How to Attend Sporting Events Using Points


Attending a major sporting event is expensive, but the method for reducing the cost stays the same across sports. Book your award flight early. Stay on a public transit route rather than right next to the venue. Pay for your ticket with a card that rewards entertainment spending. This page brings together our guides to applying that method, from hockey to soccer.
You will find a calendar of upcoming opportunities in Canada and abroad, ways to pay for flights, accommodation and tickets with points, and the card to use at your destination. To compare payment options, also see our best credit cards.

Here are the events worth planning ahead for, along with their award booking windows.
The 2028 Copa América will also take place in June and July, but CONMEBOL has not yet named a host country. It is therefore too early to plan a trip.
When an event takes place abroad, a card with no foreign transaction fees saves you about 2.5% on every purchase, including tickets. On a $2,000 weekend, that means $50 you do not pay. Visa is also the payment partner of several major sports ticketing platforms, making online purchases easier.
That is why we recommend the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card :
To compare all the options based on your spending, see our selection of the best credit cards and our comparison of the best cards with no foreign transaction fees.
To stay connected without paying your usual plan’s roaming charges, your Visa card unlocks a little-known GigSky benefit. Mobile data offers vary by card tier and current promotions, which change from one event to another. Check what your card includes before leaving rather than buying a plan once you arrive.
Activation takes two minutes in the GigSky app: tap the Visa banner, enter your card number, then install the eSIM. You can find the details for each card tier in our complete guide to the free GigSky eSIM with Visa.
The most expensive mistake is looking for a room as close to the venue as possible. Whether it is a stadium, arena, racetrack or centre court, nearby rates rise sharply on event days, and you pay for proximity you only enjoy for an hour. Instead, look for a room a few stops away on a public transit route serving the venue.
Three Canadian examples illustrate this:
This reasoning applies to any stadium, arena or racetrack, in Canada or abroad. Our dedicated guide explains how to save on accommodation during a major event.
Plan a major sporting event backwards. Start with the game date, then work back about a year for the award flight. Choose accommodation based on transit access rather than distance. For the rest—tickets and spending at your destination—the card you use makes the difference.
Browse our guides above to prepare your trip, then subscribe to our newsletter to hear when booking windows open.
A World Cup comes around every four years; a hockey season returns every fall. That makes the NHL an ideal place to practise the method described above.
Seven Canadian teams each play around 40 home games from late September to April. That gives you nearly seven months of possible dates across seven cities and several time zones. You can therefore add a game to a trip you were already taking, rather than build an entire trip around a single date. It is the opposite of the constraint a tournament imposes.
Here are the questions the Milesopedia community asks most often about travelling to a sporting event.
As early as possible. Award seats generally open around 355 days before departure, and the first bookings cost the fewest points. For a game whose date is known months in advance, note the date, work back a year and set an alert.
A few stops away on a public transit route serving the venue, rather than right next door. Rates immediately around the venue rise sharply on event days, for proximity you only enjoy for an hour.
A card with no foreign transaction fees when the event takes place abroad: it saves you about 2.5% on every purchase. In Canada, the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card is our reference for this feature. Compare the options on our best credit cards page.
Rarely directly, but often after the purchase. Several points programs let you apply a credit against an entertainment expense already charged to your card, which achieves the same result. Check your program’s eligible categories before buying.
A regular season game, if your goal is to save money. A tournament imposes a date, a city and demand that pushes up flights and accommodation at the same time. A hockey season spreads dozens of dates over seven months, letting you choose when prices are lowest.
Major events almost always have free fan zones, and sports bars in host cities often offer a better atmosphere than a seat high in the stands. Our article on cities where you can enjoy the atmosphere of a big game lists the best places to go.
Use the event’s or team’s official ticket office and its official resale platform when one exists. Tickets sold elsewhere may be refused at the entrance, and you have almost no recourse once the game has started.
First check what your credit card offers. Several Visa cards provide access to free mobile data plans through GigSky, often enough for a weekend. It is a saving most travellers overlook.
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