This article was written by The Zillennial Zine’s fall editorial intern Lauren Sanchez. Find her on Instagram at @lauren.sanchezz. If you would like to share an article with The Zillennial, send us an email at thezillennialzine@gmail.com.

For concert-goers everywhere, you’ll know just how brutal Ticketmaster can be. 

When the countdown expires and Ticketmaster pushes you into its smart queue, fate randomly decides your place in line and whether you even get the chance to purchase tickets. If you do pass the queue gates, you’ll read that 2,000-plus people are ahead of you waiting to buy tickets, and sometimes the queue can have tens of thousands of people in front of you. And if you’re hopeful enough to wait and see your computer screen refresh in the ticket room, all that stress and anxiety is met with disappointment when you meet the infamous announcement, “Tickets are sold out now. Check back soon.”

There is nothing more stressful and more anxiety-inducing than seeing Ticketmaster’s countdown hit zero when it is time to buy tickets for your favorite artist’s new concert. And buying a ticket to Taylor Swift’s recently announced “Era’s Tour” will be no exception.

With Taylor’s last headlining concert performance being on her Reputation tour in 2018, Swift’s new Eras Tour comes four years after with four new albums (and two re-recorded albums). With just about 35 shows (+ the 17 new dates that were just added) and openers like Phoebe Bridgers, Paramore, Gracie Abrams and girl in red coming along on Swift’s tour, Swifties and fans everywhere are dying to have a ticket. 

Relying on just pure luck to get tickets can leave you panicked, frustrated and disappointed, but there is another way! From a seasoned concert-goer who has been to over 20 concerts, I’ve never experienced Ticketmaster’s heart-breaking message. So without further ado, here are some tips and tricks from a certified fangirl to help you score tickets to see Taylor Swift this concert season. Here’s how to get Taylor Swift tickets this time around.

Sign Up For The Verified Artist Presale

Ticketmaster and artists collaborate to give die-hard fans the best chance to see their favorite artists. As a result, fans can sign up for presale codes, which grant them early access to purchase tickets before the general public. If an artist is popular, there may be a waitlist to receive the code. Even so, signing up for early access is better than waiting for the general sale, so be proactive! The presale begins on Nov.15 and the general sale goes on Nov. 18.

On Twitter, Taylor gave everyone the link to sign up for her presale on Ticketmaster and to receive a specific code for their desired tour date to purchase tickets. Signing up for a presale code does not have any special perks besides being able to purchase ahead of the general public. While presale codes give you earlier access to buy, they are not guaranteed. The codes are generated and assigned randomly, so while you may be the biggest Swiftie on the planet, you still might not be able to purchase early.

Also, many artists, including Taylor, partner up with credit card companies like American Express or CapitalOne to give early ticket access to those who own credit cards from them. And if you happen to miss the chance to sign up for the verified presale code, CapitalOne said that the first six numbers of your CaptialOne credit card will also work as a code to purchase tickets early!

And a bonus perk– if you purchased verified fan tickets to Swift’s 2020 Lover Fest tour, you’ll get special access to the presale. Just make sure to use the same Ticketmaster account you used to buy Lover Fest tickets and you’ll be good to go.

Social Media Is Your Best Friend

Instagram and Twitter are the most useful social media platforms to learn about concert information early. Keeping up with stan accounts dedicated to every waking moment of Taylor will definitely help your chances of buying tickets for the tour. And if you decide to not follow these fan accounts, social media is extremely helpful in finding out presale and general information, if new dates are added and other useful information about the tour.

My favorite account to follow on Instagram is @tstourtips – with numerous posts about how Taylor’s tours work and meet-and-greets, it’s no wonder that they have such a huge following!

Research The Venue And The Kinds Of Tickets That Will Be Available

Knowing where to sit and how the venue is laid out will be extremely helpful when buying tickets. For Taylor’s tour, she has four types of tickets: upper bowl, lower bowl, floor and pit.

The upper bowl is the highest section of the stadium and with these tickets usually being the cheapest, the view may sometimes vary and you may not be able to see Taylor up close. The lower bowl has better views than the upper bowl seats and is still affordable, but you may end up watching the screens more than Taylor to see her. Now, floor and pit, although they may be close to each other, are very different! The floor has assigned seating, whereas the pit does not and everyone will be standing for the entirety of the show. With both of these sections, your view will be fantastic (unless you’re short like me!) but both of these sections will definitely be on the pricier side.

If you know the layout of the venue and have an idea of where you want to sit beforehand, it will ease the stress of clicking random seats on Ticketmaster only to have those seats be snatched from your cart from another. Yet, no matter where you are in the stadium, you are bound to have a great time!

Arrive Early At The Ticketmaster Waiting Room

The waiting room and the queue are your worst enemy for they make or break where you will be placed in line to buy tickets. According to Ticketmaster, both of these features are enabled to prevent ticket bots from infiltrating the process, however, it can also cause panic among fans. I’ve always arrived an hour early to the waiting room instead of the 10 minutes that Ticketmaster recommends and because of this, I’ve never had to wait more than five minutes in the queue.

With Taylor’s tour though, I would be prepared to wait in the queue room for a hot minute. Especially because the demand is incredibly high, the Ticketmaster website is never ready to handle such activity on their website and it could have the potential to crash. If you have more than two Ticketmaster accounts, I would recommend using your laptop AND your cell phone– that way you have double the chances of making it through the queue.

One final important piece of advice: DO NOT REFRESH YOUR SCREEN. If you do, you will be automatically sent to the back of the queue line and all that waiting will be for nothing! The Ticketmaster page will automatically update for you.

Preload All Your Information And Payment Methods Into Your Account

Imagine making it through the queue and selecting your dream seats, only to have those seats taken away and placed back into the queue because you did not have a credit card on hand. To avoid this soul-crushing experience, have your information ready to go the night before they go on sale. Two important words of wisdom: make sure you have the money to purchase the tickets AND the fees that come with the tickets, and second if you are planning on splurging, make sure you call your bank to tell them about your purchase! I’ve seen fans have their tickets rescinded because their banks mark their ticket purchase as fraudulent, so it’s better to be safe than sorry!

Breathe In, Breathe Through, Breathe Deep, Breathe Out

Purchasing tickets is no laughing matter, and being proactive and doing your research will put you ahead of others who are looking at the same show. With these tips and tricks, you’ll spend less time worrying about the ticket-buying process and more time having fun. I’m wishing all the best and luck to my fellow Swifties as we go through the Ticketmaster battlefield together!

Are you planning on buying tickets to Swift’s Eras tour? Have any tips that we missed on how to get Taylor Swift tickets? Let us know in the comments below!

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