Finding an Affordable Flight to a Sporting Event
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The flight to a sporting event is your biggest expense, and the one where points make the largest difference. For a fixed-date event, the award seat is decided about a year ahead: seats open around 355 days before departure, and the first ones booked cost the fewest points.
Three ways of paying for the ticket coexist, and they are not equal depending on how early you start. Travel points reimburse any ticket after the fact. Airline programs such as Aeroplan give access to award seats. Fixed award charts protect you from price surges.
This guide explains how to find, book and optimize the flight. For the rest of the trip, see our guide on how to attend a sporting event with your points and our article on accommodation for a sporting event.
Flight to a sporting event: where to land
Major North American sporting events are held almost always in the same metropolitan areas, the ones with a stadium, an arena or a circuit and a well-connected airport. Knowing those cities lets you scout award availability long before a date is announced.
In Canada, Toronto and Vancouver host most of the big fixtures, from soccer to hockey. Montreal joins them for Formula 1 and the NHL. All three are well served by award flights from the rest of the country.
In the United States, the list is longer: New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Dallas, Atlanta, Houston, Seattle, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia and Kansas City.
Spread across the East Coast, West Coast, South and Midwest, these cities regularly host finals, tournaments and playoff series.
In Mexico, Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey come up most often. They are well connected to North America, and award flights to Mexico remain among the cheapest on the continent.
Whatever the city, the rule does not change: the earlier you book, the more award seats you have to choose from. On event dates, what is available goes within days.
Paying for the flight with travel points
To find the best flight options to the host city, start with the Google Flights tool and the “Explore” function.
It allows you to quickly view prices from your departure airport, such as Montreal, to various destinations in North America, over a given period.
For example, it’s easy to see that Miami stands out as one of the most affordable host cities for the dates searched.
Once you’ve found a good fare, the optimal strategy is to book the flight with your credit card and then apply your travel points after the fact as a statement credit. This is where the power of flexible rewards programs like Scene+ points from the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card comes into play.
Unlike programs that restrict you to limited award seat availability, here you have total freedom: you choose your airline, your travel dates, and any stopovers if needed, and then get reimbursed in points afterwards. It’s simple, seamless, and without restrictions.
A major advantage of this card: there are no foreign transaction fees on purchases made abroad, making it an excellent choice for travellers.
Another strength of the program is that you have up to 12 months after the purchase date to use your Scene+ points for a statement credit. So, even if you don’t have enough points at the time of the transaction, you can continue to accumulate them stress-free and apply them later. The Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card allows you to earn up to 3 points per dollar on everyday purchases like groceries. You will therefore have the opportunity to accumulate a huge amount of points with this high accelerator.
If direct flights are too expensive or unavailable, consider a more strategic approach: fly into another major nearby city and complete your journey by ground transportation.
For example, to get to Seattle, it might be more advantageous to fly to Vancouver, then rent a car or take a bus across the border (about a 3 to 4 hour drive).
With Scene+ points, you can cover not only your initial flight, but also car rentals, bus tickets, and even accommodation if needed. This flexibility gives you real adaptability, which matters most during a major event, when fares move fast.
- Annual fee
- $150
- Our valuationMilesopedia first-year estimate First-year valueWelcome bonus$350Total$350Rewards on your spending are not included. The calculator that adds them from your own profile is on the card's page.
- $350
- Welcome offerAfter $2,000 in 3 months
- Up to 35,000 points
- Ends Nov 1, 2026
Apply Now
on Scotiabank's website
Paying for the flight with Aeroplan points
The Aeroplan program is one of the most effective in the country for booking domestic and transborder flights, especially with Air Canada and its partners like United Airlines. However, during peak periods around a major event, redemption rates climb well above their usual level.
Why? Because Air Canada and United use dynamic pricing. In other words, prices in points vary according to supply and demand. The higher the demand, the higher the cost in points.
In normal circumstances, it’s realistic to find round-trip economy flights starting at around 15,000 Aeroplan points for a short-haul flight (e.g. Montreal – Toronto) and around 25,000 points for a long-haul flight (e.g. Montreal – Vancouver or to certain U.S. cities). An ideal price for a short getaway with less than 25,000 points!
On the dates of a major event, direct flights in Aeroplan points often come in at close to double the usual rate. The reason is simple: the crowd drives demand up, and a summer event also lands in the middle of high season.
So to increase your chances of success with Aeroplan, monitor availability in advance, use search tools like Roame or Seats.aero, and be prepared to be flexible on dates and airports to maximize your points.
Paying for the flight with VIPorter points
The VIPorter program from Porter Airlines can be an excellent option for travellers from Eastern Canada, particularly departing from Toronto or Montreal, to several cities that regularly host major sporting events, such as New York, Boston, Miami or Vancouver. Its simple: you can redeem your points directly for any Porter flight, with no availability restrictions.
For example, a one-way flight from Toronto to New York is easily found at around 6,000 to 7,500 VIPorter points, while a one-way flight from Montreal to Vancouver can cost 8,000 to 11,000 points, depending on the season.
Although the scope of the network is more limited than that of Air Canada, Porter covers several major U.S. World Cup host cities, with direct flights from Toronto and Montreal, making it an interesting alternative to other programs. What’s more, you can use VIPorter points with partners like Air Transat and Alaska Airlines, opening up a whole new range of possibilities with this extended network.
Paying for the flight with a fixed award chart
During periods of high demand, such as the dates of a major event, fixed-rate award programs become especially valuable for booking flights, particularly within North America. Unlike dynamic pricing programs, these fixed-rate charts provide predictable and stable value, regardless of market fluctuations.
The principle is simple: you redeem a fixed number of points for an airline ticket, up to a predetermined maximum amount (excluding taxes and fees). It’s a great way to get around the price hikes in cash or points that often occur during world events or peak travel periods.
Several Canadian programs work with this model, including:
For example, with the fixed chart of American Express Membership Rewards, a flight between Montreal and New York will cost 15,000 points, as long as the base fare (before taxes) does not exceed $300. Whether the ticket costs $120, $250, or $299, you will always pay 15,000 points plus taxes and fees.
If the ticket price exceeds this ceiling (for example, $427 in the screenshot below right), you simply pay the difference in cash, in this case $127, while using your 15,000 points to cover the maximum portion.
This approach is especially useful when flight prices skyrocket due to high demand, as happens around a major event, especially if you are booking at the last minute.
Conclusion
The flight is the expense that decides whether the trip happens at all. On a fixed date, only one thing is still up to you: book early, around the moment award seats open, a year before the event.
This is where Scene+ points and the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card stand out and shine through their flexibility and ease of earning and use. Unlike other programs that require reward tickets with limited availability, you book any flight as a regular purchase, with the airline of your choice, on the dates that suit you. Then, you apply your points as a statement credit, hassle-free.
- Annual fee
- $150
- Our valuationMilesopedia first-year estimate First-year valueWelcome bonus$350Total$350Rewards on your spending are not included. The calculator that adds them from your own profile is on the card's page.
- $350
- Welcome offerAfter $2,000 in 3 months
- Up to 35,000 points
- Ends Nov 1, 2026
Apply Now
on Scotiabank's website
Award flights to a game city
The award pricing described here has nothing to do with the tournament. A short-haul North American flight starts around 10,000 points one way with Aeroplan or WestJet Rewards, whether you are going to watch soccer or hockey. What changes is how often the opportunity comes up. The seven Canadian NHL clubs each play 42 home dates between 29 September 2026 and 10 April 2027.
That abundance of dates works in your favour on price. Because the pricing stays dynamic, you can compare several nights for the same team and take the one where the award seat costs least. In addition, most programmes let you redeposit points without penalty, so nothing stops you from locking a seat early and adjusting later. Our NHL travel hub lists the airport for each city alongside the full season schedule.
Frequently Asked Questions
When should you book a flight for a sporting event?
About a year ahead. Award seats open around 355 days before departure, and the first ones booked cost the fewest points. On a fixed date, that is the only variable you really control.
How do you find an affordable flight to the host city?
Start with the Explore function in Google Flights. It shows fares from your airport to several destinations over a given period at a glance, which quickly reveals the cheapest cities to reach.
Are travel points or airline points the better choice?
Travel points when you are booking late, airline points when you book early. Travel points reimburse any ticket, with no availability constraint. Airline points return more value, but only while award seats remain.
Why are fixed award charts useful on event dates?
Because they do not move with demand. A fixed-chart program asks for the same number of points whatever the crowd, whereas a dynamic chart tracks the cash price and sometimes doubles on sought-after dates.
How many points does a North American flight take?
A short-haul one-way starts around 10,000 points with Aeroplan or WestJet Rewards. On high-demand dates, expect close to double that for a direct flight.
Can you book early and adjust if the rate drops?
Yes, most programs redeposit points without a penalty. Nothing stops you from locking a seat as soon as the window opens, then rebooking if a better rate appears. Check your program’s cancellation terms before relying on it.