How Credit Card Presales Helped Me Score Harry Styles and US Open Tickets

I'm spending Labor Day weekend in New York City, and my itinerary is almost entirely built around one credit card perk: presale access. Getting tickets to popular concerts and sporting events at face value can be an accomplishment in itself — and missing the initial sale can mean paying significantly more on the resale market.

But card presales are the reason I'll be attending two bucket-list events on back-to-back days: the U.S. Open on Friday and Harry Styles at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. Many of the cards I carry in my wallet come with terrific perks like automatic elite status, statement credits and travel insurance. But as a huge sports and music fan, presale access has become one of my favorites.

Here's why I love this underrated perk, how it helped me score both tickets and a few tips for maximizing your chances of doing the same.

How I Scored Harry Styles and US Open Tickets with Amex Presales

I've used Amex presales twice this year to get tickets to two events I've been really excited about: Harry Styles at Madison Square Garden and the U.S. Open. In both cases, I accessed the presale with my Hilton Honors American Express Surpass Card.

First up was Harry Styles. I joined the Amex presale in January and got tickets to his Sept. 5 show, which falls on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend. I bought my tickets more than seven months before the concert, which shows just how far in advance you may need to plan if you want to take advantage of cardmember presales.

I paid $175 per ticket during the presale. Now, the show is sold out, and tickets in the same section are selling for more than $300 on the resale market.

A few months later came another Amex presale: the U.S. Open. Going to the tournament has been a dream of mine, so I was excited to snag two tickets during the late-May presale. My tickets are for Friday, Sept. 4, the men's and women's third round at the iconic Arthur Ashe Stadium.

I paid $199 per ticket, and tickets in my section are now selling for more than $250 on resale sites. Inventory is also pretty limited, which makes me even happier that I bought when I did.

Those two presales effectively built my Labor Day weekend. Once I knew I'd be in New York for two events I really wanted to attend, the next challenge was finding somewhere to stay.

I Booked My New York City Hotel Entirely with Points

I booked three nights at Hotel 50 Bowery for 25,000 Chase UltimateRewards points per night, which I earned with my Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. The same stay would have cost $1,253.45, including taxes and fees, giving me about 1.67 cents per point in value. That's slightly below TPG's current valuation of Chase Ultimate Rewards points at 2 cents per point, but using points allowed me to avoid more than $1,250 in hotel costs over an already expensive holiday weekend.