How To Earn Cash Back And Rewards On Sports Ticket Purchases

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Do you love attending live sports games? If you’re a die-hard fan, you may spend a small fortune in sport ticket purchases each year. The best credit cards for sports fans let you get the most cash and travel rewards from your single game, multi-game plans, or season ticket purchases.

Credit Cards That Earn Rewards on Sports Tickets Purchases

• Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card
• Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card
• Citi Premier® Card
• The Platinum Card® from American Express
• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
• NHL® Discover it®
• NFL Extra Points Credit Card
• MLB® Credit Cards

Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.

Editor’s Note: Some of the offers below may have expired or are no longer available on our site. 

The information for the NFL Extra Points Credit Card and the MLB® Credit Cards has been collected independently by Johnny Jet. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Editor’s Note: Some of the offers below may have expired or are no longer available on our site. 

Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card

The Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card earns the most cash back rewards on sport ticket purchases. You get 4% back at restaurant, select streaming services, and entertainment purchases with tickets for live professional and semi-professional games counting as qualifying purchases. However, college games only earn the base 1% award rate.

Grocery store purchases earn 3% back and all remaining purchases earn 1% back.

The annual fee is $95. The signup bonus is $300 bonus cash after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months.

The information for the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card has been collected independently by Johnny Jet. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card

If you want a cash rewards card with no annual fee, sports fans should consider the Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card.

The Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card earns an unlimited 3% cash back on dining, entertainment, popular streaming services, and at grocery stores (excluding superstores like Walmart® and Target®), 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel (terms apply), 8% cash back on Capital One Entertainment purchases and tickets at Vivid Seats, plus 1% on all other purchases.

The signup bonus is $200 after spending $500 in the first 3 months. There isn’t a foreign transaction fee.

Learn more: Cash Back Credit Cards

Citi Premier Credit Card

The Citi Premier® Card doesn’t earn more for sports tickets but does earn 3x points on gas station, restaurant, supermarket, hotel, and air travel purchases. All remaining purchases earn 1 point per $1.

There is also an annual $100 hotel benefit after spending $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees) on a single stay purchase booked through thankyou.com. So if you stay for a few nights at the same hotel, you might easily earn the $100 benefit. Plus, the 3x points on select categories can be super helpful while traveling.

Each point can be more valuable when transferring to 1:1 airline partners including Singapore Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, and Avianca LifeMiles.

This card also lets you book special experiences using the Citi Entertainment program. Some of the special offers including sports camps with star athletes including Rob Gronkowski, Von Miller, or Jayson Tatum. New York Mets fans can get find buy-one-get-one tickets.

New Citi Premier® Card cardmembers can earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after spending $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. This bonus is redeemable for $600 in gift cards when redeemed at thankyou.com.

The annual fee is $95 but there isn’t a foreign transaction fee.

Related: Best Citi Credit Cards

The Platinum Card from American Express

The Platinum Card® from American Express may not seem like an ideal credit card for sports tickets at first glance. You only earn 1 point per $1 on entertainment.

But the Amex Platinum can be a good option if you attend games with a Centurion Suite. Two year-round locations are the Staples Center in Los Angeles and the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. You may also see pop-up locations for key sporting events like the US Open tennis tournament.

You may also find exclusive deals for sporting events with the Entertainment Access and American Express Preferred Seating services.

Perks

Cardholders earn 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, and earn 5x Membership Rewards® points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel.

Cardholders can get $200 back in statement credits each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts® or The Hotel Collection bookings with American Express Travel when they pay with your Platinum Card®.

Also, select one qualifying airline and then receive up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year when incidental fees are charged by the airline to your Card.

Plus, American Express has expanded The Centurion® Network to include 40+ Centurion Lounge and Studio locations worldwide. Now there are even more places your Platinum Card® can get you complimentary entry and exclusive perks.

Other Platinum Card from American Express Benefits

There’s also a digital entertainment credit, making this card one of the best for streaming services. Cardholders can get up to $20 in statement credits each month when they pay for eligible purchases with the Platinum Card® at your choice of one or more of the following providers: Peacock, Audible, SiriusXM, The New York Times, and other participating providers. Enrollment required.

In addition to enjoying TSA PreCheck or Global Entry access, cardholders can also enjoy CLEAR perks. Breeze through security with CLEAR® Plus at 45+ airports nationwide and get up to $189 back per year on your membership (subject to auto-renewal) when you use your Card.

Another exciting benefit is the ability for cardholders to get up to $300 back each year on an Equinox+ subscription or any Equinox club membership when they pay with their Platinum Card. Enrollment required. Learn more.

Plus, get a $155 Walmart+ credit, which covers the cost of a $12.95 monthly Walmart+ membership with a statement credit after you pay for Walmart+ each month with your Platinum Card. The cost includes $12.95 plus applicable local sales tax.

Get the full details and learn more in our in-depth The Platinum Card from American Express review.

The annual fee is $695 (See Rates & Fees) but can be offset with the perks, which are valued at over $1,400. 

Welcome Bonus Offer

New The Platinum Card® from American Express cardmembers can earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® points after spending $6,000 on purchases on their new Card in the first 6 months of Card Membership. 

Learn more: Johnny Jet Recommended Credit Cards

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is also worth noting when it comes to being able to earn rewards on sports tickets purchases thanks to its ability to earn 2x miles on every purchase. This flat-rate rewards credit card offers flexibility when it comes to earning rewards.

Plus, because you earn 2x miles per $1 spent, you don’t have to worry about calculating how much each purchase might be worth. You also don’t have to worry about spending a certain amount in a specific category every few months. So your tickets, purchases at the gift shop, food and drink purchases, parking, and more will all earn an unlimited 2x miles per $1.

However, if you are wanting to earn a few more miles on travel, good news—earn 5x miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. Plus, Venture cardholders will earn 5x miles when booking through the Turo app or on Turo.com (through May 16, 2023). 

The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card lets you redeem the Venture miles you earn for travel, cash, gift cards, and shopping rewards. Despite these many redemption options, your miles are worth the most for award travel. Your travel reward redemption options include:

• Travel statement credits
• Purchase Eraser for recent travel purchases
• Book upcoming travel on the Capital One Travel portal
• Transfer Capital One Miles to airline and hotel partners

Each mile is worth one cent each when redeeming for travel statement credits and booking upcoming travel through Capital One. Your miles can be worth potentially more when transferred to a travel partner. But if you can’t decide between a cash or travel rewards card, this comparison of the Capital One Venture vs Quicksilver might clear some things up.

Enjoy a one-time bonus of 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel, with the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card.

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card can help you get access to exclusive events for Sapphire cardmembers. All Chase credit card and debit card members can get special benefits at these venues:

• Chase Center, San Francisco
• Madison Square Garden, New York
• The Forum, Los Angeles
• Chase Field, Phoenix
• Toyota Stadium, Dallas
• Amalie Arena, Tampa

Each arena has its own unique benefit packages. Some of the common benefits include savings on food, beverage, and merchandise. You might also get early access to ticket sales, early admission on game day, and season ticket renewal benefits.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred also has Chase Sapphire benefits such as a $50 annual Ultimate Rewards Hotel Credit, 5x points on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3x points on dining, and 2x points on all other travel purchases, plus more.

Your points are worth 25% more when booking award travel on the Chase travel portal. You can also transfer them at a 1:1 ratio to travel partners including United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, World of Hyatt, and Emirates.

The annual fee is $95.

New Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card cardholders can earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s $750 when redeemed through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.

Related: Chase Sapphire Preferred vs Capital One Venture

NHL Discover it

Your spending power may be a better fit for a credit card the specializes in one sport. The NHL® Discover it® earns 5% back in purchases on rotating quarterly bonus categories, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. All other purchases earn 1% back.

For the first year, Discover matches all the cash rewards you earn. This opened-ended signup bonus lets you earn more bonus cash than other cash rewards credit cards award up to $200 back, at best.

Discover will emboss your card with your favorite NHL team’s logo. Unfortunately, this card doesn’t offer any additional NHL-related benefits. However, the NHL Discover it doesn’t have an annual fee or a foreign transaction fee.

Learn more: Rewards Credit Cards

NFL Extra Points

Professional football fans may motion a first down with the NFL Extra Points credit card:

• Earn 2x points on NFL and team purchases
• 20% off NFLShop.com purchases
• Redeem points for NFL tickets and experiences
• Favorite team’s logo on your credit card front

All non-NFL purchases earn 1 point per $1. You can redeem your points for NFL tickets and experiences. Another redemption option is redeeming your points for 1% cash back.

This card doesn’t have an annual fee. The signup bonus is 10,000 bonus points ($100 value) after spending $500 in the first 90 days.

MLB Credit Card

The Bank of America MLB Credit Card helps you show loyalty to your favorite team. You can earn up to 3% cash back on purchases:

• 3% back on one category of choice
  • Gas, online shopping, dining, travel, drug stores, or home improvement
• 2% back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs
• 1% back on all other purchases

You get bonus cash on the first $2,500 in combined spending each quarter on your 3% and 2% categories. After that, you earn 1% back on all remaining bonus category purchases. If you’re a Bank of America Preferred Rewards member you can earn 25% to 75% more cashback on all purchases.

This card doesn’t have an annual fee. You can earn $200 bonus cash after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months.

Related: Best Bank of America Credit Cards

Summary of Best Credit Cards to Earn Rewards On Sports Tickets Purchases

You may enjoy the flexibility of earning cashback or travel rewards on your ticket purchases and daily spend. In some instances, you may benefit more by getting a co-brand card from your go-to professional sports league. There are several options if you are looking to earn rewards on sports tickets purchases.

FAQs

What is the best credit card for sports ticket purchases?

The best credit card for earning sports ticket purchases is the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card because it earns 4% back on entertainment purchases (cash back).

The Capital Savor earns 4% back on professional and semi-professional sports ticket purchases. You only earn 1% back at college sporting events.

How do I get presale tickets with my Chase credit card?

You can find exclusive offers in the Chase Experiences section of your Chase credit card account. The exact deals can depend on which credit card you have. For example, the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Sapphire Reserve tend to have exclusive experiences.

Chase also has exclusive offers with the US Open, Madison Square Garden, and Chase Center.

How do you buy sports tickets?

The best place for buying sports tickets is from the team’s official website, when possible. You won’t pay above face value for the ticket and you know the ticket’s legit.

If the event is sold out, you can look for tickets on one of these third-party vendors:

• Vivid Seats
• StubHub
• Ticketmaster
• SeatGeek
• The Box Office

The ticket may cost more than face value when you from a third-party vendor. You may also pay high fees to purchase your ticket. Your credit card may offer a discount if they partner with a certain ticket portal.

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For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, please click here.