Best Credit Cards for Exclusive Events and Experiences

Select’s editorial team works independently to review financial products and write articles we think our readers will find useful. We earn a commission from affiliate partners on many offers, but not all offers on Select are from affiliate partners.Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.Credit cards can offer a wide range of benefits, from cell phone protection to airport lounge access. Although less talked-about, some even provide access to exclusive events and experiences. This can range from presale tickets for sports games and concerts to exclusive dinners and cardholder-only lounges, and nearly every major card issuer offers such benefits.While these perks went largely unused during the pandemic lockdowns, issuers are now doubling down on these lifestyle and other non-travel benefits. Your credit card may be able to help you get special access at the U.S. Open in New York City, iHeartRadio Festival in Las Vegas, Sundance Film Festival in Park City and beyond.Here are the credit card issuers that offer cardholders access to exclusive events and entertainment experiences, and how you can use these perks.Subscribe to the Select Newsletter!Our best selections in your inbox. Shopping recommendations that help upgrade your life, delivered weekly. Sign-up here.Best credit cards for exclusive events and experiencesUsing credit cards to access events and experiencesEvery credit card issuer handles access to exclusive events and experiences differently.Issuers like American Express may require you to have a specific card, or an invitation, to participate in an event. Others may only require you to be an active cardholder of any of their cards.So if you’re looking to squeeze more value out of your credit card, consider the main credit card issuers below and their offers for cardholders to experience premium events.American ExpressAmerican Express has a large array of events you can attend as a cardholder, but the more premium events are invitation-only. However, even without an invitation, there are many events you can grab tickets to including Broadway shows like Hamilton in New York and concerts like Katy Perry in Las Vegas. A number of major venues, such as Barclays Center and the Crypto.com Arena, also offer exclusive entrances for American Express cardholders.The “By Invitation Only” experiences include access to The Centurion Suite at the U.S. Open, cardmember-exclusive fashion shows and tickets to the Palm Springs Film Awards. Some of these experiences are free while others are paid.You can check out the various experiences here. But to access the more premium events and experiences, you’ll need to have a higher-end card like one of these below:The Platinum Card® from American ExpressOn the American Express secure site

  • RewardsEarn 5X Membership Rewards® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year, 5X Membership Rewards® Points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel, 1X points on all other eligible purchases
  • Welcome bonusEarn 100,000 Membership Rewards® points after spending $6,000 within 6 months of card membership. Apply and select your preferred metal Card design: classic Platinum Card®, Platinum x Kehinde Wiley, or Platinum x Julie Mehretu.
  • Annual fee
  • Intro APR
  • Regular APR
  • Balance transfer fee
  • Foreign transaction fee
  • Credit Needed

The Business Platinum Card® from American ExpressOn the American Express secure site

  • RewardsEarn 5X Membership Rewards® points on flights and prepaid hotels on amextravel.com and 1X points for each dollar you spend on eligible purchases. Also, earn 1.5X points (that’s an extra half point per dollar) on eligible purchases at US construction material & hardware suppliers, electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers, and shipping providers, as well as on purchases of $5,000 or more everywhere else, on up to $2 million of these purchases per calendar year.
  • Welcome bonusEarn 120,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases within the first 3 months of card membership
  • Annual fee
  • Intro APR
  • Regular APR
  • Balance transfer fee
  • Foreign transaction fee
  • Credit needed

American Express® Gold CardOn the American Express secure site

  • Rewards4X Membership Rewards® points at Restaurants (plus takeout and delivery in the U.S.) and at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1X), 3X points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com, 1X points on all other purchases
  • Welcome bonusEarn 60,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $4,000 on eligible purchases within the first 6 months of card membership
  • Annual fee
  • Intro APR
  • Regular APR
  • Balance transfer fee
  • Foreign transaction fee
  • Credit needed

Capital OneThe Capital One Entertainment portal is filled with exclusive events and experiences for cardholders. The benefits for cardholders include early access to tickets, special on-site perks at specific venues and the ability to upgrade experiences at certain events using Capital One miles.Some of the events include cardholder-only dinners at Michelin-star restaurants, presale tickets to sporting events like the Capital One Orange Bowl in Miami, VIP packages at music festivals like the iHeartRadio Festival in Las Vegas and more. Through a partnership with The Cultivist, Capital One credit cardholders are also eligible for a six-month complimentary “The Enthusiast” membership, which offers free access to top museums around the world, including the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art, and the Louvre in Paris.You can visit the Capital One Entertainment portal to see what events are being offered. While you don’t need to have any specific Capital One card to access these benefits, here are some of our favorite credit cards from the issuer:Read more: Here are the best Capital One credit cardsChaseChase offers its Chase Experiences to all cardholders. They include access to exclusive events and Chase Dining experiences, along with additional benefits at events like the U.S. Open and Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival and at venues like the Chase Field, Chase Center and Madison Square Garden. Special benefits can range from priority entry and preferred seating to access to VIP lounges with free refreshments. You can also choose to redeem your Ultimate Rewards points for many of these experiences.There’s also Chase Dining, which give cardholders exclusive access to reservations at upscale restaurants through Tock. Additionally, if you’re looking for tickets for an upcoming sporting event or concert, Chase Experiences comes with access to presales and preferred seating from Ticketmaster. Those with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or the Chase Sapphire Reserve® get even more benefits, including access to the Sapphire Dining series.So if you’re interested in scoring additional experiences for being a Chase credit card holder, you may consider signing up for one of the cards below:Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

  • Rewards$50 annual Ultimate Rewards Hotel Credit, 5X points on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3X points on dining, 2X points on all other travel purchases, and 1X points on all other purchases
  • Welcome bonusEarn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s $750 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
  • Annual fee
  • Intro APR
  • Regular APR17.49% – 24.49% variable on purchases and balance transfers
  • Balance transfer feeEither $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
  • Foreign transaction fee
  • Credit needed

Chase Sapphire Reserve®

  • RewardsEarn 5X total points on air travel and 10X total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards® immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually. Earn 3X points on other travel and dining & 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases plus, 10X points on Lyft rides through March 2025
  • Welcome bonusEarn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
  • Annual fee
  • Intro APR
  • Regular APR
  • Balance transfer fee
  • Foreign transaction fee
  • Credit needed

CitiThe Citi Entertainment portal offers Citi cardholders early access to ticket presales for concerts, sports and cultural events. At the time of writing, the platform appears to be geared mostly toward concerts.Many tickets are considered ‘Citi Preferred Tickets’ where you will need a qualifying Citi credit card to purchase the tickets. The kicker of this program is that you’ll have a chance to get tickets or VIP packages before non-Citi cardholders for specific events.So if you see an event on the Citi Entertainment platform you’re interested in, it may be beneficial to have a Citi credit card in your wallet to grab your tickets.Citi Premier® Card

  • Rewards3X points per $1 spent at restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, and on hotels and air travel, 1X points on all other purchases
  • Welcome bonus80,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening
  • Annual fee
  • Intro APR
  • Regular APR
  • Balance transfer fee5% of each balance transfer, $5 minimum
  • Foreign transaction fee
  • Credit needed

Citi® Double Cash Card

  • Rewards2% cash back: 1% on all eligible purchases and an additional 1% after you pay your credit card bill
  • Welcome bonusFor a limited time, earn $200 cash back after spending $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening.
  • Annual fee
  • Intro APR0% for the first 18 months on balance transfers; N/A for purchases
  • Regular APR
  • Balance transfer feeFor balance transfers completed within 4 months of account opening, an intro balance transfer fee of 3% of each transfer ($5 minimum) applies; after that, a balance transfer fee of 5% of each transfer ($5 minimum) applies
  • Foreign transaction fee
  • Credit needed

Bottom lineFor rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.For rates and fees of The Business Platinum® Card from American Express, click here.For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, click here.Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial staff’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party. .