Free Concert in N.Y.C!

I’ve loved music all of my life! From salsa to hip-hop to country, I like almost all genres. I’m known as a pretty good DJ in the OR and manage the tunes during most of my cases. I have this awesome little speaker that works great (UE wonderboom- no affiliate here lol).

When you have a huge number of kids like my family does, you run out of ideas for what to get them for birthdays/Christmas.

My 16 year old is an AWESOME kid! We both have very similar music interests. When I found out her favorite artist, Sza, was going on tour, I figured out the perfect Christmas gift!

Since I love to travel and Sza only had limited weekend dates, I decided to take her and her friend to the concert in NYC! I grew up in Jersey but had never seen a concert at Madison Square Garden (The Garden) so this was a treat for me too! I’m going to show you how I used points/miles to see a concert in NYC for (practically) free!

Points breakdown:

Flights

I’ve had a Delta Amex Platinum card for about 5 years (Yes, shiny object syndrome got me). With the Delta Amex Platinum, you get lots of perks including an annual domestic companion certificate (minus taxes and fees), TSA Precheck/Global Entry credit, 20% off in-flight purchases and free checked bags.

I had a companion pass that was extended due to covid. I booked a non-stop flight to LGA for $217.20 plus $29.20 for our plane tickets.

I booked a separate R/T ticket through Delta for her friend using my Capital One VX card for $217.20 (same as my r/t ticket). I could have used my Delta card to accrue points but I wanted to use the purchase eraser through Capital One. It’s not the most glamorous redemption at 1:1, but it worked for me! One free plane ticket for her bestie.

Hotel

The Hyatt Centric is a fantastic hotel in the heart of Times Square. I received an upgrade due to my Explorist status and we had a partial view of Times square. The room felt spacious, modern and clean. They had a rooftop bar (21 and up), market and gym. We walked to The Garden and other sites. It really is in a central location. The hotel cost $0 out of pocket, booked all with points transferred from Chase.

Concert tickets

I purchased the concert tickets through Vivid Seats but here’s a hack…Capital One Shopping app! I took a peek and found that Vivid was offering 12% back if I purchased through the shopping app. This app doesn’t cost any money and you don’t need to have a Capital One card to use it, anyone can. I logged in and used my CVX to pay through the portal. Cash price= $680. I received $81.60 back in the Capital One shopping app to use towards a gift card in the future and redeemed 68,000 points for free concert tickets! Some travel/points enthusiasts would say this isn’t the best redemption at a 1:1 rate, but I was ecstatic to cover this trip for (practically) free!

NYC recommendations:

I love food as much as I love travel and here are some of the highlights of our trip.

I love traveling and you must do NYC once in your life! Take in the sights, food and culture of the city.

It may just change your life, Healthcare Fam!

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