How I Scored a French Open Ticket and a Hotel Using Points

A travel journalist used loyalty points to secure a ticket to the 2026 French Open and a hotel stay in Paris, covering an experience that would have cost several hundred dollars in cash during one of the city's busiest weeks. Chris Dong, a Los Angeles-based travel journalist, redeemed 20,000 Emirates Skywards miles for a reserved seat on Court Philippe-Chatrier, the tournament's main court, and 40,000 World of Hyatt points for two nights at the Hyatt Regency Paris Étoile [1]. The French Open, also known as Roland-Garros, is one of tennis's four Grand Slam tournaments and is played annually on red clay in Paris [1]. Emirates is a major sponsor of the event, and its Skywards loyalty program allows members to redeem miles for tickets through its Skywards Exclusives platform [1]. Dong transferred 25,000 American Express Membership Rewards points to Emirates Skywards at a 5:4 ratio to obtain the 20,000 miles needed [1]. The electronic ticket arrived approximately 48 hours before the start of the matches [1]. For comparison, second-round Chatrier seats on the verified resale market ranged from $150 to $500, depending on category and session [1]. French law prohibits reselling tickets above face value without authorization from the event organizer [1]. The Hyatt Regency Paris Étoile, a Category 5 World of Hyatt property located in the 17th arrondissement near the Roland-Garros complex, had cash rates running $400 to $600 per night during French Open week [1]. Dong booked a king room for 20,000 points per night, yielding a value of roughly 2 to 3 cents per point, above NerdWallet's valuation of 1.8 cents for World of Hyatt points [1]. Emirates restricted members to one ticket per account for the event, and event tickets were nonrefundable [1]. The 2026 French Open is taking place during a year that also features the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which is being jointly hosted by sixteen cities in the United States, Mexico, and Canada from June 11 to July 19 [3]. The tournament is the first to include 48 teams, an expansion from the previous 32 [3]. Preparations for the World Cup have drawn controversy over U.S. immigration policies and FIFA's use of dynamic ticket pricing [3].