One of the joys I get with credit cards and credit card rewards is getting to try out experiences that I otherwise probably wouldn\u2019t be willing to spend real money on. Most of these experiences come because of credit cards I have that offer various statement credits for certain activities. That\u2019s not to say these are completely free experiences \u2013 most of these statement credits come from cards that charge high annual membership fees, so in essence, I\u2019m prepaying for a lot of these things. But when I do some creative math, I feel like it\u2019s \u201cfree.\u201d<\/p>\n
Recently, my brother and a friend of mine had a nice day out while using a lot of the credits from our American Express Business Platinum cards and our Chase Sapphire Reserve cards. Both of these are premium cards with high annual fees, but to help recoup the fee, they come with various credits.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s how a recent fun, \u201cfree\u201d day went courtesy of these cards.<\/p>\n
Free Football Game Using Chase Sapphire Reserve Stubhub Credits<\/h2>\n
To start, the Chase Sapphire Reserve comes with an $150 worth of Stubhub credits every 6 months (or $300 total per year). These credits go by calendar year, so the first $150 of Stubhub credits can be used January-June, and the second $150 of Stubhub credits can be used July-December. These credits don\u2019t roll over between periods, so you have to use the credits in the 6-month period that you have them. Note that the credits can be used for events in the future, so you don\u2019t necessarily need to go to an event that occurs in that 6-month period \u2013 you just have to spend the credit in that time.<\/p>\n
To use my Stubhub credit, I looked at a football game between the Vikings and the Commanders. I\u2019m from Washington DC but live in Minnesota now, so I try to go to sports games when DC teams are in town. The Commanders don\u2019t typically play the Vikings most years, so when I saw that they were on the schedule this year, I knew that it\u2019d be a perfect way to use my Stubhub credit.<\/p>\n
What made this even better was that, because both teams haven\u2019t been particularly good this year, I was able to get very good seats with my $150 Stubhub credit. We ended up in the 12th row, giving us a great view of the action. Had we paid for this game on our own, we definitely wouldn\u2019t have spent that much and would have sat in the upper deck.<\/p>\n In addition to a free football game, we also got free drinks using our Hilton credits from our American Express Business Platinum cards. This is an interesting credit, as it offers $50 per quarter for \u201celigible purchases\u201d made at Hilton properties. On its face, it doesn\u2019t sound all that useful, but it becomes more useful if you think of it as a dining credit, rather than a hotel credit. Here\u2019s how it works.<\/p>\n Many restaurants and bars located inside a Hilton hotel will code as a Hilton property purchase, and thus, trigger the Hilton credit. Not every restaurant or bar in a Hilton hotel will work, however, so you have to do your research to make sure the location you go to will trigger the Hilton credit. Fortunately, there is a spreadsheet that is maintained by the Churning\/Travel Hacking community where people provide datapoints about which locations trigger the Hilton credit (you can find that spreadsheet at this link<\/a>). Before using this credit, I always reference this spreadsheet to make sure it\u2019ll work.<\/p>\n In this case, the restaurant in the Hilton hotel next to US Bank Stadium is where I usually go to use this credit. This worked out perfectly to get pre-game and post-game drinks. And since everyone in my group had the American Express Business Platinum, we were all able to get at least $50 worth of free drinks each.<\/p>\n To finish off the day, we ended up going to another nearby restaurant\/bar where I had scheduled a secret shop. As regular readers of this blog might know, I\u2019ve been doing secret shopping for years now, primarily doing it at restaurants. The general idea is that I get reimbursed for a free meal at certain restaurants in exchange for filling out a report about my experience. This has allowed me to get thousands of dollars\u2019 worth of free food every year.<\/p>\n In this case, I grabbed this secret shop through a website called Customer Optix. This shop reimbursed $73, and since the bar was only a few blocks from the stadium, it made for a good stop to get some food and drinks after a fun day out.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a lot that goes into secret shopping, so if you\u2019re interested in learning more about how it works, you can check out this post:\u00a0Restaurant Secret Shopper Jobs \u2013 A Strategy To Eat For Free And Hack Your Food Expenses<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the end, our day watching football and drinking at nearby bars worked out well. Our football tickets cost $157, but after the $150 Stubhub credit, we ended up just $7 out of pocket. At the bars, we spent around $50 each, which was covered by our Hilton credits. And then we also got some additional free food and drink ($73 worth) from a nearby secret shop that I grabbed to coincide with the game.<\/p>\n And this is what makes credit cards so fun beyond just the points and miles. Some of these credits can be annoying to use, but if you pay attention to how you can use these credits, it\u2019s possible to get some great experiences that, while not technically free, can feel free. Plus, if you\u2019re paying high annual fees for some of these premium cards, you need to do all you can to recoup those annual fee costs.<\/p>\n This post may contain affiliate links.<\/em><\/p>\n Check out these other ebikes and scooters I’ve reviewed:<\/p>\n
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\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n For additional <\/span>investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:<\/p>\n
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\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n If you\u2019re looking for more <\/span>easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.<\/p>\n
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\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years<\/a> by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.<\/p>\n Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin’s favorite fintech apps include:<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/financialpanther.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2026-01-14-at-12.16.25-PM-813x1024.png\"\/)
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/financialpanther.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2026-01-14-at-12.16.25-PM-813x1024.png\")
Free Drinks at the Bar Using American Express Hilton Credits<\/h2>\n
More Free Food and Drinks With Secret Shopping<\/h2>\n
Final Thoughts<\/h2>\n
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More <\/span>Recommended Investing App Bonuses<\/h2>\n
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More <\/span>Recommended Bank Account Bonuses<\/h2>\n
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