Taylor Swift U.S. tickets cost $1,832. I saw The Eras Tour in Amsterdam for $384. Credit card points covered almost everything else.

16.07.2024 - 23:22 / insider.com

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I booked a flight from Texas to Amsterdam two hours before departure time to see Taylor Swift in Amsterdam.

I wanted to catch the Eras Tour, and concert ticket prices in Europe were relatively low on Independence Day. So I canceled my fireworks plans to pack a backpack for a whirlwind trip to the Netherlands. 

I spent a total of 26 hours on the ground in Amsterdam, and attended the Eras Tour concert solo. I had a blast meeting strangers from around the world, and I only paid $727 for the whole experience — show ticket included. 

I have several of the best travel rewards credit cards, which I leveraged to pull off this spontaneous two-day trip to Europe. 

Taylor Swift's economic clout is hitting Europe right now, and will return to North America later this year. True to Swiftonomics, the average lowets ticket price at any concert location in the U.S. or Canada is nearly $2,000 — more than double the total cost of my trip, including flights and hotels. 

The following factors helped me pull off this incredibly spontaneous adventure:

The key to efficient travel is packing as little as you can. Since this was such a whirlwind trip, I packed everything into my favorite travel backpack and called it a day.

The hardest part was figuring out an Eras Tour outfit on such short notice, and I wasn't as dolled up as I would've liked since I had to choose clothing and accessories that were small and soft enough to throw in my backpack. Furthermore, I had to plan ahead for cool and rainy weather, so I opted for a cute raincoat over some comfortable clothing. 

Note: I got my favorite travel backpack from Amazon. It's water-resistant with comfy padded straps, has a whopping 17 pockets including a hidden one for your passport, and comes in a slew of beautiful colors at a very reasonable price. It's on sale for Amazon Prime Day, and only costs a fraction of your $200 welcome bonus from the Prime Visa. 

I'm all for taking the scenic route on leisure trips. But I avoid connecting flights when I'm on a tight timeline, especially in summertime because inclement weather often impacts travel.

I would not have taken this particular trip if not for a direct flight from my home airport of Austin to