| Free Movie Rentals... sort of.
Just in time for the holidays, Blockbuster is giving Netflix subscribers the opportunity to experience the best of BLOCKBUSTER Total Access, the new program that gives online movie renters the option of returning their DVDs in the mail or exchanging them at a participating BLOCKBUSTER store for free in-store movie rentals.
From Dec. 5 through Dec. 21 current Netflix members can exchange the tear-off address flaps of their Netflix rental envelopes and receive on-the-spot free movie rentals from Blockbuster for every flap they bring in to any of the more than 5,000 participating BLOCKBUSTER stores.
"This holiday season, BLOCKBUSTER Total Access is giving Netflix customers the gift of immediate movie gratification," said John Antioco, Blockbuster Chairman and CEO. "We want these movie fans to experience getting the movies they want without the wait so they never have to be without a movie, just like BLOCKBUSTER Total Access subscribers."
Netflix subscribers who wish to participate in the program can tear off the address flaps they normally discard when mailing back their DVDs and turn them in at any participating Blockbuster store to receive a free in-store movie rental. They can continue to bring in their envelope flaps and exchange them for free in-store rentals for the duration of the promotion. Netflix customers do not need to subscribe to Blockbuster's online program to participate. To utilize the free store rentals, Netflix customers do need to have a Blockbuster store membership, which they can sign up for on the spot. Store membership is free.
"Many movie rental decisions are made within a few hours of the actual viewing experience, and BLOCKBUSTER Total Access is the only online rental service that can respond to spontaneous rental needs through a retail network as broad as the 5,000 participating BLOCKBUSTER stores nationwide," said Antioco. "We think avid movie fans, including those currently using another online service, will appreciate the flexibility our online rental program provides."
The name on the Netflix tear-off flaps must match the name on the holder's Blockbuster membership account. In-store movie rentals are subject to store rental terms, including due dates, and must be returned to the store from which they were rented.
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Now, I despise Blockbuster, not as a company just as a store, and I never used to be able to find a single movie I went in looking for. Sometimes it was because of their affiliation with studios (which in-turn forced them to not carry a certain studio's film) and sometimes it was the fact that they refused to carry NC-17 films like Bent and Last Tango in Paris). That being said, I'll take their free movies though and see if they've improved at all, but the Netflix service is too damn sweet to give up. | 
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