Saving a Spot on Taylor Swift's Eras Tour Through Accumulated Points and Miles
New and Improved: Taylor Swift Concerts on a Points and Miles Budget
Ever dreamed of catching Taylor Swift live, but worried about soaring ticket prices? Fear not! Here's how to sniff out great deals and bag those coveted seats using your hard-earned travel rewards.
I've been a Taylor Swift fan for over a decade, having seen her rock the stage a whopping 13 times. But sadly, I missed out on the much-anticipated Eras Tour last year thanks to the infamous Ticketmaster debacle.
Determined not to miss my chance again, I got creative and figured out a way to score tickets… using points and miles. No way was I letting the concert slip through my fingers this time around!
Puttingstoponsintampa
Originally, I had hoped to jet off to somewhere warm, like Tampa, for a bit of sunshine before the concert. When I checked ticket prices on StubHub, I found decent seats for the Saturday show on April 15th. Next, I searched for hotels that I could book using points, and I struck gold with the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay. To my delight, I could snag award nights for 15,000 points a night. By transferring 30,000 Chase Sapphire Preferred points, the total cost of the award nights would have been less than a fifth of the $2,279.13 cash price!
However, when I looked into flights, my plans fell apart. Even with American Airlines, I couldn't find an affordable one-way option. Time to regroup!
PilotingtoAtlanta
That's when I decided to take the optimistic approach: why not go big or go home? After all, Atlanta is an urban metropolis with lots of hotels and the world's busiest airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL), a major hub for Delta Airlines. I thought there must be a way to reach the concert using points and miles.
I started my search by finding tickets for the Sunday, April 30th show. To my astonishment, I stumbled upon three tickets in our budget, this time in the Delta Sky360 Club section, a step up from the seats I had found in Tampa!
Next, I hunted for a hotel. I tried Hyatt first, hoping for a 15,000-point-per-night option, and I found one! Both the Hyatt Centric Midtown Atlanta and the Thompson Buckhead offered award nights for 12,000 and 40,000 points, respectively, per night. For my group of three, that would have totaled 60,000 Hyatt points or 120,000 Marriott Bonvoy points for a standard room at the Twelve Midtown, Autograph Collection – still a heck of a lot cheaper than the obscene StubHub prices I had been seeing!
Takingoffwithrewardpoints
And, since I had more than enough Marriott points in my account, I didn't even have to transfer anything! I delighted in the prospect of attending the concert without breaking the bank, all thanks to my points and miles savings.
But there was one more hurdle: flights. Fortunately, I struck gold again with Delta. For 24,500 miles plus $11.20, I scored round-trip flights to and from New York LaGuardia (LGA), my closest airport, offering enough time to enjoy a Saturday of fun in Atlanta before the concert on Sunday and still catch my return flight on Monday!
WatchoutforStubHubRakutenDeals
One last tip: if you're purchasing tickets through StubHub, don't forget to click into the site through Rakuten, a shopping portal that lets you earn Amex Membership Rewards or cash back on purchases. I made my StubHub purchase before realizing this, but new members can score a $30 bonus by joining through this link and spending $30 within the first 90 days. This cash back can help offset the cost of those precious tickets!
So, don't despair if you've missed Taylor Swift's official tour dates in your area. Keep an eye out for opportunities to travel, especially to cities with major airports and lots of hotels. With a bit of ingenuity, your points and miles might just help you attend the concert of your dreams!
- My travel rewards points journey to catch Taylor Swift included searching for seats on StubHub, booking hotels using points, and finding flights on airline websites.
- In Tampa, I found decent concert seats and a hotel, but flight prices were prohibitive, so I decided to try Atlanta instead.
- I managed to secure three tickets in the Delta Sky360 Club section for the Atlanta concert, and I found Hyatt hotels offering award nights for a fraction of the cash price.
- I was able to use my Marriott points to book reward nights at the Twelve Midtown, Autograph Collection without needing a transfer.
- I scored round-trip flights to Atlanta using Delta miles and a small cash fee, all thanks to my travel rewards savings.
- Through Rakuten, a shopping portal, new members can earn a $30 bonus by joining and spending $30 within the first 90 days, making ticket purchases more affordable.
- By staying vigilant for travel deals, especially in cities with major airports and numerous hotels, points and miles can help fans like me attend the concert of our dreams, even when official tour dates have passed.
