It’s no secret that consumers are spending more than ever on experiences like concerts, festivals, sports and other once-in-a-lifetime events — and credit card issuers have taken notice.
From adding live events and exclusive presales to their booking portals to paying out big rewards on your ticket purchases, they are increasingly determined to connect their rewards to your bucket-list entertainment experiences.
We’ve seen some big examples of this lately, with the newly refreshed Chase Sapphire Reserve® adding a $300 annual statement credit for StubHub or Viagogo purchases through Dec. 31, 2027, the brand-new Citi Strata Elite℠ Card offering a $200 Splurge credit that can be redeemed with Live Nation or Ticketmaster, and Capital One offering 5 miles per dollar spent on Capital One Entertainment purchases on select cards.
You definitely don’t want to leave those rewards on the table, so before you grab tickets to your next show, make sure you:
Use a card with good earning potential or credits. Pick one that offers a good earning rate on live entertainment purchases, either through its own platform or as a designated spending category. Or one that applies a statement credit to your ticket purchase.
Stack rewards by booking through a shopping portal. Many shopping portals, like Rakuten and AAdvantage eShopping, offer rewards (sometimes up to 10 points per dollar spent!) on top of your card’s rewards for purchases on sites like Ticketmaster, StubHub, Vivid Seats and SeatGeek.
But beware: Buying event tickets (especially through resale platforms) comes with risks, particularly when you’re visiting abroad. Take it from me.
I recently bought Kylie Minogue tickets in Paris through StubHub and Viagogo, and the tickets turned out to be invalid. They were emailed as PDFs instead of being transferred directly through the app, and when I tried to enter the concert, I was told they had already been used.
StubHub eventually refunded me and apologized, and said it is confident the vast majority of the tickets sold on its site are legitimate. Still, some countries’ ticket resale laws end up leaving you more vulnerable than others (as was the case in France), so keep these tips in mind next time you buy tickets on these platforms:
Make sure the tickets you buy are transferred directly to your account, not just sent as PDFs.
If you’re using a resale platform, arrive early in case you need to resolve any issues before showtime.
Always book with a credit card that includes purchase protection. This can be your safety net if the tickets are undelivered or fraudulent and the seller or platform doesn’t refund you. Just make sure to read up on what exactly your card covers in these situations.
Have a great weekend,
BK
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