Name:
Adam
www.pointmetotheplane.com

FFP miles spent:
None

Hotel points spent:
No points on the hotel but 125,000 on the experience, later reduced to 62,500

Approximate fees:
None

Airline(s) / Routing:
N/A

How booked:
Online

Type of award(s):
SPG Moments Auction

Hotel(s):
Le Meridien Philadelphia

Month/year of trip:
July 2012

A few weeks ago, I went down to Philly for a “meet and greet” with Coldplay courtesy of SPG Moments. My girlfriend is a huge Coldplay fan and I figured what could be better than two seats in the first few rows and a chance to meet the band?

My initial bid was 100,000 points but when bidding surpassed my 100,000 points maximum, I upped my bid to 125,000 points, eventually winning the auction. We arrived in Philly early in the day, checked into our upgraded suite at the Le Meridien, did some sightseeing and then made our way to the venue to meet Allison, our on-site contact who took us backstage.

The four band members were extremely friendly and we got to shake each of their hands, take some pictures and say a few words. Although the “meet and greet” was not exactly as promised (we had been told we would have time to mingle with the band) we had a great time … until the concert was interrupted due to a fight and medical issue after only 30 minutes.

Our LiveNation contact was able to obtain seats for us the second night and we had an amazing time.

About a week later I emailed the SPG Moments liaison letting her know what transpired at the concert that first night as well as the inaccurate description of the “meet and greet” that was provided to us. She was extremely sympathetic and refunded half of my points, a very generous and appreciated offer!

Would I have spent 125,000 SPG points on third row seats and a photo and hand-shake with Coldplay? Probably not. However, I’m actually glad that I had some incorrect information going into this. We had a great time, saw a great concert (on try #2), and have some amazing pictures with one of our favorite bands. Besides the inaccurate information provided by the online chat feature, everything about the SPG Moments experience was top-notch. Thanks to SPG Moments for a great experience!