I think I’ve seen this film before, and I didn’t like the ending.
Australian Taylor Swift fans found themselves in a panic on Wednesday morning as the American Express Australia website crashed 30 minutes before their exclusive The Eras Tour pre-sale was set to begin.
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Punters vying for a VIP ticket to Swift’s three Sydney shows in February – which can cost upward of $1249.90 per ticket – found themselves unable to log onto the American Express Australia website before the 10am pre-sale start.
Anguished fans quickly took to Twitter to beg American Express Australia for a solution, to which the credit card company would individually reply to tweets with a special link directly to the Ticketek Australia website.
By the time the clock had ticked over to the 10am pre-sale start time, the American Express Australia website was still down.
Fans had previously been instructed to go to directly to the American Express Australia website to access the exclusive pre-sale on Ticketek Australia’s website.
In a statement to 9news.com.au delivered 22 minutes into the pre-sale, a Ticketek spokesperson said: “We’re sorry that Taylor Swift fans are experiencing problems with the AMEX presale.”
“The Ticketek site is working as expected, however there is currently a problem with the AMEX site,” the statement continued.
“The AMEX team are currently working on the issue, and we will advise as soon as it has been rectified.”
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The kerfuffle has caused widespread panic among fans looking to secure VIP tickets to Swift’s two Melbourne shows, with that American Express Australia pre-sale starting at 2pm.
It’s also not a good sign for the more than one million hopeful Frontier Touring members who were waiting for the Frontier Touring pre-sale on Wednesday, nor the fans who were hoping to secure tickets when they go on-sale to the general public on Friday.
It’s estimated that there are 450,000 seats available for the five Australian shows Swift will perform in February 2024.
Swift’s United States The Eras Tour sale last year also caused widespread panic, with dynamic pricing and website crashes ultimately prompting fans to sue Ticketmaster.
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