Here's How I'm Seeing (at Least) Six World Cup Games Without Breaking the Bank

Key Takeaways

• Investopedia's Aaron Rennie hopes to see at least six World Cup games this summer in the U.S. and Canada—ideally without emptying his bank account.

• This story details his plans to do just that, which he's accomplishing using a combination of advance planning, points, and even a favor or two.

When it comes to the World Cup, I admit I have a problem. That certainly goes for this year's tournament—and I'm hoping my plans to see a handful of games won't create financial problems, too.

With the exception of 2022 in Qatar, I've attended every men's World Cup since it was last held here in 1994. (I've been to three Women's World Cups, too.) Ever since the 2026 edition was awarded to the U.S., Canada, and Mexico eight years ago, I've been eagerly anticipating this one. 

You may have noticed over the past few months a lot of chatter about prices —for tickets, travel, lodging, and just about everything else—associated with this tournament, which starts tomorrow. I've heard that chatter. But I'm a planner and a points junkie, so I booked travel arrangements a year ago, when airlines and hotels opened up availability. And as of today, I plan to be at six World Cup matches—four on the West Coast, two at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., not far from where I live—although I only have tickets for two secured. And if ticket prices improve, I'm eyeing three more games.

Here's how I'm trying to do it without (completely) breaking the bank.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

San Francisco Bay Area

My soccer adventure will begin June 15, when I fly to San Francisco on JetBlue using a ticket for which I paid just over $200 in cash. When I arrive, I will stay two nights with my friend Tony, a fellow soccer nut, and his family in Oakland.

On June 16, Tony will drive me and his kids down to "San Francisco Bay Area Stadium"— FIFA , the sport's global governing body, has renamed several stadiums being used during this tournament, so this is better known as Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara—to watch Austria play Jordan. We plan on holding out until just before kickoff to buy cheap seats for what's expected to be a comparatively low-demand game. A ticket broker recently told The Athletic he was "pretty confident there's going to be at least 30,000 seats empty for that match." FIFA's official resale marketplace currently shows them for about $160 apiece, including fees—for upper-level seats.

Seattle

The next day, Tony and I will fly Alaska Airlines to Seattle, a ticket I got with 5,000 miles plus taxes and fees. I redeemed Hilton points, greatly aided by a welcome bonus on a co-branded American Express card, for three nights at a property downtown that is charging about $900 a night.

We'll be in town for the U.S.-Australia game at "Seattle Stadium," also known as Lumen Field. Tony bought tickets, which cost about $700 apiece, from a friend who landed Category 1 tickets, the most expensive, in the first FIFA lottery, and he'll cover mine in exchange for lodging. The stadium is a short light rail ride and walk from our hotel downtown, so game-day travel expenses should be moderate.

Vancouver

On June 20, I will take Amtrak up the coast to Vancouver using a ticket for which I paid $110 for a one-way business-class seat last July. There, I'll attend the New Zealand-Egypt game, another likely low-demand game I hope to see using late, inexpensive, tickets. (The current resale rate for these is about $238 each on FIFA's site.) The stadium is a 15-minute walk from my hotel.

I originally booked a refundable pre-paid cash rate at a hotel there through the Rove platform, which had pricing I couldn't find elsewhere, but I also set up an alert on rooms.aero in case any award nights became available at a Hyatt property, where I could use points. Just over a month ago, I got an alert that a room opened up, and I quickly used Hyatt points to cover my stay and canceled the first booking.

Los Angeles

On June 22, I will fly down to Los Angeles on Alaska. I made the booking in July using American Airlines miles—the carrier is an alliance partner of Alaska's—and about $55 in taxes and fees. I will be staying at three different hotels in Downtown L.A., Santa Monica, and Marina del Rey for a total of four nights; that's not convenient, but it seemed worthwhile, since I will pay just $500 out of pocket in an expensive market through a combination of Chase Sapphire Reserve credits, points, and a free-night certificate.

My time in the "City of Angels" will culminate with the final U.S. group-stage game, against Turkiye, at "Los Angeles Stadium" (SoFi Stadium) on June 25. Tony will fly down and join me. Ticket prices are coming down, albeit slowly; we will be patient, and hope to score them at a reasonable price. They were recently selling for about $794 apiece.

New Jersey

After 11 days on the West Coast, I will fly home on June 26. I booked that ticket, which cost me $178 in cash, in August. The next day, I will attend Panama-England here with a friend; I plan to bring my uncle—who treated me to my first World Cup game, Saudi Arabia-Morocco in 1994, as a high school graduation present—to the Round of 32 clash, also at "New York New Jersey Stadium," on June 30.

I bought the Round of 32 tickets back in February and the ones for Panama-England last month, both on FIFA's website; I paid roughly $600 apiece for Category 2 tickets for the Round of 32 match, which may feature star-studded France, and about $800 each for front-row Category 2 seats for Panama-England. For game-day transportation, I spent a total of $40 for a pair of shuttle bus reservations from a park-and-ride lot six miles from the stadium for Panama-England, and my uncle covered ours for the Round of 32 game.

As you can see, this trip will set me back a pretty penny—a rough cash outlay of $3,700 excluding meals, concessions, and swag—especially if I wind up seeing nine games instead of six. Still, it would be far worse of an out-of-pocket expense were I not using points, miles, various credit card benefits, and friends' couches to help reduce them.

And to this fanatic, it's a great excuse to use them—until the next World Cup, which has already been announced for Morocco, Portugal, and Spain in 2030. If you're wondering, I haven't booked any flights or hotels in those countries... yet.

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