Most of us know what it takes to earn rewards with a credit card, but there are plenty of additional benefits you can get with plastic that you may not know anything about. For example, many of the top rewards credit cards come with consumer protections like extended warranties and purchase protection against damage or theft. Many top travel credit cards also come with added benefits—ranging from annual travel credits to trip cancellation and interruption coverage and airport lounge access.

Beyond these more common perks, some credit card issuers also offer a range of experiences you can get access to as a cardholder, including tickets to presale events, culinary celebrations, dining experiences and more.

What is Capital One Experiences?

Capital One offers its own selection of bookable events for cardholders, which are known as Capital One Experiences. With this program, Capital One customers with eligible credit cards and debit cards can access premium experiences in dining, entertainment, sports and more.

Note that these experiences aren’t free—in fact, they’re often far from it. Instead, this program basically unlocks an invitation to specially curated events Capital One customers couldn’t access otherwise, including presale tickets to events that are likely to sell out.

Which cards have access to Capital One Experiences?

All Capital One cardholders can access Capital One Experiences through Cap One Access, including customers with their award-winning travel credit cards as well as their cash back credit cards, business credit cards and balance transfer credit cards.

For example, cardholders with the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card can access special presale event tickets and curated events around the country as well as cardholders with the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card and Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card.

Some of the other Capital One credit cards that can help you access this program include:

What can I get access to with Capital One Experiences?

Capital One Experiences can vary widely, with some being hosted by Capital One itself and others including special access to outside events. For the most part, events tend to fall into one of the three following categories:

As an example, one of the newest Capital One Experiences being offered right now is its MICHELIN Guide and Capital One Destination Dining Series. This series includes unique Michelin dining experiences in major U.S. cities like San Francisco, Washington D.C. and New York City, with tickets costing $450 per person.

Dinners feature two Michelin-starred chefs from each region and a guest Michelin-starred chef from another city who work together to create a destination-themed menu based on their unique culinary styles. These events are offered exclusively to Capital One customers with one of their credit cards or debit cards.

The South Beach Wine & Food Festival Presented by Capital One is another upcoming event that will take place in February 2022. In this case, Capital One customers can access special presale tickets to the star-studded celebration, which features cooking classes, hosted events with famous chefs, exclusive dinners and more.

If you live in the Washington, D.C., area, you can also utilize Capital One Experiences to score special perks like discounted regular season tickets, VIP entrance, discounts on food and drink and more at the city’s Capital One Arena.

These are just some examples of the Capital One Experiences available right now. There are plenty of others and new options are added throughout the year.

How to get the most out of Capital One Experiences

The good news about the Capital One Experiences program is the fact that all Capital One credit card customers can access it for free. This means you can take advantage of available experiences if you want to, but you don’t have to feel obligated.

To get the most out of Capital One Experiences, you can start by checking for new events as often as you can. Since some events have the potential to sell out, you’ll have the best chance at scoring tickets for culinary events, concerts and more if you’re able to act quickly.

Also, make sure you have the right Capital One credit card for your needs, and consider signing up for a new one if you don’t. Fortunately, this card issuer offers a broad range of rewards credit cards that can easily suit any spending style.

Some Capital One credit cards offer points on purchases that could fall within Capital One Experiences. For example, the Capital One Savor and SavorOne include “entertainment” in their highest rewards-earning category, so you could use these cards to boost your rewards when you pay for concert tickets, sporting events and more.

The bottom line

The Capital One Experiences program is just another benefit you can get from having a Capital One credit card, but there are plenty of others. With the right Capital One rewards credit card, you can get access to presale tickets for concerts, sporting events and more while earning generous rewards for each dollar you spend.