You can now use either your Marriott Rewards points or your Starwood Preferred Guest Starpoints to get super rare and exclusive ticket packages to Coachella.
The music festival, held in Indio, California, is set for two weekends next month: April 13-15 and 20-22, and will feature huge names like Beyoncé, Eminem and The Weeknd, plus about five dozen other bands and performers. And both Marriott and SPG have posted deals to use your points to bid for tickets to the sold out festival, plus ultra-rare festival packages and VIP access.
For instance, Marriott Rewards is offering three-day artist passes, a perk usually reserved for performers and their entourages only. The illustrious artist pass is nearly impossible to obtain if you aren't personal friends with Beyoncé, and gets you access to VIP areas and amenities with amazing views of the festival's stages. The package also includes a stay in a private W Barcelona-styled yurt on the festival grounds, and the current bid as of this writing is 90,000 Marriott points.
Or, cash in your points to get tickets offering rarified views of the stages with a behind-the-scenes tour or dinner in the VIP Rose Garden. The package includes two guest passes good for all three days of the first weekend of Coachella, dinner for two at Outstanding in the Field in the Coachella VIP Rose Garden on one night of your choice, access for two to a hospitality tent within the main VIP area and two Any Line, Anytime shuttle passes. The current bid as of this writing is just over 30,000 Starpoints.
Don't have any Marriott or SPG points? You can get a 25,000 point welcome bonus on the Starwood Preferred Guest Business Credit Card from American Express after spending $5,000 in purchases in the first three months. Or grab 75,000 Marriott Rewards bonus points when you sign-up for the Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card and spend $3,000 in purchases in the first three months. Remember that thanks to the merger between Marriott and Starwood, you can freely transfer these points back and forth between the two programs at a 3:1 ratio.
If you do want to be part of the world famous festival in the California desert, you'll have to act fast. Most of the bids will close the first week of April and are sure to be hot ticket items. And after you score your VIP access, don't forget to use your points and miles to get you to the Coachella Valley as well.
