Electronic Music Festivals: Using Your Reward Points

Attending a major electronic music festival is one of the most memorable experiences for any music lover or passionate traveller. Audrey and I are both passionate about electronic music, and we know how much a festival can cost! For the past few years, we’ve been visiting music festivals around the world and trying to cut our expenses using credit card rewards points.

In March 2020, during our family world tour, we attended Ultra Australia in Melbourne, for example.

We also attended three of the biggest festivals in the world: Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas, Ultra Europe and Tomorrowland, proudly displaying our colours:

Finally, in recent years, we’ve discovered the Untold festival in Europe, which is accessible to families! We were able to bring our children to Untold Dubai, and they loved it. We’re going back for a 3rd consecutive year in Romania with friends this year!

In 2025, the global scene is more dynamic than ever, with a diverse range of events on every continent and a growing demand for budget optimization through reward points programs. It’s time to turn your points into unforgettable memories at the world’s most renowned EDM festivals. After a brief introduction to the cards and the festivals, find out more about the latest selection of must-see events by continent in 2025/2026, as well as our tips for optimizing your travels with rewards credit cards.

Electronic festivals often combine long journeys, expensive accommodation and expensive entry tickets. This is the perfect opportunity to use your Reward Points to reduce your expenses. Whether for flights, hotels or even car rentals, some credit cards offer great flexibility.

Here’s our guide to attending the world’s biggest electronic music festivals (and saving with points)! For some festivals, we have provided recommendations for hotels you can book with points.

At the end of the article, you will find the credit cards we recommend to save on:

• Flights
• Accommodation (hotels and other types)
• Travel insurance
• Foreign currency fees

If you had only one credit card to choose from as an electronic music festival enthusiast, we’d recommend the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite card for all these reasons:

• No foreign currency transaction fee (2.5% savings on each transaction)
• 2 points per dollar for entertainment (cinema, theater and ticket sales – i.e. 2% return)
• 2 points per dollar for travel (i.e. 2% return)
• 2 points per dollar for groceries (i.e. 2% return)
• 2 points per dollar for restaurants and bars (i.e. 2% return)
• Six complimentary airport lounge visits per year
• Points can be used toward any travel expense (flights, hotels, Airbnb, and even some festival tickets)
• Insurance coverage
• Visa card = accepted worldwide
• Visa Infinite card = discount on contactless payment for several festivals

The Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite card ticks a lot of boxes for the electronic music festival enthusiast!

Before booking a festival, bear in mind that each EDM festival has its own identity, atmosphere and audience:

• Coachella (electronic section): Multi-genre festival, with electronic music increasingly featured. Minimum age: 18 years old. Average age: 25-40 years.
• EDC Las Vegas: Massive visual production, strong American rave culture, nighttime schedule and after-parties until dawn (6 p.m. to 6 a.m.). The décor, lights, and fireworks create the perfect atmosphere for an unforgettable night. No entry for those under 18. Average age: 21-35 years old. Generally, attendees take a shuttle from one of the Las Vegas hotels, which takes about 45 minutes to 1 hour to get there.
• Electric Castle: Stands out for its unique medieval setting and eclectic lineup that goes beyond EDM. Family-friendly atmosphere. Children are welcome. Average age: 25-45 years old.
• EXIT: Underground and activist atmosphere, with a strong identity tied to its history and unique setting in a fortress. Minimum age: 18 years old. Average age: 22-38 years old.
• Mysteryland: the world’s oldest EDM festival, with a strong focus on community and sustainability. Minimum age: 18. Average age: 25-40.
• Sónar: Stands out for its avant-garde approach, combining electronic music, digital art, and technological innovation in an urban, daytime format. Open to ages 16 and up. Average age: 25-40 years old.
• Tomorrowland: one of the most immersive and scenic in the world, with particular attention to the aesthetics of the scenes and thematic storytelling. The dancers’ costumes are magnificent. Plus: delicious food stalls! This festival starts at midday and finishes at midnight. Minimum age: 18. Average age: 25-45. Plan to walk 30 minutes to 1 hour to get there, plus transportation.
• Tomorrowland Winter: winter edition in the French Alps with a fairytale atmosphere. Minimum age: 18. Average age: 25-35.
• Ultra Europe: a festive beach atmosphere with a younger crowd, very similar to the Ultra Miami model, ideal for combining Mediterranean vacations and music. It can sometimes feel a bit crowded, though. 18 years and over only. Average age: 20-35.
• Untold: Focuses on magic and visual folklore, with a diverse lineup and unbeatable value for money in Europe. The atmosphere is friendly, with clothing stalls, games, hair styling, and more. The festival in Romania takes place in a park in the city centre, making it very convenient to access. It is family-friendly. Average age: 20-50 years old.

These features can guide your choices based on your tastes, budget, and the type of experience you’re looking for.

Recognized as the world’s most iconic electronic music festival, Tomorrowland attracts over 400,000 festival-goers from over 200 countries every year. The event takes place over two weekends in Boom, Belgium, and features an impressive line-up of house, techno, trance and EDM. The Tomorrowland experience features monumental stages, magical set design, and immersive installations. Tickets seel out within minutes of the box office opening.

• Flights: use Aeroplan or Flying Blue points to fly to Brussels (BRU)
• Hotels: Marriott in Antwerp or Brussels (Bonvoy Points) or book an Airbnb

The Amsterdam Music Festival takes place during the electronic music week: Amsterdam Dance Event. It has become the place where the Best DJ of the year is elected by DJ Mag.

• Flights: book with Flying Blue miles or Aeroplan points (AMS)
• Hotels: Marriott, IHG, or cashback platforms

The festival, which has been running since 1998, is one of the UK’s biggest EDM festivals, with a massive line-up spanning several days.

• Flights: Aeroplan points, Avios (Manchester or Liverpool)
• Hotels: hotels in Manchester, Liverpool or official campsite

This festival has been offering electronic music since 1994, and is one of the longest-running. It stands out for its unique blend of avant-garde music, digital arts and creative technologies. The event is divided into two parts: Sónar by Day, focusing on concerts, conferences and exhibitions in the Fira Montjuïc convention centre, and Sónar by Night, featuring the biggest names on the global electronic scene in a massive exhibition park.

• Flights: Flying Blue
• Hotels: Marriott, Accor, IHG

For music fans, Untold offers an eclectic program of EDM, trance, house and pop. It is one of the biggest festivals in Europe. It’s renowned for its excellent value and safety, making it a popular choice for young adults and families alike.

• Flights: Lufthansa, LOT with Aeroplan
• Accommodations: local hotels with Rocketmiles, Airbnb or independent establishments (possibility of booking with cashback)

Ultra Europe takes place every year in the seaside resort of Split, a very charming city to visit. It is a good starting point to visit the rest of Croatia!

• Flights: British Airways, Lufthansa (Avios/Aeroplan)
• Hotels: Marriott, Rocketmiles, AirBnb

And Ultra Europe is partnered with Mastercard and the Priceless program. You can get discounted VIP tickets and no charge for loading your electronic bracelet.

Here, there are few hotels available with points, we recommend staying in an Airbnb. That’s what we did in 2022, right in the heart of the Old Town (a 15-minute walk from the festival, which is located north of the Old Town).

You might also enjoy the following festivals in Europe:

• Awakenings Festival in the Netherlands: 2 days in July, attended by around 20,000 festival-goers/day (since 2013)
• Electric Castle in Romania: 5 days in July, attended by around 25,000 festival-goers/day (since 2000).
• Exit Festival in Serbia: 4 days in July, attended by around 25,000 festival-goers/day (since 2000).
• Field Day Festival in England: 1 day in May, attended by some 30,000 festival-goers/day (2007).
• Mysteryland in the Netherlands: 3 days in August, attracting some 30,000 festival-goers a day (since 1993).

Created in 2019, it is one of the most recent and massive festivals, with large-scale production and international artists. It embodies the country’s recent cultural openness.

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• Flights: via Aeroplan or Avios (RUH)
• Accommodation: Riyadh’s most ambitious international chains with global headliners and massive production.

Launched in 2024, Untold Dubai is the extension of the famous Romanian festival UNTOLD, exported to the Emirates for the first time in the heart of the luxurious Expo City Dubai. This is the biggest electronic music festival ever held in the MENA region, featuring major international artists such as Armin Van Buuren, Hardwell, Don Diablo and Ellie Goulding. The festival is family-friendly. No alcohol is sold.

The Osheaga Festival is an iconic music event held every summer in Montreal, Parc Jean-Drapeau. Since its inception in 2006, the three-day event has featured an eclectic mix of rock, electronic, hip-hop and emerging artists. In a festive and colourful open-air setting, Osheaga attracts thousands of festival-goers for a unique experience at the heart of music and art.

Ile Soniq is THE electronic music festival of Montreal. The festival has been running since 2014. Do you live in Quebec? Take part next summer!

Here is the list of available Marriott Bonvoy hotels with points on both days of the festival:

A festival in the dead of winter? Come to Quebec to see for yourself! This festival has been running since 2007, bringing together even the most chill EDM fans in 3 cities: Montreal Gatineau and Quebec. If you want to have fun, enjoy Igloofest next winter at Montreal!

Here is the list of available Marriott Bonvoy hotels with points on a festival weekend:

Created in 2010, Escapade attracts more and more people every year with a variety of artists. This festival is open to those 16 and older and takes place at the RA Centre Grounds. An opportunity to visit the capital of Canada at the same time!

Here is the list of available Marriott Bonvoy hotels with points on the festival weekend:

And our articles on the region:

Nestled in the mountains of British Columbia, the Shambhala Music Festival takes place on a private property, the Salmo River Ranch, and offers a deeply immersive experience, with no sponsorship and no alcohol for sale on site. The festival is renowned for its spiritual ambiance, eclectic stages hidden in the wilderness, and a cutting-edge lineup featuring bass music, house, dubstep, and psytrance. It’s a must for fans of alternative and self-sufficient festivals.

Few hotels are available in the area. You have to travel about 50 kilometers to find this one during the festival weekend:

Another rapidly growing festival in Canada: Veld. It’s also a great opportunity to visit a Canadian city, Toronto!

Here are the hotels available in Toronto with Marriott Bonvoy points:

And our articles on the region:

EDC Las Vegas is without a doubt the most intense nighttime festival on this list and the most popular of all. Three wild days in the Nevada desert at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, with immersive stages and a futuristic atmosphere. By 2025, the event was expected to welcome over 500,000 festival-goers over three days, making it one of the biggest EDM gatherings in the world.

If your goal is only to attend EDC Las Vegas, your best bet is to choose a hotel that is as close as possible to the festival venue. In fact, you’ll sleep by day and live by night, and see very little of Las Vegas.

The nearest hotel is the SpringHill Suites Las Vegas North Speedway or the TownePlace Suites Las Vegas North I-15. However, they fill up quickly on these dates, so plan as early as possible a year in advance!

EDC Orlando is the East Coast counterpart to the Las Vegas version. And it’s one of the last big festivals of the year, taking place in November.

In Orlando, there are a good number of hotels available with Marriott Bonvoy points (or even the Hilton Honors program with the points purchase technique). For the 2025 edition, here’s the list of hotels available with points for 3 nights near the festival:

And why not use this as an opportunity to visit Disney?

Ultra Miami is the biggest festival on the American East Coast. Located in the heart of Miami, it attracts over 55,000 people a day.

If your goal is only to attend Ultra Miami, it is in your best interest to choose a hotel that is as close as possible to the festival site.

One of the nearest hotels is the Miami Marriott Biscayne Bay. For the 3-night festival, it will cost you 176,000 Marriott Bonvoy points (compared to the rate of USD 372 + taxes per night). Hard to beat, here are some other options:

Coachella is undoubtedly the most fashionable festival on the West Coast. Tickets are expensive, but sometimes accessible with points via the Marriott Bonvoy Moments site (with VIP experiences).

At the time of writing this article, few hotels are available. The only example is the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa, which you could have for 257,000 points for the 3 nights of the first weekend. This is in contrast to the high rate of USD 1,005 per night + taxes.

EDC Mexico starts the season of the first big annual festivals. It’s an opportunity to visit Mexico City at the same time!

Here is the list of Marriott Bonvoy hotels available with points for the 3-night festival:

Here are our articles and reviews on Mexico City:

In Asia-Oceania, it is rarer to find electronic music festivals. The Ultra franchise is expanding in Japan, South Korea and Australia.

Some attempts have been made in Thailand with the Maya Music Festival I attended in 2017:

More a “tradition” than a music festival, I add the Full Moon Party of Koh Phangan in Thailand. A destination where many clubbers go once in their lives, which I was able to do in 2017 during a bachelor party. The event takes place on the beach.

Here are the credit cards we recommend for various expenses related to your participation in a music festival:

• Flights
• Accommodation
• Foreign Exchange Fees
• Insurance

To get to your music festival, whether it’s in Miami, Las Vegas, British Columbia or Belgium, you’ll need to fly! Here, several loyalty programs can help you save money, such as Aeroplan, WestJet Rewards, British Airways Club or Flying Blue.

Or, if you book your plane ticket via a platform like Expedia, Skyscanner or directly with your airline (like Air Transat or Corsair), you can use travel points (as indicated in the last section).

For travel within North America or to other parts of the world, the best-known frequent flyer program is Air Canada’s Aeroplan.

Here are the best Aeroplan credit card offers to book your flight ticket to your music festival:

A competitor to Aeroplan, the WestJet Rewards program is worth checking out if your festival is in North America. You can use your WestJet Dollars to travel with WestJet or a partner airline such as Delta Airlines.

Here are the best WestJet credit card offers for booking your flight to your music festival:

In North America, you can use British Airways Club Avios to travel with American Airlines. In Europe, you will use them to travel with British Airways or Iberia, in Australia with Qantas, in Asia with Japan Airlines or Cathay Pacific.

This is a currency to have in your points portfolio to give you flexibility!

Here are the best credit card offers to earn Avios to book your flight ticket to your music festival:

Air France KLM’s Flying Blue program is increasingly present in Canada, thanks in particular to its partnership with American Express Membership Rewards (and the imminent arrival of a Flying Blue credit card).

You can use your Flying Blue Miles on any SkyTeam carrier (or partners such as WestJet). And why not take advantage of Flying Blue’s Promo Rewards?

Here are the best credit card offers that allow you to convert your points into Flying Blue Miles:

Since the expansion of the Porter Airlines network in North America, it has become especially appealing to use VIPorter points to get to many major electronic festivals in Canada and on the US East Coast.

For example, you can book direct flights to Montreal for Igloofest, Toronto for the Veld Music Festival, or New York for Electric Zoo, all using VIPorter points earned on previous trips or through partner credit cards.

To maximize your points, consider using the BMO VIPorter Mastercard or the BMO VIPorter World Elite Mastercard. Both cards allow you to earn VIPorter points faster, especially with welcome bonuses, an accelerated earn rate on purchases with Porter, and exclusive benefits.

If you decide to book your flight directly without using airline points, be sure to do so with a credit card that offers travel points applicable against this expense!

Here is our selection of the best travel credit cards to pay for your flight to your music festival. Each of them offers an annual credit that you can apply to your flight or related expenses:

• $50 with BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* Card
• $100 with the American Express^® Gold Rewards Card
• $150 with the National Bank World Elite Mastercard^®
• $200 with American Express Platinum Card^®

Accommodation is often very expensive when an important event takes place in a city. If you’re going to a festival, you need to book as far in advance as possible: prices are bound to go up, not just for tickets but also for hotel accommodation.

For some festivals like Tomorrowland in Belgium, one of the only ways to secure seats is by booking the hotel (or campsite) with the festival as a package deal.

For other festivals, you can book any type of accommodation: hotel, Airbnb, VRBO, camping. And this is where points can help you.

For hotels close to your festival venue, you can save with points from several loyalty programs such as Marriott Bonvoy, Best Western Rewards, Hilton Honors or World of Hyatt.

Or, if you book your hotel via a platform such as Expedia or Booking.com, you can use travel points (as described in the next section).

Here are the best credit card offers to earn points for hotels near the music festival:

If you use an online booking site like Expedia or Booking.com, or decide to stay at an Airbnb or VRBO (or even a youth hostel or campsite), you can save money with travel points.

Here are the best credit card offers with travel points for your accommodation near the music festival:

When you plan to attend a music festival, there is a good chance that your ticket purchase will be in a foreign currency.

And once on site, to pay for your various expenses (food, drinks, souvenirs, etc.), most music festivals have introduced cashless payments: everything must be done via a credit card (either directly, or via your festival wristband, which will have been linked to your credit card beforehand).

That’s why it’s so useful to have a credit card that doesn’t charge conversion fees for foreign currency transactions! That’s 2.5% less than most credit cards on the market in Canada.

Here are the best credit cards with no foreign currency conversion fees to pay at your music festival:

The costs of travelling to a music festival are high. It’s best to have a credit card with good insurance:

• trip cancellation
• trip interruption
• flight and baggage delays
• Car rentals
• etc.

Here are the best credit cards with insurance for your trip to your music festival:

Attending a music festival is a unique experience. Haven’t heard of it yet? Don’t hesitate to give it a try… and save on that trip with our credit card tips! A festival is much more than a concert. It is to:

• Live an immersive experience, where music, visuals and technology combine to create lasting memories.
• Meet people from all over the world, in a festive, inclusive and creative atmosphere, and enjoy it with your friends.
• Discover new destinations, in spectacular locations.
• Take a break from the daily grind for YOURSELF, a moment of freedom, emotion and connection with others.

I hope I’ve convinced you. Finally, there’s no age limit to partying, so take the plunge!