I Beat 60,000 BTS Army Members To A Ticket - Here's What It Cost Me

Seeing BTS in person during the first BTS World Tour since the members reunited wasn't on my list of resolutions for 2026. Still, I somehow managed to do everything right and score a VIP ticket to one of the band's upcoming concerts in Europe, beating thousands of ARMY members. The entire process took me about 40 minutes of waiting on Ticketmaster and resulted in a €491 (roughly $576) charge to my debit card. The key element was a bit of luck.

By the time my turn in the online queue came, I had little hope left. Indeed, when Ticketmaster loaded the buy screen, I couldn't find any tickets, regardless of type. The venue map was grayed out, indicating that all the VIP tickets for the day were scooped up. I tried buying anywhere from one to four tickets, thinking that different quantities would improve my chances. The alternative seemed to be waiting for about 60,000 ARMY users who were in front of me in the queue to buy a non-VIP ticket. To make matters worse, the cable guy called, saying he was 10 minutes away, while I was waiting for 5,000 places to go. I'd lose my Wi-Fi connection soon, and any IP change, like switching to a mobile hotspot, could trigger Ticketmaster's bot system.

With all that going through my mind, I cleared the filters one last time, and Ticketmaster moved me to the order screen. My heart was racing. If I didn't act fast enough, the ticket I found would return to the pool to an even luckier BTS ARMY member. I had no time to think or check where my seat was — it later turned out to be a standing section. I filled in my card details and hoped for the best. Ticketmaster returned a confirmation window. My ticket was secure. The cable guy would ring just a few minutes later.

Do I listen to BTS songs? Do I play the "KPop Demon Hunters" soundtrack on repeat (which isn't BTS)? Yes and yes. Are BLACKPINK and Hwasa in my current marathon training playlist? Check and check. I'm not a stranger to K-pop, that is, but I'm not a diehard fan. I certainly didn't expect to see myself lined up in Ticketmaster queues for BTS. Until the BTS World Tour announcement, I wasn't even an ARMY member, nor did I know you had to be one to get an early chance to buy tickets in the presale.

But then, I did everything right and got my $20 BTS ARMY membership on time. While the subscription is digital, it briefly sold out a few days before the presale started. I also read the rules, so I knew that after enrolling in the ARMY with the same email I used for Ticketmaster, I had to register my interest for up to three venues to join the presale. I ticked Munich, Paris, and Madrid. At this point, attempting to buy a BTS World Tour ticket was more of a technological curiosity: I wondered how well the system would work, especially the Ticketmaster presale phase. The best way to inspect it was to act just like an ARMY member eager to score tickets to the band's big comeback tour.

In addition to the steps above, I also ensured I was playing by Ticketmaster's rules. I loaded the website in a browser and focused on a single venue. Ticketmaster's pages warn users to stick to a single device, as the bot detection system might interpret extra activity as a bot trying to purchase tickets and could punish the user accordingly. They also advise users to open a single tab, but I risked two.

I purchased the BTS World Tour VIP ticket for the concert in Munich, but I was also ready to try the Paris and Madrid queues, which started later. That meant I had to log into the regional Ticketmaster websites for Germany, France, and Spain. The main Ticketmaster login worked for Germany, but signing into the Spanish website had also failed on the morning preceding the start of presales. Also, I had to create a separate account for France. All the back-and-forth between websites somehow triggered Ticketmaster's password reset system.

With eight minutes before presales began (1 p.m. in Germany or 7 a.m. EST on January 22), I was dealing with a password change. Luckily, the process went smoothly, and I was in two queues for the VIP and regular BTS presale tickets. But I was late, which meant I had 10,000 people in front of me. The non-VIP queue was even worse, with nearly 70,000 fans waiting.

The reason I kept switching between Ticketmaster websites was the lack of proper information. The BTS concerts were listed on Ticketmaster, but the presale pages were not, which could confuse ARMY members. Luckily, the BTS official pages had links to the presale that loaded the correct pages. After that, it was all smooth sailing. While the early access was open to ARMY members from anywhere in the world, the website did not crash at any point, and the system seems to have handled the traffic without hiccups. The countdown refreshed every few minutes, getting me closer to the VIP ticket purchase screen. As for the reason why my lucky ticket became available, it's possible that an ARMY member did not complete their purchase in time.

Speaking of costs, the German Ticketmaster website had prices displayed clearly from the get-go, as seen in the screenshots above. VIP buyers would have to choose between the €490.50 ($576) and €589.50 ($693) options, which included fees and were priced by the tour. The website informed buyers that prices would not change during the presale and general phases, indicating Ticketmaster would not employ dynamic pricing. The same explanation was in place on the non-VIP queue page, where ticket prices ranged from €88.50 ($104) to €494.68 ($581).

The reason I went for the VIP tickets first concerned my spot in line. I figured I had a better chance of watching the show by being 10,000th in line than 70,000th. Most VIP tickets were sold by the time I got in, but I was right. I still beat thousands of ARMY members to a BTS World Tour ticket, and I did it on the first attempt, without facing any Ticketmaster issues or dealing with price spikes from dynamic pricing. As for that VIP experience, the first BTS tour after their military service should be a phenomenal event. The VIP experience may be worth it, assuming I don't change my mind and go for a refund.