Cinema companion tickets: CEA Card and Hynt

A companion ticket is intended to help someone attend with the assistance they need. Start with the actual venue and its policy, then check the scheme’s current conditions and the booking process for your chosen performance.

The CEA Card and Hynt are separate schemes. Acceptance of one does not establish acceptance of the other, and a companion arrangement does not confirm a cinema’s physical access or screening facilities.

Make three separate checks

This sequence avoids paying for one ticket before discovering that the companion place must be booked with it, or assuming an online seat map describes every available arrangement.

CEA Card

The CEA Card FAQ describes one free companion ticket alongside the cardholder’s full-price ticket, bought together for the same film, performance and auditorium. Check the cinema in the official participation search and read the current conditions before buying.

The eligibility page, checked on 4 November 2026, covers applicants aged five or over who need accompaniment because of disability. It describes evidence routes and an individual-consideration route where the listed evidence is unavailable or does not apply. Do not assume eligibility depends solely on receiving one particular benefit. Apply or ask for help through the scheme itself.

Check the card’s validity for the date of your visit and the operator’s booking instructions. We do not quote a fixed application fee here because the current amount and processing information are best checked at the point of application.

Hynt and Welsh arts venues

Hynt is a separate scheme used by participating theatres and arts centres in Wales. Diverse Cymru’s scheme information describes its personal-assistant and carer ticket purpose and its role in individual consideration.

The Memo Arts Centre in Barry identifies itself as a Hynt member. That is evidence about the Memo’s own policy, not evidence that it accepts the CEA Card or that every Barry venue has the same arrangements. Our Barry guide keeps the current Memo distinct from the former Theatre Royal.

Website check, 4 November 2026: Hynt’s official site displayed a maintenance notice. It gave applications@hynt.co.uk for application questions, info@hynt.co.uk for other enquiries and 01244 526001 as its helpdesk. Use the official Hynt page for the latest route; we have not reproduced an application process that was unavailable to check.

Questions to ask when booking

• Does the scheme apply to this cinema, performance and ticket type?
• Should the cardholder’s and companion’s tickets be booked in one transaction?
• Is the booking made online, by phone or through the box office?
• Can the companion sit in the required position beside the cardholder?
• Does a wheelchair space or another seating arrangement need a separate reservation?
• What card or confirmation should be brought, and what happens if plans change?

If more than one accompanying person is needed, ask the relevant scheme and venue about their process rather than assuming an additional place is included.

Access questions still matter

The CEA eligibility guidance explicitly says a card is not mandatory for a cinema to consider access needs. A companion ticket addresses one part of a visit; it does not replace checks about the entrance, auditorium, toilet route, captions or equipment.

Use the accessible visit guide and access-question planner to record those arrangements. Reeltime does not decide eligibility, accept applications or collect identity, benefit or medical documents. Send any required evidence only through the scheme’s or venue’s genuine application route.