How the right credit cards got me face-value Taylor Swift tickets and a $900 hotel room for the night

25.09.2024 - 15:55 / thepointsguy.com

Taylor Swift's "The Eras Tour" returns to the U.S. next month, and while I'm no Swiftie, I have a 9-year-old daughter who's a massive fan. I may not be able to belt out the lyrics to many of her songs, but I do have a ton of experience leveraging my travel credit cards and knowledge of points and miles to make memories with my family.

And recently, this allowed me to do something that previously seemed impossible: I snagged face-value tickets for one of her 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.

In early September, select cardholders of the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card learned about an opportunity to potentially buy tickets to one of Taylor Swift's tour dates in October and November in Miami, New Orleans and Indianapolis. However, this was far from guaranteed. If you were targeted, there were still multiple steps to take.

First, you had to register using the unique code from Capital One, selecting up to three individual shows. Then, a limited number of registrants would be selected as "Venture X Verified Fans" for a specific show. Finally, if selected, you'd have a chance to join the queue to purchase tickets to said show — with no guarantee that seats would be left.

When I was given the opportunity to register as a Venture X cardholder, I took it, figuring the Miami venue was relatively close to my hometown of Fort Pierce, Florida. And just a couple of days later, I received word that I had been selected for my first pick of shows.

I verified that my Venture X was saved in my Ticketmaster account, and then I got ready to log in exactly 30 minutes before the presale started.

When the designated window arrived, I fired up the site and was immediately placed in the waiting room. I then moved to the queue to buy tickets right at 1 p.m. — and I was immediately dismayed to learn that nearly 650 people were ahead of me.

I wasn't sure if this number was just for the one show or covered all nine, but I figured there would be slim pickings when I finally got through.

Boy, was I wrong.

After about 15 agonizing minutes, it was my turn, and I was surprised to see a relatively wide selection of tickets still available. I started to grab a couple in the 200 level (there was a two-ticket limit per person), but then I saw that some VIP packages were available in a 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 (a presale requirement). At 1:19 p.m., the confirmation email arrived.

Of course,