With so many rewards cards available, which one should you open to pay for the celebration thrown in your honor? Let’s take a look at ways to determine the best credit card to cover your wedding expenses.
Pro Tip
If you need a new credit card before you’ve even started planning, it might be best to focus on cards earning at flat rates on all purchases. That way you’re coded regardless of what expenses you end up charging in the future.
Open Credit Cards That Offer Elevated Earning Rates in Relevant Categories
If your venue accepts credit cards for payment, find out how your credit card categorizes the purchase. For example, some venues may code as restaurants, while others may be event centers. Hotels with a ballroom or destination weddings may be considered travel expenses. Once you know how the purchase is tracked, you can select a credit card that earns bonus points on that category of purchase.If a purchase doesn’t qualify for the bonus, use a card that offers a strong flat-rate reward rate on every purchase, like a 2% cash-back card.
Pro Tip
If you’re hoping to redeem credit cards for a honeymoon but don’t have an exact plan in mind yet, consider a card that earns
flexible rewards instead of an airline- or hotel-specific credit card.
Consider Cards With Referral Bonuses
Welcome to two-player mode! Assuming you and your fiancé both qualify, you could potentially each get a new credit card for double the options. And if you both get the same credit card—or even potentially two cards from the same issuer—it may even be possible to refer your better half as a new applicant in order to gain both a referral bonus and a welcome offer.
For example, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers a referral bonus that’s often as high as 15,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards® points. Once your plus one receives the card and completes the referral requirements, you will receive the referral points. To qualify, you’ll need to send a special invitation link to the person you’re referring and they must apply for the card through that link so your referral can be tracked.
This strategy also allows you to spread out your applications in case you need more time to meet the minimum-spending requirements.
For example, one of you gets a card, puts down a venue deposit, refers the other to the same card, and receives a referral bonus. The other person then pays for the open bar and flowers with the second card and earns their own bonus.
With this strategy, each of you earns a welcome bonus after meeting the spending requirements, which means double the points and double the fun on your honeymoon.
Take Advantage of Loyalty Programs That Allow Points Pooling
Many rewards programs allow points pooling between member accounts, and you and your partner should definitely be taking advantage of the opportunity to combine points into one account.
For example, Citi ThankYou cardholders can share points with another ThankYou Rewards member for free. Make sure to redeem the points within 90 days or they will expire.
The Chase Ultimate Rewards program allows point transfers in three cases:
- If you share the same household.
- If you’re an authorized user on your significant other’s account.
- If you hold a business card, you can transfer points to a co-owner of the company.
If you meet one of the requirements, you and your plus one can link Ultimate Rewards accounts and send points to each other. By doing so, you can keep flights on one reservation number or book more nights at hotels.
Speaking of hotels, Marriott Bonvoy and World of Hyatt allow free point transfers to another loyalty program member. Hilton Honors takes it a step further and allows points pooling among up to 11 program members.
Marriott and Hilton elite members can book five nights for the price of four when redeeming points, so combining points might help you gain the points balance needed for a longer trip like this. Even easier, consider the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card which offers the fourth night free on award bookings to cardholders.
Consider a Card With 0% APR
We don’t recommend beginning married life with consumer debt, but if you can’t cover 100% of the wedding cost upfront, you can apply for a credit card with an extended 0% intro APR period to pay for the remaining costs.
For example, the U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card* offers a 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 21 billing cycles, followed by a variable APR of 18.74% - 29.74%. A balance transfer of 5% of the amount of each transfer or $5 minimum, whichever is greater, applies period on purchases and balance transfers. This means you have more than a year to pay off the wedding expenses that you put on the credit card. Make sure to pay off the balance within the allotted time frame to avoid paying interest.
Find the Best Credit Cards for 2024
No single credit card is the best option for every family, every purchase or every budget. We've picked the best credit cards in a way designed to be the most helpful to the widest variety of readers.
