Amex Gives Cardholders New Perks at Select Concerts & Stadiums

American Express just added a slew of new benefits (and rebranded others) that could be be useful for many cardholders heading to concerts, games, and events … but only at a select few venues, at least to start. 
American Express calls it the “Venue Collection,” giving cardholders  a special cardmember entrance, discounts at concessions, and a way to score special ticket access for live events across the country. The only hitch is that these benefits are only available at nine venues at launch – nearly all of which are on either the East or West Coast, plus one in Europe. That's also true of a dozen or so other venues that aren't technically part of this portfolio but where cardholders also receive similar perks.
But whether you've got the top-dollar *amex platinum* , a co-branded Amex hotel card from Hilton or Marriott, the cheap *delta skymiles gold card* , or even the no-annual fee *delta blue* , you can use these perks. American Express quietly added to this new perk to the terms and conditions of virtually all its cards overnight. Only Amex prepaid cards are excluded from the new Venue Collection benefits.
And unlike Amex's usual move of adding benefits in exchange for higher annual fees , this is all positive: There are no strings attached with any of these new benefits. While none of these new perks are groundbreaking, they'll no doubt be able to save some card members both time and money. 
Here's everything you need to know about Amex's new Venue Collection and what benefits you can expect. 
 
Where Can You Use These New Perks?
The American Express Venue Collection gives virtually American Express cardmembers with access to benefits at participating stadiums and arenas for select events, including sports, music, arts & theater, and more. 
So far, the list of participating venues is quite limited – primarily in major cities across the U.S. and England. Here's the current list of American Express Venue Collection Stadiums and Arenas: 

Barclays Center: Brooklyn, New York
UBS Arena:  Elmont, New York
United Center:  Chicago, Illinois
Crypto.com Arena:  Los Angeles, California
Hollywood Bowl:  Los Angeles, California
Dignity Health Sports Park:  Los Angeles, California
Climate Pledge Arena: Seattle, Washington
Delta Center: Salt Lake City, Utah
OVO Arena Wembley: Wembley, England

 
Other American Express Venues
In addition to the list of American Express Venue Collection-branded arenas and stadiums, there are a few more (mostly smaller) venues across the U.S. and Europe where you can score some additional perks. Exactly what you get at these venues will vary but you can generally expect the same 10% discount on concessions, and sometimes merchandise, as well as special ticket access to events. 
In Berlin, both the Uber Arena and Uber Eats Music Hall each come with a dedicated American Express Lounge for cardmembers to escape the crowds. 
Here's the full list of other Amex Venues: 

Racket: New York, New York
Terminal 5: New York, New York
Webster Hall:  New York, New York
Brooklyn Steel: Brooklyn, New York
Music Hall of Williamsburg: Brooklyn, New York
Forest Hills Stadium: Queens, New York
Roadrunner:  Boston, Massachusetts 
Accor Arena:  Paris, France
The American Express Stadium: Brighton, U.K.
Eventim Apollo:  London, U.K.
The O2 Arena: London, U.K. 
Uber Arena: Berlin, Germany
Uber Eats Music Hall:  Berlin, Germany

 
Amex Venue Collection Benefits
At any of these Amex Venue Collection stadiums or arenas, you can expect the full list of cardmember benefits, including a 10% discount on concessions when you use your Amex card, special cardmember entrance, and special ticket access.
 

 
Simply use your card to pay for concessions at any participating venue and receive a 10% discount on the concession price . While 10% isn't a huge discount, given how expensive concessions are at live events (especially if you're buying alcohol), this can be a real money saver. And in most cases, this is a real discount and not a rebate so you're just paying less upfront when using your Amex card. 
The one exception? The Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. At this venue, you'll get your 10% discount in the form of a statement credit and you (annoyingly) have to register for the benefit ahead of time . What's more, you're limited to $20 in total statement credits and this perk is only good until Nov. 30, 2024. No other Amex Venue Collection locations caps your discount nor lists an expiration date.
 

 
The same goes with the special card member entrance: So long as you've got a valid ticket to the event, all you need to do is show your American Express card to get access to skip the line and get access to the priority entrance . Whether or not this designated entrance actually saves you any time will depend a lot on the venue and what time you arrive. Still, it's nice to have access and could prove to be a real time saver – especially since it doesn't cost anything.
Leading up to an event, you'll be able to purchase Amex Presale Tickets (formerly known as American Express Early Access) and Amex Reserved Tickets (formerly know as American Express Access) for a chance at better seats. Just know that if you take advantage of Amex's special ticket access, you'll need to use an American Express card to make your purchase. 
 
Bottom Line
No matter what Amex card you've got, you could get some special perks at your next game or concert … maybe.
This new American Express Venue Collection (and some other participating venues) gets virtually every Amex cardholder some extra benefits at select live events: Access to special presale and reserved tickets, a 10% discount on concessions, and even a special entrance to (maybe) skip a long line to get in. 
While these perks are only available at 20-some locations at launch, here's hoping that expands to more stadiums, arenas, and concert venues in the future.