SUCCESS! Congratulations! So You Got a LA28 Visa Presale Draw Time Slot – NOW WHAT?!

Most Recently Updated July 28, 2026

LA28 Ticket Drop 2 included a Visa Presale and in typical me fashion, I remembered and registered July 22, the last day, to opt in AND hilariously only because I set up a calendar reminder to post on socials to remind everyone else!

July 27 rolls around and I get an email reading: “LA28 ticket alert! You’ve been selected for a time slot to shop. Congratulations, Rosemary!” YAY! Welp, I guess?!

I don’t know if it is because the summer Olympics is still two years away or that World Cup 26 just finished or that I just looked at what I spent for Paris2024 but I am finding it hard to get excited.

Especially enough to do the leg work to research for tickets and as importantly, to actually buy them now (IYKYK that I am notorious for changing my mind about things bought too far ahead)

So I decided to write this as a guide to help you game plan for your time slot and perhaps will get motivated to do so for mine.

What To Know About Buying Olympic Tickets

Zoned Selling, Not Seat Mapping

If you have never bought a ticket for a large international sporting event, this one is very different from what you are used to. You purchase color-coded price categories (Categories A, B, C, and D) rather than picking out specific sections, rows, or seat numbers.

Delayed Assignments

Yes this does mean that you are paying blindly upfront for a ticket in a price category versus a specific seat. The IOC only assigns your physical row and seat numbers weeks or days before the event begins, automatically grouping multi-ticket transactions together as closely as possible.

Why They Do This (And Why Speed Matters)

International governing bodies use this method to account for dynamic venue modifications. For example, if LA28 needs to adjust the size of the media press box or needs to move camera platforms at SoFi Stadium, they can shift physical seats around without issuing thousands of refunds.

Because of this, your checkout strategy is based on speed: do not hesitate looking for a seat map. Pick your letter category, click add-to-cart, and let the automated system hold the inventory for you.

The Last-Minute Exception

The only time you can pick a specific seat for an event is if you buy through high-tier corporate hospitality packages or wait until the absolute “Last-Minute Sales” phase (if there are any tickets left to buy). And even then it can be tricky to know exactly where your tickets are!

I was also able to see specific seat information in the Paris2024 resale site but note that I was looking/buying within a week of the games starting and during the Paris2024 games.

Logistics for LA28

Venues

Explore the venues and zones 

Logistics matter but even moreso for large scale events like the Olympics. Driving in Los Angeles can be rough during the best of times so that is definitely something to take into account.

I would urge caution if you are planning on attending more than two events in a day but if you do, choose very large gaps in times between the two sessions. And give yourself lots of time between the events – you are likely to underestimate how long it will take between getting in and out of venues (security and just dealing with large masses of people) and getting to venues (driving, parking and walking).

Ticket Maximum

Be aware of the 12-ticket maximum per account across all sports and sessions (including if you buy for friends and family!). There are the following exceptions

• The Football (Soccer) Exception: Soccer matches are completely separate. You get 12 general tickets PLUS 12 football tickets.
• The Ceremony Exception: The exception here means ceremonies have a stricter sub-cap. You cannot use your 12-ticket limit to buy 12 Opening Ceremony tickets; you can only buy up to 4 per ceremony per account. Important those 4 still count against your overall 12-ticket maximum

Your ticket limits are cumulative across all ticket drops. If you already bought 4 tickets during an earlier phase, those 4 tickets remain permanently counted against your 12-ticket Total during the current Visa Presale and the upcoming August Drop 2 windows!

Ticket Pricing

Prices scale drastically based on the popularity of the sport, the stage of competition, and the venue seating tier. What LA28 has divulged about pricing:

• Entry Level: $28 flat across more than 1 million total tickets, mostly found in the upper tiers of preliminary rounds (e.g., beach volleyball, rugby, archery) with tickets being sold out immediately in this price category.
• Mid-Tier (Most Sports): Nearly 50% of all tickets are under $200, and over three-quarters are under $400, covering a mix of premium preliminaries and various medal finals.
• Marquee Events: Finals for high-demand sports like gymnastics, track & field, and swimming range from $100 to well over $1,000
• Ceremonies: High-demand opening and closing ceremonies climb into the thousands, with premium seats capping out over $5,000.

Alright So Here’s The Game Plan for LA28 Visa PreSale

Nothing is guaranteed (ticket inventory changes constantly), but here’s what I’d recommend before your purchase window opens.

Decide Your Priorities Before You Log In

This is probably the biggest piece of advice I can give. Don’t wait until you’re staring at the ticket page to figure out what you want.

Experience vs Specific Sports/Events

When I was debating about attending the World Cup, this is one of the ways that helped me narrow down which location and match to attend and as importantly how much I would spend. I could pay a lot to see a specific team/player or I could opt for a less popular match but still be able to experience the World Cup.

Perhaps you have a specific sport or event that you really want to see, then that should be your priority. Again since prices scale based on the stage of competition, opting for preliminaries will keep costs down but can also increase your chance of getting any tickets as finals are extremely popular and pricey!

Instead of chasing the hardest tickets, think about what experience matters most to you. Consider

• Being inside Olympic venues
• Attending a variety of sports
• Staying within budget
• Choosing mostly preliminary sessions instead of finals

If you are looking more for an “Olympic experience”, perhaps what guides you is choosing a venue – something that defines or feels more Olympics for you. For example, the LA Memorial Coliseum as the site of the Opening and Closing Ceremony also is where Athletics (or Track and Field) is held! Plus it holds over 70,000 people so mathematically your chance at securing lower-priced tickets is highest here!

Perhaps the most unique LA28 venue will be SoFi stadium which will undergo a massive renovation to become the site for swimming and will also have increased number of seats (vs previous Olympic swimming venues).

Thinking About The Different Sports

Before your purchase window, sit down and rank the sports you’re most excited about and the ones you can easily skip.

But I would also suggest that you are open to seeing new sports – there’s something to be said about the Olympic spirit and camaraderie plus knowing how hard athletes worked to get there makes watching a sport you may not be familiar with that just hits different when you’re watching it in person. But lol I am also obsessed with the Olympics and a bit sport-mad in general

Another way is to consider a mix of events where one you attend something where there are lots of things going on (Men’s Gymnastics) to one that is focused only on event (basketball or cricket).

All of this may sound silly and a bit overkill but TRUST me, it is so much easier to have all of this written down so you can reference it once your ticket time slot opens. At that point it is go time.

Your priorities might look completely different, but having a plan before you log in makes decision-making much easier.

Don’t Forget To Look at the Competition Schedule

Unless you live in LA or are planning on being in town for the 16 days of the Games, you want to make sure that you are looking at tickets for events and dates close to one another. Explore the Olympic competition schedule here 

I would urge caution if you want to attend multiple events in a day. If you do, choose very large gaps in times between the two sessions and/or opt for events/venues that are close to each other. PLUS give yourself lots of time between the events – you are likely to underestimate how long it will take between getting in and out of venues (security and just dealing with large masses of people) and getting to venues (driving, parking and walking).

And That There’s THIS Major Shift!

Don’t forget that at LA28, Athletics will anchor the first week of the games while swimming moves entirely to the second week! Budget

Boring but necessary. Seriously this is how you don’t

Set a Budget (and Stick to It)

It’s incredibly easy to get caught up in the excitement.

Perhaps the other way to think about these sports is to assign a $ to each such as I would pay $800 to see a Women’s Gymnastics Final and would consider handball or BMX but only for if tickets are within the $30 – $50 range.

Remember that list you made? Add those $ amounts next to the sport and have it next to you while you shop!

If everything available is over your budget, it’s okay to walk away empty-handed. There will be more opportunities to buy tickets between now and 2028 and you don’t want to waste your 12 tickets maximum on tickets that you will likely regret overspending on later!

Also account for the 24% Processing Fee!

Yeah – oof.

Use the Filters

The ticket site lets you filter by price, sport, session, and more. Remember that you had already done your research and have a leg up on others so you just need to search for the tickets and prices that you want!

It sounds obvious, but double-check you’re buying the event you actually want. Some of the common ones: Artistic Gymnastics = Vault, Beam, Floor, Rings routine vs Rhythmic Gymnastics = Ball, Hoop and Ribbon; Athletics = Track and Field; Football = Soccer

Be Realistic About What Will Be Available

Remember how ticket pricing works – you will not be able to find cheap front row tickets nor cheap tickets to any of the semi-final, final events, nor the Opening/Closing Ceremonies.

And that those popular events are really hard to get and the reality is that most of us won’t get them. *sigh, why I never saw Simone Biles at Paris2024!*

Don’t Miss Your Time Slot

Set multiple alarms if you need to.

It sounds silly, but I know people who completely forgot about their purchase window and logged in hours later. By then, many of the best options were gone.

SERIOUSLY NO Panic Buying!

During the first ticket drop, tickets placed in your cart were held for about 30 minutes.

That meant you had time to compare sessions, double-check your selections, and make sure you weren’t making expensive impulse purchases.

Don’t Feel Like You Have to Buy Something

This is probably the hardest advice to follow.

Just because you have a purchase window doesn’t mean you have to use all 12 tickets or spend your entire budget.

If the options don’t work for you, it’s okay to wait for a future sale. There are still multiple ticket releases planned before the Games begin.

Don’t Forget About the Paralympics

If Olympic tickets don’t work out, or you’re looking for a different experience, don’t overlook the Paralympics.

Tickets are often easier to get, prices tend to be lower, and the atmosphere is incredible.

You Can Still Enjoy the Olympics Without Event Tickets

One thing Paris2024 taught me is that you don’t need a full schedule of competition tickets to have an amazing Olympic trip.

Expect LA28 to have plenty of Olympic activities beyond competition, including:

• National hospitality houses
• Live watch parties
• Sponsor activations
• Pin trading
• Olympic photo opportunities
• Fan festivals and entertainment

If you can get tickets to even one event, fantastic. But don’t think your trip is ruined if you aren’t inside an Olympic venue every day.

One of my favorite parts about those Olympics were all the free events that were honestly as fun to experience as some of the events!

Visa PreSale

Make sure your Visa card is ready to go as you will only be able to pay with a Visa card during the Visa Presale

Good Luck!

If you have a later purchase window, be patient, stay flexible, and focus on buying tickets that actually fit your budget and priorities—not just whatever happens to be available.

Good luck! I hope you score some amazing tickets, and hopefully I’ll see you at LA28!

Didn’t Get a Time Slot for the Visa Presale? What’s Next – LA28 Ticket Drop 2 Timeline

• August 6 – 7: Drop 2 time slot notification
• August 10 – 20: Drop 2 time slots

Curious What I Spent for My PARIS2024 Tickets?

Costs were so low here as Paris2024 actively kept ticket prices and fees reasonable and I really lucked out with some incredible last minute seats.

My Total Spend on the Games was actually $736.40 – I did buy and sell some tickets (ie I ended up with multiple beach volleyball sessions but kept only the one with the incredible seat and ended up selling the first athletics Athletics ticket I bought when a better seat became available) and I did buy the commemorative paper tickets.

One of my favorite parts about Paris2024 were all the free events that were honestly as fun to experience as some of the events!

It also helps that I have visited Paris multiple times and didn’t feel compelled to revisit any museums or attractions during this time (but I might have missed a big opportunity since I heard later that they were fairly empty!).