When one of America’s biggest banks and America’s “favorite” pastime come together, it should be good, right? Major League Baseball is a summertime classic and this year, Capital One became a major sponsor.
I’ll be the first to admit, when I saw the news, at least from the point of view as the guy who saves the points and earns the points, I thought “cool”, but what else?
It turns out, there’s a lot of what else. People are getting absolutely insane value for their Capital One Venture Miles as a result of this new tie-up, and if you’ve ever wanted to catch a game, this may be the best way to do it.
Venture Miles For Baseball Tickets
Capital One recently launched the Capital One Entertainment Platform, which accompanies the card company’s new Capital One Travel and Capital One Dining.
At first, it seemed like a good way to offer customers more choice, with the ability to book tickets through VividSeats and use points to pay. Promises of unique access and tickets to private events, but sometimes that stuff can sound better than it is.
Not this. A few days after the launch of Capital One Entertainment, I got an email about Capital One’s new sponsorship of Major League Baseball. I thought “ok, cool” and left it there.
My Inbox Has Been Flooded With Ticket Success Stories
But in the weeks that have followed, my inbox has been flooded with success stories. People are securing tickets behind the plate, or along the first or third base lines for paltry numbers of miles, compared to cash costs.
If I had a nickel for every time someone sent me a screenshot using 20,000 Capital One Venture Miles to secure $800 tickets, I’d have at least a dollar. That’s stunning value for points.
Looking at a variety of games, including my beloved New York Mets, tickets can be acquired for around 5,000 points a seat. When you look at some of the ballpark seating locations, that’s when the wow factor sets in.
The Capital One x MLB partnership is making a lot of people very happy, with better tickets than they ever would’ve dreamed of, sans sticker price burn.
Booking tickets is simple, too. Just launch the Capital One app, find your way to entertainment and check out the MLB offerings. You’ll want to look for “cardholder exclusive” tickets to trigger the best points prices and seats. Other seats may be available, but they’ll be resale seats with less optimal points value.
How Is Capital One Doing This?
As View From The Wing notes, it turns out that a $125 million sponsorship can open some doors. Capital One is clearly using this sponsorship to add value for cardholders by using its access to discounted tickets for great points redemptions.
There’s certainly a cost to this, but it’s winning fans in major league ways. Not everyone can, or wants to travel right now — and not everyone dreams of flying first class to the Middle East.
For some, points are about unlocking things you wouldn’t want to pay cash for, or experiencing the joys of life in upgraded ways. If Capital One keeps tapping into that, the Venture X Card, which GSTP already labeled a “no brainer” might be deemed an essential.
@ Gilbert — Nothing against you (you aren’t the only one who has posted about this deal), but who the hell who pay $800 for four MLB tickets? That is a total ripoff unless it is a World Series game. Just six (literally 6!) years ago, I was paying $1,100 per seat for 81 MLB home games ($13.59 per ticket). Granted, the tickets weren’t the greatest in the park, but they were very good. There is no way I would pay $200 for one seat for one game. Even at 5,000 CapOne points, that is like $75-$80 per ticket. Not happening for me.
For transparency, I’ve paid more than $500 per ticket for Mets games before. Depends on the market, depends on the game, depends on the year. I personally have become numb to concerts, sports and other entertainment events costing $200 plus. Concerts this summer… wow. Crazy pricing. Respect your thoughts always, but I also think there are many who have experienced my side of the coin in their MLB market too.
I don’t know about every region, but for LA Dodgers the value received is 0.8c/point which is absurdly low. Statement credits are more valuable. If you log into entertainment.capitalone.com and hover over the stadium diagram, it will show you the “cash price” of the tickets you are looking at.
Hey, sorry I should clarify. The deals are for “cardholder exclusive” tickets. Other tickets would be second hand resale, hence the bad value. If no cardholder exclusives exist for that game, all bets are off.