How factors and miles saved me from lacking the Taylor Swift Eras Tour

I’ve been a Taylor Swift fan for so long as Taylor Swift has been on the scene, and over time, I’ve been fortunate sufficient to see her stay 13 occasions — and as all Swifties know, 13 is a vital quantity.

But final yr when tickets went on sale for the Eras Tour, my luck ran out, and I used to be one of many numerous many left ticketless after the November Ticketmaster debacle, regardless of having the proper card to entry a presale.

Needless to say, there have been a number of teardrops on my guitar on the time, however my crew determined to carry out till the tour began to see if resale costs would drop main as much as the times earlier than a present — or perhaps even hours, if it got here all the way down to it — earlier than shelling out hundred of {dollars} for secondhand tickets.

Since the tour kicked off on March 17 in Arizona, I seen that resale ticket costs did drop earlier than a present — and swifties across the nation have famous that Ticketmaster was releasing a handful of tickets the day earlier than some exhibits.

But I stay in New York City, and my every day Stubhub examine was beginning to go away me nervous, as even the worst tickets with restricted or obstructed views within the highest sections of MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey had been priced at (or properly over) $1,000 every earlier than taxes and costs. Dare I attempt to transfer to a bit simply barely nearer to the stage and I’d as properly have thought-about shopping for a used automobile as a substitute.

Here’s the factor: I really like music, I really like live shows and I love Taylor Swift. In reality, it was seeing Taylor on the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in 2009 that drove me to take my very own musical ambitions to the following degree, impressed me to start out writing my very own songs and served because the spark to maneuver to Nashville for school to check songwriting. “Fearless” was an album that modified the trajectory of my life, “Red” performed nonstop in my school years and “Evermore” is the album I hearken to on each flight throughout takeoff.

Missing the live performance was not an possibility — so I made a decision it was time to get inventive. I used to be afraid I would not have the ability to get the tickets I wished in New York or miss it altogether by holding out too lengthy, so it was time to see how far my hard-earned factors and miles might take me to justify paying money for secondhand tickets on-line.

My first intestine intuition was to make a visit out of the live performance by going someplace enjoyable or new, however with the caveat that I might solely justify it by paying nominal charges for flights and a lodge. I additionally made it a aim to attend a present on the entrance half of the tour in case one thing got here up that stopped me, my fiancé and my greatest pal from going, so there would nonetheless be time to regroup and go some place else, if obligatory.

Here’s the way it went.

Tapping out of Tampa

My authentic thought was to go to Tampa to take pleasure in some heat climate and doubtlessly get some solar earlier than the present.

I discovered tickets in my price range for the Saturday night time present on April fifteenth that weren’t wonderful seats however higher than what I’d present in NYC. I instantly regarded for inns I might guide with factors and, shockingly, discovered award nights for Friday and Saturday on the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay for 15,000 factors per night time. I might guide this room by transferring 30,000 Chase Rewards factors from my Chase Sapphire Preferred Card.

The money charge for those self same nights averaged out at $980, in accordance with the Hyatt web site, for a complete of a whopping $2,279.13. By reserving with factors as a substitute of money, my World of Hyatt redemption would have been valued at an unbelievable 6.52 cents per level, for a lodge nearly a ten-minute drive from the live performance. That was properly over TPG’s worth of 1.7 cents per level.

Next, I began pricing flights — and that is the place this plan fell aside. Being an American Airlines loyalist, I began with flights from a number of NYC airports to Tampa International Airport (TPA) and located one-way choices for 12,500 factors plus $5.60 in taxes and costs. Score!

Related: Chasing American Airlines elite standing? Here are 14 methods to earn Loyalty Points

But it was the return flight on Sunday, April 16, that made me notice Tampa wasn’t my greatest wager. The most cost-effective flight on American was 49,500 miles, or $389 for a route that included a flight to Dallas with an in a single day layover. No thanks.

Next, I checked different airways, all to no avail. The most cost-effective one-way Delta flight was 35,000 factors. United’s was 34,400. Even the most affordable Spirit flight was $374 — and that did not even embrace a carry-on bag.

It was time to return to the drafting board.

A+ choices in A-Town

Scratching my head and looking out on the tour schedule, it hit me that to guide this complete journey with factors and miles, I wanted to search for a metropolis with an enormous airport and plenty of inns.

That’s once I noticed Atlanta dates — and all of it clicked. Atlanta is a megacity with an array of neighborhoods and suburbs, so I figured there needed to be a handful of inns I might guide with factors. And, with Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL) being the world’s busiest, plus a hub for Delta, absolutely there was a strategy to get all of it booked on factors and miles.

I used to be proper.

My first step was looking for tickets, which was exceptionally tough as a result of I wanted the unlucky amount of three. But for the primary time since November, when the tickets initially went on sale, my luck modified: I discovered three tickets in our price range, not within the nosebleeds however — gasp — within the Delta Sky360 Club part, for the present on Sunday, April 30. It took the whole lot in me to not click on “purchase now”; first, I wanted to substantiate flight and lodge choices.

I began with inns to ensure there was a spot to sleep. Again, I began with Hyatt, hoping for a 15,000-point-per-night possibility. I used to be in luck and located rooms obtainable on the Hyatt Centric Midtown Atlanta for 12,000 factors an evening and on the Thompson Buckhead for 40,000 factors per night time in a King Suite or 20,000 factors per night time for the standard King. The actuality was that each of those rooms had been nice offers, however would not be sufficient house or beds for a pair plus a pal.

So I moved on to Marriott — and I hit the jackpot. With Marriott, I discovered loads of inns with award availability beginning at 35,000 factors per night time (and in addition a lot of unavailable notices, too). Ultimately, understanding we wished to be in Midtown, not too removed from the live performance however near nightlife for the Saturday night time earlier than the Sunday live performance, I used to be capable of snag a room on the Twelve Midtown, Autograph Collection in a one-bedroom suite with a pull-out sofa, a kitchen and balcony for 45,000 factors per night time. The complete for the keep got here to 90,000 factors plus $10 in taxes and costs.

In money, the identical room was $504 an evening for $1,009, save taxes and costs. This implies that my reserving equaled out to 1.12 cents per level and nonetheless above TPG’s 0.8 cent worth for Marriott Bonvoy factors, and in a location we wished with loads of house to share. And, since I had greater than sufficient factors in my Bonvoy account to guide, I did not should take care of transferring.

And final however not least, I needed to guide flights — and as soon as once more, I scored. For 24,500 Delta miles plus $11.20, I used to be capable of guide round-trip flights to and from New York-LaGuardia (LGA), my closest airport, at occasions that allowed us to get to Atlanta early for a day of enjoyable that Saturday and sufficient to sleep in and get well earlier than the return flight on Monday.

In reality, we might’ve saved a number of thousand extra factors by reserving a Basic-level ticket, however we opted to guide Main so we might all choose our seats and sit collectively.

With journey plans confirmed, I jumped again to seize the tickets — and simply a short time later, we had been all set.

If, like me, you find yourself buying tickets on StubHub, don’t forget to click on into the positioning by way of Rakuten, the purchasing portal that permits you to earn American Express Membership Rewards or money again on purchases. I remembered when it was too late, however proper now Rakuten provides as much as 3% again (or 3 Amex factors per greenback spent) on StubHub purchases. And new members can snag a one-time bonus of $30 by becoming a member of by way of this hyperlink and spending $30 by way of the positioning within the first 90 days.

This can additional assist offset the worth of a visit for a live performance.

And for what it is value, my expertise shopping for secondhand tickets on Stubhub was completely superb. I made my buy and was alerted that my tickets could be delivered electronically 48 hours earlier than the present. That did make me nervous, however fortunately for my anxiousness, the tickets had been transferred to my Ticketmaster account from the unique proprietor a few day later.

But simply to be secure, I paid for the tickets with my American Express for additional safety in case one thing did go fallacious with the secondhand buy.

I’m often an individual who hordes my factors and miles for one thing actually particular — like a luxurious lodge keep or business-class seats for a visit to Japan. But on the finish of the day, I really like that my factors and miles are there once I want them for one thing sudden. Was I anticipating to spend 90,000 Marriott factors on a lodge and 24,500 Delta miles for a flight? No. But am I glad I did? You higher imagine it!

Now, as a substitute of paying an arm and a leg for horrible seats in my hometown, I’m getting a enjoyable weekend journey with mates, seeing a live performance I used to be afraid I’d miss in nice seats and was reminded of the significance of all the time checking your choices for leaping into reserving one thing.

Judge my redemptions all you need. As Taylor says, “The haters gunna, hate, hate, hate, hate , hate” … however “I’m simply gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake” the night time away in Atlanta.

And individuals nonetheless looking for tickets — cling in there! See the place your factors and miles may take you and, if all else fails, hold checking for tickets till actually the final minute.