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If you’re into music, chances are you’ve had to deal with a ticket scalper or two. These days, ticketing has become a grueling process, with hardcore fans turning to resale sites when their hopes are dashed after hours in the Ticketmaster queue.
The Ticketmaster Face Value Exchange may be a ray of light in a dark place, and coupled with credit cards, it can save fans big on live events.
Anti-Inflation Artists
Canadian American singer Neil Young is the latest to opt into Ticketmaster’s Face Value Exchange, which is exactly what it sounds like: a marketplace built into Ticketmaster that allows consumers to sell their unwanted tickets for face value. Young is the most recent act in a growing list of artists, including Billie Eilish, who have opted into Face Value Exchange.
Fans who list their tickets for sale will find that listing prices are automatically set at the total price they paid. This includes the face value price set by the artist, plus any applicable fees and taxes.
Eilish explained on her “Hit Me Hard And Soft” Ticketmaster tour page that she opted in to the program to fight scalpers.
“Billie Eilish wants to give fans, not scalpers, the best chance to buy tickets at face value. To make this possible, they have chosen to use Ticketmaster’s Face Value Exchange,” it says.
“If fans purchase tickets for a show and can’t attend, they’ll have the option to resell them to other fans on Ticketmaster at the original price paid. To ensure Face Value Exchange works as intended, Billie Eilish has requested that all tickets be mobile only and restricted from transfer.”
While New York, Illinois, Colorado, Virginia, Utah and Connecticut have laws limiting an artist’s ability to determine how their tickets are resold, Eilish encourages fans in those states to sell their tickets on the Face Value Exchange platform so fans can have access to affordable shows.
How You Can Save More
Here’s some more good news— ticket prices are falling for the first time in a minute. Prices are down 5.5% from $127.38 for a ticket in 2024 to $120.43 a year later, according to Pollstar.
While artists like Young and Eilish are working behind the scenes to make live entertainment more equitable for everyone, fans can also use credit cards to earn rewards or cash back on tickets and save a little more. Here are some of our favorite cards for tickets:
Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card
The Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card is a hard-hitter when it comes to entertainment, offering 3% cash back on dining, entertainment, popular streaming services and grocery stores (excluding superstores like Walmart® and Target®), 5% cash back on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, 8% cash back on Capital One Entertainment purchases and 1% on all other purchases.
To max out your benefits, see if you can book tickets through the Capital One portal to take advantage of the hefty multiplier. A generous welcome offer can be put toward concert or festival tickets once earned: $200 cash bonus after spending $500 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening, plus a $100 credit to use towards flights, stays and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel during your first cardholder year.
Wells Fargo Attune® Card*
The Wells Fargo Attune® Card* offers cash back across entertainment categories, including 4% cash rewards on eligible purchases for gym memberships, entertainment, sports, recreation, at spas or salons and select additional categories, 1% cash rewards on other purchases.
Live entertainment, including concert and festival tickets, is included, and best of all, like the other cards on this list, the Attune costs absolutely nothing with an annual fee of $0.
Citi Custom Cash® Card*
The Citi Custom Cash® Card* is another card that’s almost too good to be true, with an annual fee of $0.
While the card may seem low-key, it’s bursting with reward opportunities with 5% cash back on purchases in a top eligible spend category up to the first $500 spent each billing cycle, 4% cash back on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked through Citi Travel and 1% cash back on all other purchases. The categories include concerts, live sporting events, live theatrical productions, amusement parks and orchestras, with no activation schedule to keep track of, as long as the category is where you spend the most money each month.
Best of all, the welcome bonus makes it easy to plan and pay for your next musical event: $200 in cash back after spending $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. The bonus points come in the form of 20,000 ThankYou® points that can be redeemed for $200 cash back.
Bottom Line
Concertgoers may now have an option to avoid succumbing to scalpers. Before paying a third of your rent for your next concert, check to see if the artist has opted into the Ticketmaster Face Value Exchange. Also, a credit card with entertainment rewards can help you recoup more of your money.