Taylor Swift’s “The Eras Tour” returns to the US next month, and while I’m not Swifty, I have a 9-year-old daughter who is a huge fan. I may not be able to write the lyrics to many of her songs, but I have a lot of experience leveraging my knowledge of travel credit cards and points and miles to make memories with my family.
And recently, it allowed me to do something that previously seemed impossible: I snagged face-value tickets to one of his Miami shows and booked a $900-plus hotel room for the night of the concert with a free night certificate and 11,000 points.
Are you ready for it? Here’s how I used the right combination of credit cards to make my daughter’s wildest dreams come true.
Gaining access to the presale
In early September, select cardholders of Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card Learned about an opportunity to potentially purchase tickets to one of Taylor Swift’s tour dates in Miami, New Orleans and Indianapolis in October and November. However, this was far from certain. If you were targeted, there were still several steps to take.
First, you had to register using a unique code from Capital One, selecting three individual shows. Then, a limited number of registrants will be selected as “Venture X Verified Fans” for a particular show. Finally, if selected, you will have the opportunity to join the queue and buy tickets to that show – with no guarantee of seats remaining.
When I was offered the opportunity to enroll as a Venture X cardholder, I took it, as the Miami location was close to my hometown of Fort Pierce, Florida. And a few days later, I got a message that I was selected for my first choice show.
I verified that my Venture X was saved to my Ticketmaster account, and then I got ready to log in exactly 30 minutes before the presale started.
Grab the tickets
When the designated window came up, I fired up the site and was immediately placed in the waiting room. I then got in the queue to buy a ticket at 1pm — and was immediately horrified to find that there were about 650 people ahead of me.
I wasn’t sure if the number was for just one show or covered all nine, but I figured there would be slim pickings when I finally got through.
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Boy, was I wrong.
After about 15 agonizing minutes, it was my turn, and I was surprised to see a relatively large selection of tickets still available. I started to grab a couple at the 200 level (there was a limit of two tickets per person), but then I noticed that some VIP packages were available in the lower section and on the floor. Knowing how much it would mean to my daughter, I grabbed a pair in row 12 and checked out, paying with my Venture X card (presale required). At 1:19 pm, a confirmation email arrived.
Of course, two tickets wouldn’t help my wife join us, so I wondered if I could retrace my steps and get more tickets. I rejoined the queue (still logged into my valid Ticketmaster account) and was quickly directed to the seat map. While I was unable to obtain more tickets in the same category as the first purchase, the system allowed me to purchase two additional tickets as part of a separate VIP package. This meant that my wife and a close friend of ours – also a huge fan – could join us.
Hotel booking
With the ticket secured, the next step was to find a place to stay for the night of the concert, as I wasn’t interested in the two-hour drive home afterwards. Not surprisingly, rates in the area were high, with base-level rooms starting at $600 — and rising quickly from there.
Luckily, I remembered that I had an unused one A 35,000-point certificate to my Marriott account, which I received after renewing my Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card earlier this year. And a Residence Inn a short walk from the stadium was available for 46,000 points — or $903 if I was paying cash.
I jumped at the chance and applied the certificate — topped up with 11,000 points from my Marriott Bonvoy account balance — and just like that, we got confirmation.
It’s far from the most luxurious use of a free night certificate, but it sure pays off over $900!
The Bonvoy Business Amex only has an annual fee of $125 (see Rates and Fees), so this card’s annual benefit was a fantastic use.
Read more: Is Marriott Bonvoy Business worth the annual fee?
The bottom line
I gave up on the chance to see Taylor Swift on the final leg of “The Eras Tour” a long time ago because resale tickets are out of my price range. However, that all changed when I was offered the opportunity to purchase them through a recent Capital One presale. better? I was able to use the Marriott Free Night Certificate to cover almost the entire hotel stay.
All this was possible by keeping Appropriate credit cards.
Now, I’ve had both of these cards for years, and snagging Taylor Swift tickets wasn’t even on my radar as a reason to keep them open. Still, it shows the power of having a diverse set of products in your wallet to jump on opportunities like this.
Best of all, I get to surprise my daughter with an incredible experience — and it’s, quite simply, gorgeous.
For Bonvoy Business Amex rates and fees, click here.
For Capital One products listed on this page, some benefits may be provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. For details of conditions and exclusions applicable see the relevant guidelines for benefits.