I love all the travel and benefits collecting miles and points from credit cards has given my family. By using miles and points, we’ve been able to travel more often for less money. My family has splurged on business class seats to Europe and stayed at awesome resorts, which we would not have done if we had to pay cash prices.
HOWEVER….having miles and points also tempts us to probably spend more than we should on additional trips that are clearly extra and crazy to add to our schedule.
Miles and Points for Rock Concert Trip?
My husband and I both love going to live concerts. Most recently, I was at the Taylor Swift concert with my daughter and the Ed Sheeran concert with my son. They both came to DFW. There is just something about being at a live show…everyone is happy, clapping along to the songs, singing along…I wish I could bottle that sense of excitement and contentment I feel at a concert.
So, my son is REALLY into music. He already has two more live concerts with my husband this year in Dallas. But there are some bands he would love to see that haven’t toured in Dallas in a while. One of those bands is the Foo Fighters. It just so happens that they are touring in the fall (with a new drummer). But, they are not coming to Dallas. The closest they are coming to us is El Paso, Texas.
Going to a concert in El Paso sounds easy, right? Just hop in the car and road trip to El Paso and drive back. Except that El Paso is 9.5 hours from where we live in Texas. Crazy, right? Plus, the concert is on a school night.
So of course, I start looking into flights on miles. I found nonstop flights on American Airlines for only 7500 miles each way. Boom! Then, I found a Hyatt Place location for only 5000 points a night. Score! Let’s do this!
Not so fast…
I told my husband that I found a way to go to this concert for cheap. It would be him and my son going, since my husband is also a big fan of the Foo Fighters.
But, my husband was not on board. Why not?
First of all, we already have a lot of trips this year. Too many trips. (I blame this miles and points hobby 😁). We are leaving soon for a 2-week trip to Europe. Then we have a (free) cruise in July plus a whitewater rafting camping trip. My son and daughter are each going to a 1-week summer camp. We will be traveling to Oklahoma to move my son into college, and we already have an Airbnb reserved for family weekend at OU in the fall. Then we’re going to Chicago over Thanksgiving, plus another trip to see family and another (free) cruise. It’s a lot!
Secondly, there is the cost of the concert tickets. While getting there might be free, the tickets are not free. The cheapest re-sale tickets are around $300 each including taxes and fees.
But the biggest reason he’s not on board is because of the precedence this trip will set. He thinks if we travel for this rock concert, then we set the precedent for traveling to more rock concerts that don’t stop in our city. Also, “The point of a tour is that they come to your city, you don’t go to them!” I can see his point.
So, at least for now, we’re not using our miles and points to travel to a rock concert. Hopefully the Foo Fighters will tour again and make it to Dallas.
Have you ever used miles and points to travel to a concert?
Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
You are fortunate enough to live in a big city were most artists make a stop while touring. The reality for people outside big metropolitan areas is that the only way to catch these acts is to travel to them. I actually live in El Paso and for the most part we only get latin or up and coming artists and very few top tier tours (latest one was Metallica back in 2019). I was pleasantly surprised to see Foo Fighters coming to town and was lucky to get tickets. But to see other acts like Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, U2 we always have to travel to Dallas, Houston, Austin, Phoenix, Las Vegas, etc. But I’m not complaining, it is a great excuse go leave town for a few days and have a great experience.
@Ivan Yes, we count ourselves as lucky to live near a big city that has a lot of touring concerts and Broadway plays. When we think about retiring to a more rural area, those are the things I would miss the most. At the Taylor Swift concert I met fans who traveled from Brownsville, El Paso and Arkansas. She drew quite a crowd from all over. I’m glad Foo Fighters are coming to your city!
Awww was hoping the conclusion was you’re going! We have flew and booked hotel for a night just for a concert. Quite a few artists have limited cities tours sometimes… though $300 is a lot per ticket too… but if both are huge fans, might be worth it!
@Elena The answer might change over the next few months. We’ll see.
Hang on. If I may, ignoring the college move in, the vacation schedule for the rest of 2023 is…
-Two weeks in Europe
-Cruise in July
-White water rafting camping trip
-Thanksgiving in Chicago
-Trip to visit family
-Another cruise
…and your husband is worried about setting precedent? Come on now, LOL!
Al joking aside I’m not big into concerts but that sounds like that would be a fun getaway, especially for the miles/points it will take to do it. Yeah, $300/ticket is steep, and I can understand the feeling of cramming too much into the calendar though.
@projectx Ha! Well, to be fair, each of those cruises includes only myself and one kid (since only 2 people were free). And the trip to visit family is a road trip with no hotel involved. And the white water rafting trip was my husband’s idea. So basically, I can explain away most of our trips. 🙂
Many times. After you do it the first time and see how easy it is (your itinerary is a good example) then it is no big deal. Often there was no choice for us but to travel — festivals, limited tours (David Gilmour a number of years ago when he played 3 cities) or unique events (Metallica S&M2). I will usually look at events for other trips we have planned for other reasons (going to Europe? After you book, take a look as the Foo may be there too). Adds to the experience of the trip
@Vince Good advice. When we were traveling in Russia years ago, we just barely missed a Scorpions concert by a few days. We were so surprised that they were even going there (Vladivostok).
Hey, you got me, Nancy, at the article title! Love live music too, and have been scheming how I can use my points hobby to increase my concert going!! Music preferences are personal and come to what moves your soul and your feet. Deadhead for 40 years, but dig jamming, rock and roll and any great guitar-driven talent.
Rock on, Ron! 🙂