by turning AMC into a meme stock. Members on the waitlist who apply for a card will be entered into a sweepstakes to attend a red-carpet movie premiere with Aron.
“Until now, the theatrical exhibition industry is one of the few untapped major retail sectors that hasn’t offered consumers the opportunity to amplify their purchase power, accelerate their rewards, and demonstrate their loyalty through the use of a co-branded credit card,” Aaron said. “With a built-in customer base of tens of millions of existing AMC Stubs members, we know there are avid moviegoers who will benefit greatly from using their AMC Entertainment Visa Card at the movies and for their everyday purchases.”
“There also is another extremely important constituency for whom we care greatly, and who will find the AMC Entertainment Visa Card to be of compelling appeal: AMC’s millions of enthusiastic and passionate shareholders. This new AMC Entertainment Visa Card was certainly designed with them in mind,” he added.
This is the latest move Aron has made to create enthusiasm around the stock, and to potentially diversify the company’s revenue stream, with some being more successful than others. In August, the company issued a special dividend to its investors and listed those units on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “APE,” as a reference to the retail investors who refer to themselves as “apes,” and to Aron as the “silverback.”
Other ventures have included selling its popcorn outside of theaters and investing in a gold mine through a stake in Hycroft Mining. The latter may be in danger of running dry. Shares of Hycroft Mining have fallen 22 percent over the past year, closing on Tuesday at $0.50, and the company has until April 3, 2023 to get its closing share price above $1 a share for 30 consecutive days or it will be delisted.