Hot Tix – Half Price Theatre Tickets

Terrible service, would recommend to stay away from this. We ordered tickets for Chicago Architect tour and the discount was not applied. Instead of paying 60USD we paid USD138… On the same day we saw that higher amount was deducted from account and we tried to call Hot Tix but we did not get through. Instead we send them a email. They never replied to the email but luckily we were able to reach them the following day by phone (this was also they day that the tour took place). Here they told that we should have called on the day that the error occurred which we did but they were not available. The only thing they offered was to email the venue if we could get a refund but they could not guarantee this… They even mentioned on the phone that they have these type of cases more often.
Please stay away from Hot Tix!!!

I was on the way to the Cadillac Theater box office to see if I could get tickets for Chicago (the musical) because Ticketmaster service fees are ridiculous. I saw this store off Randolph and thought, might as well check to see what they have available. I ended up buying orchestra center seats (perfect seats) for significantly less than the lowest priced seat online (last row of balcony). I realize this probably isn’t foolproof but it was a 2pm show and I was flexible and had options for another day if needed. So happy I stopped in.

Went to buy discounted tickets. $ 10 great but your fees were $ 5.00 that’s 50% of the discounted price. Yeesh that’s out of control in proportion to the price. While probably a fixed fee it’s half again the cost.

I’m always looking for a deal so before I buy any show or concert ticket I search the internet for any promo code I can find. I found one for Hot Tix that I could use on Ticketmaster. Before I made the purchase and clicked through all of the screens with a fee for this and a fee for that… I remembered that I pass by the physical Hot Tix location almost every day near my job! So I called. The lady who answered was helpful and said I could buy those show tickets directly from them for a few bucks less than online since they don’t charge those extra Ticketmaster fees. Sweet! I popped in, already knowing what I needed, made my purchase, and was out in less than 5 minutes. I’ll definitely remember to check them out in the future. Who doesn’t want to save $$$$?

Hot Tix is a cool fix for discounted show tix. Show tickets can be very expensive. Hot Tix can lower show tickets to borderline expensive. Their business is specializing in discount show tickets that are supposedly half off.
My family and I were up to seeing «Motown-​The Musical.» We were also up to using a half off ticketing agency. They are very popular on the Las Vegas Strip, near my residence. We have used them several times and they rewarded us with nice seats at discounted prices. If something ain’t broken, don’t fix it. We’d walk from the State Street Embassy Streets into the Loop, turn left on Randolph and step inside Hot Tix which is between Wabash and Michigan Avenue across from the Chicago Cultural Center.
The process was smooth. Hot Tix displays the shows with pricing and times on sheets of paper that are displayed outside on the window and inside at the desk. This is helpful on account of the fact that it displays all the shows that are playing this week. On the other side of the token, the only price listed was the supposedly discounted price. In Las Vegas, the half price ticket agencies display the theater price with the discounted price. We were decided on seeing «Motown-​The Musical.» The easygoing agent opened a white loose leaf book to the map of the Oriental Theater to show us the available seats. We’d look through the seats available the different nights until we found the right seats. The available seats are hit and miss in viewing experience. It was a wise move doing business with Hot Tix in the beginning of the vacation. This left sufficient days ahead for picking better seats. After deciding on the seats, the process concluded with the agent presenting us with our tickets.
Hot Tix sure is a cool fix for discounted tix. It isn’t a perfect fix. There is a surcharge. If there was a visible comparison between the theater and Hot Tix prices, I’d have upped my rating from 3.5 to 4 stars. When all is said and done, thanks to this 3.5 stars business we saw Broadway stars at a discounted price.

Instead of paying half price, we paid more than twice the price ($ 52) of what they charged at the box office ($ 25) at the time (shortly before the show starts). We are totally disgusted with Hot Tix.
To Hot Tix’s credit, it offered me a full refund upon my complaint on Unilocal

Great service I found thanks to Unilocal.My experience with them is mostly online.
Wanted tickets to improv at second city but I waited too long and the show sold out on me. I checked hot tix and found a different show playing at second city at the same time available for $ 15 (with $ 4.50 ticketmaster few extra). I saw many other half price tickets to great shows for example the blue man group available.
Legit tickets. Got them physically at Second City. General admission tickets which means first come first serve. I was early and got great seats (tier 3 I think which normally retail for $ 30).
I’d use their service again. These services are usually scams at tourist traps but not this one. Affiliated with the league of Chicago theaters. Definitely checking it out next time I’m in Chicago.

Always love some half price tickets when I’m not sure what I’m in the mood for! This place was very easy to find — even for a tourist. Very close to Millennium Park. The staff was helpful in explaining the shows they had and where they were located around the city. They even gave us printed directions to get there (again, tourist).
We ended up getting tickets to Comedy Sportz half price! Hilarious show and we never would have heard of it if not for Hot Tix! Woot woot!

Hot Tix is a great service. I stopped in the other day to get some tickets for that evening. The guy working was very helpful and the tickets are pretty cheap. You can also access this service online. I’ve gotten tickets from them multiple times

Some of these reviews give an unfair shake for Hot Tix.
Yes, few of us like paying Ticketmaster charges. But the reality is that the fees on these tix are less than they might be with other ticketmaster productions.
Hottix gives an option to the theatre goes – none of us is obligated to buy through them. These are productions that aren’t moving as many tickets as they’d like and discount their tickets through the non-​profit League of Chicago Theatres. When I purchased my tickets today they state that the ticket surcharge in person is less than the online fee.
So…one can.
1. Pay full price from the theatre itself and pay (possibly) smaller ticket fee. This helps support the theatres more and is a huge help to smaller productions/​houses.
2. Pay half price for a show the hottix storefront and pay a ticketing surcharge.
3. Pay half price for a show online and pay slighly more for the convenience.
With smaller ticket prices these fees can certainly be a large percentage so perhaps the deal isn’t as great, but in general Hottix always has some great values.

For years, my routine on arrival in Chicago has been the same. Stop at Hot Tix before anything else, then check in to the hotel. It was a great resource, with really helpful people. It it supported a good cause. But no more.
This weekend I was saddened and a little disgusted to find Hot Tix has hooked up with the evil empire known as Ticketmaster. Only after making my purchase and looking at the receipt did I realize my «half-​price» ticket was no longer half-​price, but nearly full price. As usual, it was the exorbitant Ticketmaster «convenience fee,» which amounted to about half the cost of the show. The «convenience,» apparently, was for giving me the privilege of walking eight blocks to the Hot Tix office and handing over my money.
I am one of those cranky people who, if given no other option but Ticketmaster, will just forego the ticket and find something else to do. My own little boycott just makes me feel better. We need to vote with our dollars. I will continue to regularly attend Chicago theater events, but will now experience the «convenience» of going to the theater’s own box office. Thanks for everything over the years, Hot Tix. You will not be seeing me again.

amazing. overly positive reviews for…
TICKETMASTER?
Yeah. We’re all duped. Just when you think you’re doing good by helping Chicago theaters struggling to fill empty seats, you don’t realize that you’re actually paying the huge Ticketmaster premium above what a supposedly discounted ticket would cost. Don’t believe me? Look at your ticket next time. That $ 23.00 ticket charge? Yeah – the theater got $ 15 of that. Ticketmaster got the rest. So I just paid an almost 50% markup that should’ve gone to the theater. Instead, it goes to those greedy, heartless corporate b-​tards. Hot Tix isn’t so much a clearing house for theaters as it is a box office for Ticketmaster.
Next time, I’ll just call the theater and book directly. Most of the smaller theaters have box offices that only charge a couple bucks or so for purchasing a ticket over the phone.

walked in at 10:01 last Saturday morning… asked for same day tix to Billy Elliot. Got AWESOME seats and the staff was very friendly and helpful.

Thank you Hot Tix for allowing me, a poor student, to get out and enjoy the theater every now and then without having to reduces myself to meals of ramen and PB&J.
Chicago’s theater scene is incredible and, through Hot Tix I’ve learned and been able to experience performances that otherwise would have escaped both my attention and my budget.
The website is easy to use and allows you to browse the weeks upcoming shows. Some tickets can be purchased online and printed from your home computer, while others you’ll have to actually go to the hottix booth, which is very conveniently located and rarely so busy that you can’t get what you’re looking for. They have tickets to everything from big Broadway production to smaller, lesser known neighborhood theaters.
Overall, a great Chicago resource!

Half price theater weekends are the best. I found them on Unilocal and have been singing their praises ever since. I have seen the best shows because of Hot Tix

I learned about Hot Tix from Unilocal.It sounded like the perfect service for someone who lives in Chicago, likes theater and is able to go to shows spur of the moment. While I thought the deal was you have to pickup your tickets same day, there are also deals available where you can buy the tickets online using a discount code and sometimes for a day or two in advance.
I specifically joined their email mailing list when Fiddler on the Roof came to town hoping for a miracle of cheap tickets! Low and behold on the weekly email there was an offering for $ 38.75 tickets. When I checked their location I found that they were orchestra seats! What a great deal, for about $ 90.00*, which is the price of one seat; my boyfriend and I were able to go see the play!
I can’t wait to use Hot Tix again for more theater deals in the future!
*with Ticketmaster costs

I always check Hot Tix prior to purchasing theater tickets, and 80% of the time discounted tickets for that show are available. The best success rate seems to be for Sunday matinees, but there are tickets available for any night of the week for some shows. This covers the larger theaters as well as smaller storefront venues.
Though the tickets are listed as half price, service fees will drive the price higher than that. Still, they are considerably below face price.

Yup, I’m in total agreement with everyone else. This place is the best when it comes to cheap last minute tickets for shows. Highly recommend!!! Also check out Goldstar (
) for cheap show tickets that might not be listed on hot tix.

I’ve had great success getting half-​priced tickets here for a couple of shows. You can check their online listing or stop by in person to see a nice list of road-​less-​travelled showtimes, usually Sunday matinees.
Like Keith M. says, it’s a great place to stop by for last minute tickets for a spontaneous evening out.

This is a great option if you know you want to see something that night, but don’t have your heart set on one specific show. You’re not guaranteed to see the one that you want, because they might not be offering it that day. But they usually have some big ticket shows at ½ off, and some pretty good seats too! You can check the website and see what’s available before schlepping down to the booth.

SECRET IS OUT! I heard about this place sell unused tickets or last minute deals. What a deal! Check out their website for daily ticket sales. You can get tickets to many plays, musicals, special events like second city, blueman group, and much more for 50% off! I got two tickets to the second city from here last night. — c’mon this is useful info! give me a useful vote ok? just click that on the useful button. i know you want to.

This is a great place to get half-​priced theater tickets for
day-​of-​performances. The only hitch is that the tickets must be purchased in person. You’ll find dozens of shows each week, but the number of tickets is limited. I often stop by one of their locations and pick up a couple of theater tickets for a great evening out.