How to Use Credit Card Points for Concerts, Sports, and Experiences
Most people redeem credit card points for flights. Some book hotels. Almost nobody thinks to use them for a backstage concert tour, courtside NBA seats, or VIP access to the World Cup. But that is exactly what a growing number of loyalty programs now offer, and the value can be surprisingly strong.
Eleven programs currently run experience portals where you can spend points or miles on sports events, concerts, dining, and one-of-a-kind packages. Some are auctions, some are fixed-price, and a few bundle hotel stays with the tickets. The catch is that these portals are scattered across different websites with different rules, and no one aggregates them in one place - which is why we built The Vault.
Which programs offer experiences?
Here is the full landscape, organized by how you would actually get the points.
Chase Ultimate Rewards transfers to four programs with experience portals:
- United MileagePlus Exclusives - auctions and fixed-price. Sports, dining, concerts, and "Uniquely United" items like flight simulator sessions.
- Marriott Bonvoy Moments - the largest portal by volume. Auctions and fixed-price across sports, entertainment, dining, and arts. Heavy on suite access at sporting events.
- World of Hyatt Experiences - curated events at Hyatt properties. Smaller catalog, mostly wellness and culinary.
- Wyndham Rewards Experiences - auctions for dining, sports (especially NASCAR), and concerts. Often bundled with hotel stays.
Amex Membership Rewards transfers to:
- Delta SkyMiles Experiences - all-auction format. Broadway shows, golf tournaments, celebrity chef dinners, wine tours, and more. Bids in 1,000-mile increments.
- Marriott Bonvoy Moments - same portal as Chase (overlap).
- Hilton Honors Experiences - auctions for concerts, soccer, rugby, and cultural events. Heavily UK and international.
- Choice Privileges Experiences - NASCAR VIP racing packages, primarily.
- Qatar Privilege Club Collection - auctions for Champions League, FIFA World Cup 2026, F1, and European sports.
Citi ThankYou transfers to Qatar, Wyndham, and Choice. Capital One transfers to the same three. Bilt Rewards transfers to United, Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton, Alaska/Atmos, and Qatar - making it one of the most versatile cards for experience redemptions.
What is actually available right now?
The best way to get a feel for these portals is to look at real listings. Here is a sample of what is live as of mid-March 2026:
- FIFA World Cup 2026: USA vs Paraguay - 115,000 Avios current bid via Qatar Privilege Club. Category 1 VIP tickets in Inglewood, CA.
- Golden State Warriors with pregame shootaround access - 52,000 United miles current bid. Suite-level seats in San Francisco.
- LA Kings from the Marriott Bonvoy Luxury Suite - 2,000 Marriott points starting price (fixed). April 6 at Crypto.com Arena.
- Tim McGraw at the Houston Rodeo - 36,000 Delta SkyMiles current bid. March 21.
- Les Miserables in Seattle - 17,500 Atmos points (about $175) fixed price. April 14 at the Paramount Theatre.
- Emirates FA Cup Semi-Final VIP - 110,000 Hilton Honors points current bid. Wembley Stadium, London.
- NASCAR VIP Racing at Bristol - 40,000 Choice Privileges points current bid. April 12.
- Oh, Mary! on Broadway - 46,000 Delta SkyMiles current bid. The Tony-winning show, April 17 in NYC.
You can browse all of these and hundreds more on The Vault's experience table, filtered by program, category, country, or price range.
Auctions vs. fixed price
Most experience portals use auctions, and the mechanics matter.
How bidding works. You place a bid in points or miles. If you win, the points are deducted from your account. If you lose, you get them back. Most platforms support auto-bidding: you set a maximum, and the system bids in increments on your behalf up to your cap.
Auto Bid Extend. Delta SkyMiles, Hilton, United, and most iSynApp-powered platforms extend auctions by 5 minutes if a bid comes in during the final 5 minutes. This prevents sniping but means auction closes can drag out.
Fixed-price listings are simpler. Marriott Bonvoy has the most, especially for sports - you can grab LA Kings suite tickets for 2,000 points or Cubs field access for 55,000 points, no bidding required. Atmos Rewards (Alaska Airlines) also leans toward fixed-price, with events priced in dollars that you pay with points.
All bids are final. Across every platform, once you win, you cannot cancel, exchange, or get a refund. Know what you are committing to before you bid.
How to get the best value
Start with standard valuations. Every loyalty currency has a baseline cents-per-point (cpp) value for flights. When you redeem for experiences, you want to beat - or at least match - that baseline. Here are the standard valuations:
| Program | Currency | Standard cpp |
|---|---|---|
| World of Hyatt | Points | 1.7 |
| Atmos Rewards (Alaska) | Points | 1.5 |
| United MileagePlus | Miles | 1.3 |
| Qatar Privilege Club | Avios | 1.3 |
| Delta SkyMiles | Miles | 1.2 |
| Wyndham Rewards | Points | 1.1 |
| Marriott Bonvoy | Points | 0.7 |
| Choice Privileges | Points | 0.6 |
| Hilton Honors | Points | 0.5 |
A Marriott auction that closes at 100,000 points has a baseline value of $700. If the experience would cost $1,200+ to replicate, you are getting above-average value from those points. But if that same experience would only cost $500 cash, you are better off saving the points for hotel nights.
Look for packages, not just tickets. The best value tends to come from bundled experiences - a hotel stay plus VIP tickets plus extras. Individual ticket auctions (especially for events that are not sold out) often close near or below what you would pay cash. Packages with components you cannot buy separately - like a kitchen tour at Per Se or pregame field access at Wrigley - are where the experience portals shine.
Bid late, but not too late. Most auction activity happens in the final 24-48 hours. Bidding early just signals demand. Place your maximum bid within the last day, and set it at a number you are genuinely comfortable with. Because of Auto Bid Extend, last-second sniping does not work.
Check the transfer bonus calendar. Credit card issuers periodically offer transfer bonuses - 20-30% extra points when you move them to a partner program. As of March 2026, Chase is running bonuses to Wyndham and several airlines. Timing your transfer to coincide with a bonus effectively discounts your bid.
What to watch out for
Flights and hotels are usually not included. Unless the listing explicitly says otherwise, you are getting the event tickets and VIP access only. Budget for travel and lodging separately, especially for destination events like the World Cup.
Experiences are non-refundable. Every program enforces this. If your plans change, you lose the points. Some listings cannot be transferred either, though most allow you to bring a guest or gift to a family member.
Redemption caps exist. Marriott limits you to five experience redemptions per calendar year (two per event). Hilton has the same five-per-year cap. Factor this in if you plan to bid on multiple listings.
Point valuations are personal. A $1,500 experience package might look like a great deal at 200,000 Marriott points (0.75 cpp, above baseline). But if you would never have paid $1,500 cash for that experience, the "value" is academic. The right way to evaluate any redemption is to start with what you would have actually spent out of pocket.
Bottom line
If you are sitting on credit card points and have been hoarding them for "someday flights," it is worth checking what is available on the experience side. The portals are not always well-advertised, the best deals tend to go to people who are actively watching, and the variety is broader than most cardholders realize - from $175 Broadway tickets to $15,000 World Cup VIP packages.
Browse current listings across all 11 programs on The Vault, or set up an alert to get notified when new experiences match your interests.