Ticket Window

The folks at Ticketmaster are doing a major upgrade on their website. The biggest change is that they're installing a feature where for most venues, you'll be able to view a map of the auditorium or stadium, see which seats are available and then select specific seats. A lot of other sites have had this and it's way overdue for Ticketmaster. This page will give you a little preview and tell you some of the neat tools that will be at your disposal.

I'm just hoping they don't use this as an excuse to tack on another exploitive surcharge. One thing I don't like about Cirque du Soleil is that if you buy tickets online, they charge you a $13.00 "Web convenience fee." That's per ticket, even though it's obviously more convenient for them if you do it that way. And if you take delivery as e-tickets, which is also more convenient for them, they add in another $5.00 per order. So two $125 tickets become a $281.00 order…and you usually don't realize this until you've checked out and your card is charged. (I also once considered trying to pay for my tix with points I've accumulated on the American Express Rewards program. I don't remember the precise math but it was something like if I bought two $125 tickets, it would cost me the same number of points that would get me $400 worth of hotel stay at a Marriott or Hyatt. So I didn't do it.)

Anyway, happy ticketing! Just watch out for sneaky fees.