A Free Honeymoon?! Maximizing Your Credit Card Spend By Barefoot Couple Benny & Sherry
Have you been hearing about your friend who's been taking business class flights with airport lounge access, living the dream on 5-star luxury resorts in the Maldives, and wondering how in the world she’s affording all that? Chances are, she’s “paying” for those in credit card points… and so can you! There’s a silver lining in all the wedding expenses you have coming up, and I’m here to show you how to make the most of it.
First things first, I have to give a disclaimer that this is not financial advice. We’re talking about your credit score, your financial decisions, and your responsibility. To play the game of credit card awards, you need to have an excellent credit score, have enough cash to pay off all your balances in full each month, be extremely organized in tracking your spending, and be transparent with your partner who should also be fully on board.
By putting wedding expenses onto a credit card, you can earn rewards from sign-up bonuses as well as regular credit card spend.
For every dollar you spend on certain credit cards, you’ll get a certain number of loyalty points as part of the membership program for that card. These can be:
Points or miles associated with a hotel chain or airline such as Southwest, United, Hyatt, or Marriott
Flexible points associated with a card issuer such as Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards points, or Citi ThankYou points, which can then be transferred to hotel or airline partners
Points that can be redeemed as cash-back against your statement
If you’re hosting your wedding at a brand that has a loyalty program (such as a Hyatt, Marriott, or Hilton), you may be able to earn EVEN MORE POINTS if you use their co-branded credit card for wedding spend. Be sure to confirm how your transactions will be coded and whether your wedding spend counts as a “qualifying purchase” for bonus points per the Terms & Conditions.
Many credit cards also offer a sign-up bonus if you are approved for a new credit card and spend a certain amount of money within a specified time frame. For example, in October 2024, you can earn 60,000 Chase Ultimate Reward Points if you spend $4,000 within 3 months on a new Chase Sapphire Preferred.
Popular credit cards for travel include the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve, Capital One Venture X, and American Express Platinum. Do you research to determine which credit card(s) have the best offers and will fit your spending/travel habits the best.
You’ll be shocked by how quickly you can rack up points with each credit card (woohoo!!), but keep in mind that every new application requires a hard pull on your credit, which will temporarily reduce your credit score. Your credit score is also impacted by the number of new accounts, number of pulls on your credit, amount of credit utilization, average length of your credit history, and other factors, so you do not want to open more than one credit card every 3 months per person and you want to keep the credit cards open for at least a year. If the credit card issuers flag you as being too aggressive, there is a possibility that they will shut down all your accounts, so tread carefully!
Remember that you can only earn awards on expenses put on your credit card, so this excludes any spend that is paid by Wise/Revolut, wire transfer/ACH, or in cash. You’ll also want to confirm with your vendor whether there are any fees associated with paying by credit card.
When thinking about what cards to apply for and when, you’ll want to start out by mapping out your expenses, their amounts, and their timeline on a spreadsheet. Big-ticket items may include:
Bride’s wedding dress and suit, including alterations
Jewelry and other accessories (including engagement/wedding rings)
Beauty services such as waxings, facials, threading, manicures, pedicures
Venue deposits
All payments made to your resort or vendors, such as DJ, catering, florals, decor, furniture, hair & makeup, etc. These are often paid in installments, whose due dates are outlined in your contract.
Travel expenses such as flights, your resort/room block, and ground transportation such as airport shuttles
Most sign-up bonuses have a minimum spend within a 3-month time period, so you can map out these expenses within 3-month chunks and time your credit card application accordingly. If your credit card applications are approved, you’ll want to track your expenses every month to make sure you’re on track to hit your minimum spend by the 3-month deadline.
Once the points hit your account, you can start spending them on flights and hotel stays! If you have flexible spending points such as Chase, AmEx, or Citi, you’ll have to transfer them to partner hotels or airlines first. From there, you can go to the airlines’ websites and search for flights based on “redeeming miles” or go to hotels’ websites and search for hotel availability based on “redeeming points.” Your desired routes or stays may not always have availability on your desired dates, because these companies do limit award availability.
Remember: This is a marathon, not a sprint! The key is to turn money you're already spending into rewards you'll actually use. Now go forth and spend responsibly!
