It takes a lot of work — and money — to plan a wedding today. The average wedding today has around a $30,000 price tag, according to survey data from wedding industry sites like The Knot, The Wedding Report, and Zola. That’s why it pays to have the right credit card before deposits, bookings, and service fees roll in. With this list of best cards for weddings, you can get significant savings on your spending throughout your wedding planning process.
Best credit cards for weddings for September 2024
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Annual fee: $95
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Welcome offer: Enjoy a $250 credit to use on Capital One Travel in your first cardholder year, plus earn 75,000 miles after spending $4,000 within the first 3 months
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Rewards:
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Recommended credit score: Good to excellent
Why we like it: If you want to use your wedding expenses to help fund the honeymoon you’ll take afterward, the Capital One Venture is a great option. You’ll earn a flat 2x miles on every dollar you spend, so you don’t need to worry about the specific categories your wedding spending may fall into. If you have wedding-related travel expenses to book, you can get up to 5x miles on hotels and car rentals through the Capital One Travel portal.
For its $95 annual fee, the Capital One Venture Card also comes with up to a $100 fee credit for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry, experience credits, and other benefits when you book The Lifestyle Collection hotels, and Five Star status with Hertz.
When you’re ready to use the miles you earn, put them toward Capital One Travel bookings, redeem them for any travel purchases made with your card within 90 days, or transfer them to Capital One airline and hotel partners.
Why we like it: The Wells Fargo Reflect card’s 21-month 0% intro APR is one of the longest you’ll find from any credit card today. For wedding expenses, you’ll likely get the most use out of the intro offer for new purchases. You can charge your wedding spending over the intro period, and won’t accrue any interest until nearly two years from account opening.
Say you have $12,000 in wedding expenses you can charge to a credit card. Given the full 21 months interest-free, you can pay down that entire balance with monthly payments of just over $571. It’s essential to pay as much as possible before the intro period ends if you want to avoid your remaining balance accruing interest at the ongoing variable APR between 18.24% and 29.99%.
You may also use the Wells Fargo Reflect Card to pay down debt with a balance transfer (made within 120 days of opening). If you’ve already taken on some debt from earlier venue deposits and vendor bookings, for example, this is a good way to avoid the high interest rate on your current card.
The downside is the lack of rewards options. You won’t earn points or cash back on purchases, and there’s no cash welcome offer for new cardholders. One long-term benefit is cell phone protection which covers up to $600 (with a $25 deductible) against damage or theft.
Why we like it: Discover it Miles is another travel credit card with a flat rate on each purchase you make. By earning 1.5x miles on every purchase, you’ll maximize all your credit card wedding spending without worrying about eligible categories.
This card’s unique sign-up bonus offer makes it even more valuable for expensive wedding costs. At the end of your first year, Discover will match every mile you earn with the card, essentially doubling your first-year rewards.
Say, for example, you spend $12,000 in wedding expenses with the Discover it Miles card, and another $5,000 in regular purchases over the remainder of the year. That $17,000 could net you 25,500 miles — with the match, you’d total 51,000 miles in your first year. For a no annual fee card, more than $500 in rewards value over the first year is incredible.
You can redeem your miles toward travel purchases you make with your card from hotels, rideshares, restaurants, and more; or redeem for cash as a payment toward your balance or deposit into a bank account. Finally, the Discover it Miles also comes with an introductory 0% APR on new purchases — another valuable benefit for helping to pay down costly wedding spending over time.
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Annual fee: $695 (see rates and fees)
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Welcome offer: Earn 80,000 points after spending $8,000 within the first 6 months
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Rewards:
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5x points on flights booked directly with airlines or through Amex Travel (up to $500,000 spent per calendar year)
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5x points on prepaid hotels booked through Amex Travel
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1x points on all other purchases
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Recommended credit score: Good to excellent
Why we like it: If you’re planning your honeymoon as a once-in-a-lifetime, bucket list vacation, the Platinum Card from American Express is a powerful tool for booking and while traveling. To start, the valuable welcome bonus can go toward up to $800 in travel expenses — and those costly wedding expenses may help you meet the minimum spending requirement. Rewards points on airfare and hotel bookings can also help to offset any travel costs required for the wedding.
Then, use the American Express Platinum Card’s many benefits to upgrade your honeymoon travel. These include up to $200 in annual statement credits for eligible prepaid hotel bookings through Amex Travel, airport lounge access across the globe, and up to $200 in annual statement credits for incidental fees with your choice airline. Plus, get up to $199 annual CLEAR Plus credit per calendar year on your membership (subject to auto-renewal), experience credits and other perks when you book The Hotel Collection or Fine Hotels + Resorts, concierge services, automatic status with Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors, travel protections, and much more.
Between the rewards you’ll earn on travel and savings on travel spending, you can use this card to make your honeymoon more comfortable and efficient — while minimizing the price tag. You can redeem Membership Rewards points for travel through Amex Travel (you’ll generally get the best value on flights or select hotels) or transfer them to your preferred Amex partner airline or hotel program.
Read more: See our picks for the best American Express credit cards
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Annual fee: $0
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Welcome offer: Earn an extra 1.5% cash back on every purchase for the first year (up to $20,000 in eligible spending)
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Rewards:
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5% cash back on travel through Chase Travel℠
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3% cash back on dining
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3% cash back at drugstores
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1.5% cash back on all other purchases
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Recommended credit score: Good to excellent
Why we like it: Chase Freedom Unlimited offers a valuable cash-back rewards combo for taking on costly wedding expenses. Not only can you earn a flat 1.5% on every purchase (regardless of category), but you’ll also get an enhanced rate throughout the first year — up to $20,000 in spending for a maximum $300 extra back. Plus, there’s an introductory 0% APR you can use to finance your wedding purchases and pay them off over time.
Like the examples above, say you have $12,000 of wedding purchases you can put on a credit card. If you open a new Chase Freedom Unlimited with the current welcome offer, you can earn a minimum of 1.5% cash back on that spending, plus another 1.5% cash back over the first year. That’s a total of $360 back on those purchases alone. If some of your wedding purchases fall into the boosted rewards categories, or you spend more before reaching the $20,000 first-year limit, you’ll earn even more.
The rewards you earn with this card are even more lucrative if you also have a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Chase Sapphire Reserve®. While you’ll earn rewards as cash back, you can also redeem them toward travel purchases through Chase Travel. If you have one of the Sapphire cards, combine your rewards under that card account and get the boosted 25% (for Chase Sapphire Preferred) or 50% (for Chase Sapphire Reserve) Chase Travel redemption rate — a great way to maximize rewards toward your honeymoon or another upcoming trip.
More options to consider: co-branded hotel credit cards
If you choose a hotel as your wedding venue, you might get the most value and savings from a co-branded hotel credit card. On top of the boosted credit card rewards, some hotel chains offer added incentives for weddings, like bonus points or discounts for your honeymoon.
These are a few current offers from popular hotel brands:
Marriott
When you book a qualifying event with Marriott Bonvoy, you can earn up to 60,000 bonus points. If you have elite status within the Bonvoy program, you’ll earn even more. You can use the program’s points calculator to estimate how many bonus points you could earn for your specific event and spending.
These are some Marriott Bonvoy credit cards available today, which you can use to maximize your spending at Marriott, get complimentary elite status, and more perks:
Hilton
You’ll earn 2x Hilton Honors points for weddings at Hilton properties. But you can also save even more with special offers from Hilton — though these offers vary depending on when you book and your wedding dates.
As an example, you can currently earn 100,000 bonus points when you book an eligible all-inclusive wedding at a participating Hilton resort. There are specific windows when you must reserve and when you’ll travel, as well as a $3,000 minimum cost and minimum of 10 rooms booked for two nights.
For more points and member perks on your wedding at a Hilton hotel, consider these cards:
Hyatt
If you choose a participating Hyatt hotel or resort for your wedding, you can earn World of Hyatt bonus points to use toward a free night on your honeymoon. The number of points you earn depends on the estimated spending amount in your contract with the hotel. Earn 30,000 points when you spend the minimum $5,000 and up to 150,000 points for a wedding totaling $40,000. You’ll also earn two tier-qualifying night credits toward elite status for every $5,000 you spend.
To qualify, request to include the offer code HMOON in your contract with the wedding vendor by Dec. 31, 2024 and pay a minimum $5,000 for your event to qualify.
To earn more bonus points with your Hyatt spending, free night awards, and more, consider this credit card from the program:
What to look for in a credit card for your wedding
Here are some card details to consider if you want to open a new credit card before taking on wedding expenses this year:
Welcome offer
A great welcome offer is always a big incentive for new cardholders. But with the added costs you’ll likely take on while wedding planning, you may be able to more easily budget for and meet the purchase minimum required to score a sign-up valuable bonus.
Just make sure you time your card application so that you do the bulk of your wedding spending (at least the spending you can charge to a credit card) during the three- to six-month period you’ll have to earn the sign-up bonus after account opening.
Rewards
In addition to the one-time welcome bonus, consider the most valuable ongoing credit card rewards for your wedding and your longer-term spending. Cards with flat rewards, like 1.5x points or 2% cash back, may be ideal for this, since you’ll earn the same amount on your purchases regardless of whether they fit into common credit card rewards categories.
But this can also vary depending on the details of your wedding and your lifestyle. If you’re planning a destination wedding, for example, you might get much more value from a travel rewards card that earns maximum points on flights and hotels. Or maybe you dine out a lot regularly and you’re holding your reception at a local restaurant — then you’ll likely get more value from a card with dining rewards.
The best rewards credit card for you offers the maximum return on your largest and most frequent purchases alike.
Intro APR
A credit card with an introductory 0% APR on new purchases can offer savings on your wedding costs if you don’t have cash already saved before planning. The right intro offer will help you avoid taking on a lasting personal loan or charging purchases you can’t pay off to a card with a regular variable APR.
Plan ahead before you choose your 0% APR card by estimating the overall cost of the wedding expenses you’ll charge to the card. You can use that number to decide what intro period length makes sense for the amount you can contribute each month to have the entire balance — or at least as much as possible — paid down before you begin accruing interest at the card’s ongoing rate.
More benefits and perks
Plenty of additional credit card perks may help you save on wedding expenses too.
Purchase protections and extended warranties offer an added sense of security for your large purchases. You can use travel protections and travel insurance benefits, as well, for getting to your venue or for the honeymoon. If you’re planning an international wedding, you can save on the purchases you make abroad with a no foreign transaction fee card.
Many credit card issuers also offer rotating discounts with specific brands or on particular purchases. You can use Amex Offers, My Wells Fargo Deals, Chase Offers, and similar programs to get targeted savings with brands you may already use. Look for your card’s specific offers within your online or mobile account.
Pros and cons of using a credit card for wedding expenses
Knowing the benefits and drawbacks of charging your wedding expenses to a credit card can help you choose the right one for your budget and avoid potential risks.
Pros
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Cash back and points rewards: While planning a wedding, you’re likely to spend much more money than you usually would. Take advantage of the planned extra expenses by maximizing your credit card rewards — so you can use them in the future toward travel or reduce the overall cost of your big day.
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More time to pay down expenses: Introductory 0% APR credit cards can help you avoid going into credit card debt for any wedding costs you haven’t already saved for. With zero interest periods lasting 12, 15, or even 21 months, you’ll have a long time to pay down your balance before interest does kick in. You can even find many credit cards that offer both competitive introductory periods and solid rewards on spending.
Cons
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Risk of taking on debt: When you charge several costly purchases to a credit card, there’s always a risk of high-interest debt balances. You can avoid that debt by paying your balances in full before each monthly due date. But you will need to stay diligent in tracking your expenses and budgeting for extra costs so you don’t risk quickly-mounting debt balances or a hit to your credit score.
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Potential added fees: Not all wedding vendors will accept credit card payments. But even if your wedding vendors do allow you to pay with a card, watch out for added fees they may charge that negate your rewards. If, for example, your caterer charges a 4% fee for paying with a card and you’ll only earn 2% back on the purchase, you might end up paying more than you get back in the long run.
Our methodology
To create our list of best credit cards for wedding expenses, we first focused on the superlatives that we believe are most useful to couples planning a wedding — generalizing for budget, location, savings. Knowing we couldn’t cover every type of wedding or expense, we focused on categories that appeal to a broad general range of wedding expenses and offer great savings no matter what your specific ceremony looks like.
Continuing that theme with our specific card picks, we looked for credit cards with features like flat rewards rates, introductory 0% APRs, no foreign transaction fees, and more — even when that benefit wasn’t necessary for the card’s specific superlative. We believe these universally useful card features can benefit a broad range of weddings. Because weddings are already expensive, we also prioritized cards with low or no annual fees (except the luxury travel category).
Our final picks include the cards we believe best fit the superlative categories and the specific details we sought. They’re also among the top-rated within their categories using our proprietary rating system. These ratings account for details like APR, annual fee, rewards, benefits, security, mobile app functionality, issuer customer service, and more.
This article was edited by Rebecca McCracken
Editorial Disclosure: The information in this article has not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. All opinions belong solely to Yahoo Finance and are not those of any other entity. The details on financial products, including card rates and fees, are accurate as of the publish date. All products or services are presented without warranty. Check the bank’s website for the most current information. This site doesn’t include all currently available offers. Credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.
