Concert Ticket Types Explained: GA, VIP, Platinum and Resale
Updated 2026-10-19 · 4 min read
GA, pit, reserved, platinum, VIP packages and resale listings all look like one ticket on a screen. Here is what each type actually sells you, and how to compare them.
A concert onsale can put half a dozen different things in front of you that all read as "a ticket." Some give you a numbered seat, some give you a patch of floor, some are priced by an algorithm, and some bundle a wristband and a tote bag with the admission. Compare them on price alone and you are comparing products that are not the same product. Here is what each common type sells you, and what to check first.
General admission and the pit
A general admission ticket buys entry to an area, not a seat inside it. Where you end up is decided by when you arrive and how the venue queues people, so two people holding identical GA tickets can spend the night in very different places. The area itself varies by building: a cleared arena or club floor, a lawn behind the reserved sections at an amphitheater, or a railed-off pit in front of the stage sold as its own tier. Expect to stand all show, with no seat to return to. GA suits people who want to be close and will arrive early, and it is the wrong choice if you need to sit.
Reserved seats and the labels attached to them
A reserved ticket names a section, a row and a seat, and that spot is yours whenever you walk in. Because the location is fixed, the only real question is what you can see from it, and the venue often tells you up front. Labels such as obstructed view, limited or partial view, side or rear view, and standing room only are applied upstream by the venue or event, and they stay attached to the ticket wherever it is later sold. They are descriptions, not marketing: a side view usually means an angle on the stage, while obstructed usually means something physical sits in the way. Accessible and companion seating is normally held and sold through its own process, so start with the venue if that is what you need.
Platinum and VIP: the tiers with names on them
Some official tickets are ordinary seats whose price moves with demand instead of being fixed at a printed face value. These often carry a premium-sounding name, platinum being the most familiar, and the name is where people get misled. A demand-priced ticket is usually standard inventory in a standard section: the label describes how it was priced, not an upgrade to the seat, and it includes no extras unless the listing explicitly says so. Treat the name as noise, read the section and row instead, and judge the price the way you would judge any other seat in that part of the building.
A VIP package is a ticket sold together with other things: early entry, a merchandise item, lounge access, a photo opportunity, sometimes a soundcheck. It is priced as a single product, so the admission portion is not separable from the extras, and the seat inside a package can be anything from front row to a mid-tier section. Read the description for which perks are guaranteed and which are subject to availability, how and when the extras are delivered, since they often arrive in a separate email close to the date, and whether any of it transfers if you cannot go. Many packages are tied to a name or cannot be transferred at all, which changes your options entirely.
Resale tickets
A resale ticket is any of the types above being sold by someone who already bought it: a fan whose plans changed, a season member with extra dates, anyone with a spare. The seat type does not change on resale, a pit ticket is still a pit ticket, but who you buy from and what backs the purchase does, and that is the part worth checking before you pay. Perch Pass lists verified resale tickets with all-in pricing, so the listing price is the price you pay, and every order carries a Buyer Guarantee (/buyer-guarantee). Resale prices are not anchored to face value in either direction either; they move with what the market is paying, which is why the same section can read higher or lower than it did on the original onsale.
| Ticket type | What you are buying | Check before you pay |
|---|---|---|
| General admission | Entry to an area; position set by arrival | Standing all show, queue and entry rules |
| Pit | A standing area closest to the stage, its own tier | Whether it is railed off, and the age policy |
| Reserved seat | A specific section, row and seat | View labels attached to that exact seat |
| Standing room | A ticketed spot in a designated standing area | Where the area is and what it looks at |
| Demand-priced (platinum) | A standard seat priced by demand, not face value | The real section and row; extras are not implied |
| VIP package | A ticket bundled with access or merchandise | What is guaranteed, delivery timing, transferability |
| Resale listing | Any of the above, sold by a current holder | Buyer protections and whether the total is all-in |
Once you can name the type in front of you, the decision gets simple. Pick the experience you want first, standing close or sitting with a clean sightline, then compare all-in totals only among tickets of that same kind. A pit wristband, an upper-tier seat and a package with a tote bag are not competing for the same night out.
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