Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with tickets

Pop concert ticket help needed!

timpanogos — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:34:23 -0800

Pop rock meets little sisters filter: I would like to buy my two teenage sisters tickets to a pop concert for Christmas. Ticketmaster is not being helpful and I can't seem to find anything useful in too-much-info alt-weekly. I'm looking for Salt Lake City area pop music tickets (think Taylor Swift, David Archuleta, Jonas Brother types). I'm would like to spend in the 30-50 dollar range for each of their tickets in the January-March 2010 time frame. They are both under 21 so bars are out of the picture.

I'm looking to create a Christmas mini-miracle here! Thanks for any help.

Follow the yellow brick road!

Talia Devane — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 07:54:50 -0800

I need to find the most affordable flight from south Georgia to California. I seem to have too many variables though. How do I find the best flight from multiple possible departure airports to multiple possible arrival airports? Throw flexible dates in there as well just for fun. I live near the GA/FL border and can fly from Atlanta, Jacksonville, Tallahassee or the local commuter airport. I have family near San Diego and San Francisco. I'm going to have to rent a car in any case on the west coast so arrival can be to any airport within 2 hours or so driving. As this is still all planning phase I have no set dates. I just need the cheapest way to get there with two kids. Am I asking something impossible here?

How much flight information is on a credit card statement

thewestinggame — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 13:52:58 -0800

I am buying a plane ticket with my credit card and someone else has access to my credit card statements. How much information about my flight will that person be able to get? With my name and credit card number, would someone be able to look up what flight I'm on? Will my flight number show up on the credit card statement?

Rock Chalk Jayhawk!

j1950 — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:19:57 -0800

Can I use Kansas football student tickets if I'm not a KU student? A friend of mine and I want to buy 2 tickets to Kansas' game next week against Oklahoma. Problem is, they're student tickets, and we're not tickets. I've been told there's an upgrade fee, but it's unclear from the website.

Can we use these tickets? I don't want to buy them if I can't.

Thanks!

Cheap Mets tickets for 10/2?

xmutex — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 09:17:23 -0800

Mets tickets: next Friday, 10/2, vs the Astros- has to be a cheaper way, right? OK so the Mets suck, but the tickets are way expensive. It looks like I'll be in town for the weekend, and I'd like to go see them play another sucky team, the Astros. Is there some clever way of obtaining what I think should be cheaper tickets?

What waiting lists should I be on?

djb — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 09:50:53 -0800

What waiting lists should I be on? I'm in my 20s, living near DC (Arlington), looking for waiting lists to get on now so my future self can enjoy life. Assume a good but not extravagent professional salary (no private jets).

Examples:
Country club
Marina slip
Unique vacations
Car
Watches

Not interested in:
Sporting events
Things open only to a very small area (e.g. neighborhood swim club) - county or state level is OK

How do I get special access at sporting events?

arimathea — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 16:31:27 -0800

How do I get "special" access at sporting events? We all see them: People with "special access" at sporting events. There are of course a variety of ways to get this kind of access; the obvious ones being knowing a player or coach or working for the stadium, field, golf course, whatever, and some special sponsorship relationships. But for those of us that don't have these kinds of relationships, what are the methods one might use to get "premium access" or treated very well by stadium staff? I'm thinking things like pre-game access, field access, being able to hang out on the sidelines before and after the game, etc, getting access to special boxes, etc.

If you were to try to keep an eye out for these kind of relationships, where would you focus your time and attention at meeting people in the industry? And if these relationships were out of the question for you, how would you get such access? I'm specifically talking about football and baseball, and specifically focused around the US, but i'd be interested in hearing anything.

Let us fly! Cheaply.

VikingSword — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 13:52:47 -0800

Cheapest Airline Tickets: Los Angeles - Berlin RT. Options? From - To: Los Angeles to Berlin, Germany. Round trip.

Two people (my wife and myself).

Time: Either Sept 9, return October 2 or Sept 16, return October 9.

Complication: I have to purchase the tickets, or know for 100% sure when I'm taking off at least one week before the date of flight (work notification issue).

I've tried: Kayak, and Faircast/Bing

I got about high 700's (~$790) per person. (I've seen as low as $605 on Kayak, but when I tried to book those flights, the tickets were not available anywhere - yet kept being displayed thru Kayak, which soured me on that site somewhat).

Can better be done?

I don't mind any particular airline, or hours of departure/arrival, don't mind stopping over at Newark or wherever, though I'd prefer not to have to change planes.

I read somewhere that it can make sense to use a travel agent - but it's hard for me to see how it'll be cheaper that way rather than DIY.

Should I book now, or wait until the last moment (in this case, last moment is 1 week before departure, for reasons I gave above)? Use an agent? Look at other places than Kayak and Bing search?

Whats the best way to buy a flight for a vacation without getting screwed?

schindyguy — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 17:33:42 -0800

Whats the best way to buy a flight for a vacation that you know you are going on (greater than 3 months in the future)? I am tired of getting screwed for being prepared. I know I need two tickets from Los Angeles (LAX) to Maui (OGG) departing December 12 and returning December 19.

So I thought I would give bing.com's future price utility a try with the flight. I just got a "Bing Travel Alert" that suggests its a good time to buy...http://www.bing.com/travel/flight/flightSearch?o=LAX&d1=12%2F12%2F2009&p=2&src=fct&r1=12%2F19%2F2009&cid=10713&viewMode=list&e=OGG

Since when has the market for tickets been dictated like this? I thought the earlier you book, the better rate you should get. I guess this isn't the case as I learned from my previous purchase of 2 round trip flights from cheaptickets.com. I booked the reservation to Los Cabos 4 months in advance and if I would have waited 1 week before the trip, I would have saved $125 per ticket. Is that insane? In what situation would preparedness not be beneficial? I guess with flights.

How can I guarantee I wont set myself up for another Los Cabos irritation? What can someone do to protect themselves from these market fluctuations?

I just want to see my Consey!

radioamy — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 20:22:09 -0800

I am going to be in LA the week of August 10th, and I'm dying to see a taping of the Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. I put in a request for tickets, but the website said they are only taking reservations for September. Any MeFites have any inside tips on how to get tickets? I know, I know, I should have requested tickets months ago, but I just finalized my trip today. I'll wince in the corner here while you wag your finger at me.

I understand that there are standby tickets available and that about half the people get in...but I was hoping to get a concrete confirmation ahead of time instead of driving to Burbank during rush hour and waiting in line.

I figure we have Mefites in just about every industry, from funeral directing to mythbusting, so I am crossing my fingers that someone has an inside connection maybe?

Mefi, can you hope me?

ticket scalpers near staples center in LA?

gcat — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 12:02:16 -0800

best intersection near staples center in los angeles to find potential ticket scalpers for michael jackson memorial? ok, i know this is totally totally a loooong shot, BUT, i gotta try.

i *am* going up to LA tomorrow, from san diego. probably by car.

my question is pretty simple:

can any LA natives just throw out some ideas as to where ticket scalpers might be hanging out ready to scalp some tickets to the michael jackson memorial? i am looking for intersections, i guess.

THANKS! sorry this is so brief, but i am at work and gotta run.

Where to stand at Fenway?

um_maverick — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 10:04:19 -0800

I have Standing-Room-Only tickets for the Red Sox at Fenway tonight - where should I stand? My tickets say they are for Right-Field Standing Room, and I'm to enter at Gate B. I'm going solo, so I wo'nt be able to have anybody hold my spot for me to go get a beer or anything, so what's my best option? I'm going to get there when the gates open to watch batting practice, and I'm bringing my camera w/a 300mm lens to try to get some decent shots.

Thanks!

When to book to get cheapest flights?

ragtimepiano — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 22:23:21 -0800

Given that the airlines are reducing the numbers of flights due to the economic downturn, what is the optimal time to book cheap flights? In the past, I've had great success booking domestic flights 2-3 days before. This time, we will be booking 2 round trip tickets. I just booked a flight from the western US to Montreal for my husband, three weeks ahead, as we found the planes were filling up rapidly. We didn't get much of a deal. Standby is not on option as I'll be flying with an autistic person. Any and all hive-mind thoughts are welcome. Thanks!

How early to wait for (cheap) Godot tickets in London?

Devoidoid — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:26:01 -0800

Can anyone recommend strategy/tactics for snagging cheap day seats for 'Waiting for Godot' in London? Will there be a snarling crowd at 10AM Saturday morning outside the Theatre Royal Haymarket? How early ought I arrive to ensure I'm in the front of the queue?

Risks of Back-to-Back Ticketing on Airlines?

sdis — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 00:53:46 -0800

AirlineFilter: How risky is it to do back to back ticketing? Is there any other way I can reasonably get from VIE-CCS-JFK? I need to do VIE-CCS-JFK. Here are some sample prices for the dates I need:

VIE-CCS-VIE: $800
CCS-JFK: $450 (Carribean air)
VIE-CCS: $2500
VIE-CCS-JFK: $3000 (Air France)
(VIE-JFK-VIE): $800-1000

What are my options here? Seems like the cheapest and most convenient is VIE-CCS-VIE + CCS-JFK, and then not show up to the second half of my round trip. However, that violates back-to-back ticketing rules for most airlines. It's fairly not OK with me to get stuck in Venezuela.

How casual was air travel in 1974?

Kirklander — Thu, 28 May 2009 23:09:33 -0800

In the movie The Parallax View (1974), Warren Beatty boards a passenger plane, without a plane ticket. He doesn't have to buy one until the flight attendant comes down the aisle to ask him, "Round trip?" Was air travel really this casual back then, like getting on a train?

How do I get one ticket to tomorrow's Yankees' game?

docgonzo — Sat, 23 May 2009 17:03:14 -0800

Best way to get a solo Yankees ticket for tomorrow? I'm in NYC for the weekend and want to go to Sunday's matinee game -- sit in the bleachers, drink beer, etc. What's the best way to get one ticket? (StubHub appears to only sell doubles...) Thanks!

Am I just a victim of inept bureaucracy? Can I do anything?

miss lynnster — Wed, 20 May 2009 20:45:39 -0800

I have had a perfect storm of bureaucratic screwups take $400 and many hours of my life from me. Can I get my money back? I've been fighting up to now with no success so I don't even know who or what to do anymore. Help! (Companies involved: AAA, DMV, LA Parking Violations Bureau) Okay, so here's the deal. I hate that it's long because I do need people to read it to get my problem. But... it's a bit convoluted, unfortunately.

1) April 2008 -- I realized I hadn't gotten a car insurance bill from AAA in a while (even though I hadn't changed billing addresses in many years) and it should've been due. I drove straight from my father's memorial service to AAA with a checkbook and was told by a nice kid named Troy that everything was fine, I was good, I didn't need to pay that day, but I should wait for a bill.

2) May 2008 -- I paid my registration fees to the DMV. Strangely, I didn't receive any stickers in the mail.

3) June -- Still no stickers. I went to the DMV. They said I had no insurance. I didn't know what was going on. I called Troy. He said there was no problem. I was insured. It was their issue. I should go back to the DMV and get my stickers.

4) I go back to the DMV. Twice. They tell me both times that it's not handled. I try to fix it. The DMV insists it's still not handled.

5) June -- I call the AAA office. Troy is no longer employed there. People in the office won't help me. I call AAA's 800 number to complain. I'm told my account needs updating. My policy is "revised" and I receive a bill immediately afterwards which I pay. I'm told this should clear up the problem with the DMV.

6) July -- The DMV still won't give me stickers. I start to get parking tickets for expired registration even though I know I have paid my fees and have insurance. AAA tells me they are fixit tickets and it should be no problem, that I should be able to get my stickers immediately and clear them all up without paying anything.

7) For months afterwards I have a great deal of back and forth with the DMV and AAA. Hours of my life. Finally it's supposedly cleared up. By this time I have three fixit tickets. I'm told they'll be cleared easily when I have my stickers... so I keep making DMV appointments and calling AAA.

8) November 2008 -- I'm finally assured I should get my stickers. However, when I go to the DMV for the fifth time, they tell me that prior to giving me my sticker I now owe $300 in fees for the tickets due to the time that passed since they were issued. I tell them they were fixit tickets but I can't clear the tickets without the stickers. They tell me they can't give me the stickers if I don't pay $300 and I should call AAA because they'll take care of everything for me.

9) December 2008 -- I call AAA's 800 number to get an update on what's going on since nobody was calling me back. I'm informed for the first time that Troy had screwed up my policy and I actually *was* driving uninsured from March to June. Apparently this is why the people in his office wouldn't help me, because it was covered up. I find out my entire policy was REWRITTEN FROM SCRATCH in June and I didn't even know until December.

9) December until April 2009 -- AAA tells me they'll handle the problem and I shouldn't pay the tickets because it was their mistake, that I should get my stickers soon but I have to talk to the LA Parking Violations Bureau to find out what they need from AAA. LA Parking tells me what they need from AAA. I tell AAA. Then in April 2009 I am informed by e-mail that nobody at AAA can help to clear up the issue. It's suggested that only the DMV can fix it. DMV says I have to talk to the LA Parking Violations Bureau or AAA. LA Parking Violations Bureau says I should talk to the DMV. Everyone is pretty rude.

10) April 2009 -- After over a year of fighting this and having no registration stickers, I narrowly escape getting my car impounded by the police. I have a total breakdown of built-up frustration in a AAA/DMV office when I'm informed in a scripted tone that nobody can help me, that I now owe $400 and that I should've paid the tickets when I got them instead of expecting them to be fixed (even though AAA promised me they'd handle it). Yeah, thanks a lot folks.

*********
Sorry that's so long... but am I just out $400 and a year of my life because people suck? Should I just be a victim? Can't I fight this and get that money back? That's a lot of money to me right now and I didn't do anything wrong in the first place!

Thoughts? Advice? I want this in my past... but I'm also really pissed off beyond belief at how I've been treated and how much time of my life has been unapologetically wasted.

Thanks for listening to my tale of woe.

Is it worth getting Redskins tickets to resell?

procrastination — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 13:48:31 -0800

I just got off the waiting list and am now eligible to buy Washington Redskins season tickets. I don't really want to go to the games. Is it worth buying them to resell them anyway? There is a long wait list to get Washington Redskins season tickets. It took me eight years to make it through. When I signed up I was young and single and had time to go. Now I am old and married and have a little kid, and don't. I would buy them, though, if I could resell them easily enough to make it worth while. If I could cover my costs to go to just one game myself, it might be worthwhile.

Is anyone doing this? Do you know if I am likely to make any money from it? I have to give a $100 non-refundable deposit just to find out what seats I would get. How should I be considering the economics?

Minnesota Vikings - buy tickets now or from scalpers on game day?

gfroese — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 07:17:22 -0800

Roadtrip to see Minnesota Vikings. I'm looking to head to Minneapolis in November to catch a Vikings game and I'm wondering what my chances are of getting tickets from a scalper on game day. We'll have 4 or 5 guys and we obviously want to sit together, is that even possible from a scalper? Any suggestions for accommodations and other activities to take in on the weekend?

How do I ask a company to fly my company out for a meeting?

Damn That Television — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 08:54:00 -0800

A very large media company is interested in talking to my small, three-person start-up. They're in LA, we're in NYC. How do we gently ask them to fly us out for a meeting? Or should we pay our own way? Not to be picky, but: as interesting as theoretical answers might be, I'm really looking for advice from someone who's been in a similar situation, and how they handled it. Thanks!

Need help booking travel for two people - different return dates.

Towelie — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 15:06:32 -0800

Two people traveling, want to travel together, one needs to return on a different day. How to do so? Online? Phone? My GF + I are traveling from Philly to Vegas next month - we need to book our tickets (and soon!) Problem: Online doesn't get you seats next together...nor books both people easily.

We want to travel together on the leg out to Vegas (and sit together!) - she needs to return earlier (several days earlier) for work.

I'm familiar with most of the travel sites (like Kayak) - but I couldn't find a way to book both of our tickets (and get seats next to each other) at the same time (instead of book the first person then the second.)

What's the best way to go about this?

I think I want to use United - they seem to be cheapest - when I called their phone # - it was $25/ticket extra to talk to a human.

Bonus: We're using an Amex to pay for it - should we call Amex's travel services for the best deal? United? Book online?

How can I get decent, but not overpriced sports tickets?

teg4rvn — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 15:08:26 -0800

What are people's strategies in getting sports tickets at a reasonable price? I'm not a season ticket holder for anything, but once or twice a year like to splurge and get some decent seats for NBA or MLB games. Stubhub generally seems like legalized scalping. Craigslist gives me the heebie-jeebies for tickets because of counterfeiting issues.

A friend once told me to wait until <30 minutes before game time and go to the box office and see what returns they have (presumably from players/owners). I tried this once with no success and ended up in nosebleeds.

I'm not looking to pay $5 for a $100 ticket. By the same token, I don't want to pay $250 for a $100 ticket. I just want to get my greedy mitts on a $100 face-value ticket that would otherwise be unavailable to a non season ticket holder...for $100.

Any strategies would be appreciated.

Help me get tickets for Oprah

CrazyLemonade — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 10:44:44 -0800

How difficult is it to get tickets for Oprah? I'm going to be in Chicago for a week in April to visit a friend, and I thought it would be fun to go to a taping of the Oprah show. I've been reading all the info on the website, and apparently the only way to get tickets is to call and speak to an audience department employee". Has anyone gotten tickets before, that can give me some advice? The hard part here is that they mostly assure you that you're going to get a LOT of busy signals before getting through....and after that, what? What info will I have to have on hand to give to them? I'm mexican, and will be calling long distance from Mexico. [Or, could I have my friend (in Chicago) try to call and get me the tickets? She wouldn't be going with me, my husband will.]

Any advice or personal experience would be welcome.

How far in advance should I buy my plane tickets?

voltairemodern — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 11:24:28 -0800

AirfareFilter: I need to go to Montana in May. At what time between now and then will tickets be cheapest? Not much more detail to provide, really. My wife and I need to get to Montana at the beginning of May, and want to buy our tickets when they'll be the cheapest. I know prices fluctuate a lot, and that buying farther away from the date isn't necessarily the best choice, but I don't know much more than that. Should I wait until the last minute, or three weeks out, or a month and a half? Is there a science to the pricing, or is it too arbitrary to predict?

In sum: how far in advance will I find the best prices on airfare?