No one is going to argue that planning a wedding is expensive (ESPECIALLY in Southern California). By the time couples finish paying for venues, catering, attire, and vendors, the honeymoon budget can feel like an afterthought.

BUT – what if your honeymoon didn’t have to cost thousands of dollars? (And no, I’m not going to pitch a staycation)

My husband and I used credit card points strategically to stay at a luxury all-inclusive resort in Playa del Carmen for five days completely free (except for flights, although we could’ve made that free as well!). After months of stressful wedding planning, it felt like the perfect way to start our marriage without adding another huge expense. Literally a weight off our shoulders and contributed to it feeling like the most relaxed week of my life.

If you’re planning a wedding and wondering how to use credit card points for a honeymoon, here’s exactly how the strategy works – but remember, you must be willing to plan ahead to use this to your full advantage!

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Why Credit Card Points Work So Well for Honeymoons

Most credit cards offer large sign-up bonuses when you open a new card and spend a certain amount within the first few months.

For example, a card might offer:

“Earn 80,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months.”

Those points can often cover:

• multiple hotel nights
• resort stays
• flights
• upgrades
• travel perks (think spa credits, late check-outs, etc)
• even food & drinks if you’re staying at an all-inclusive!

For couples planning a wedding, this works especially well because you’re already spending large sums of money on things like deposits, attire, vendors, and travel. By putting those expenses on a travel credit card (and paying the balance off immediately), you can collect points without increasing your spending. Sometimes it might even be worth paying a vendor with card even if they charge a fee, as long as it’s the only way you’ll be able to meet the minimum spend requirement! (That’s why I never charge a fee to pay with credit card – I want you to have an incredible honeymoon too, not just wedding!!)

It takes the punch out of those larger wedding expenses a bit, because they become part of funding your honeymoon.

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Our Honeymoon: 5 Days at a Luxury All-Inclusive Resort for Free

For our honeymoon, my husband and I stayed at a luxury all-inclusive resort in Playa del Carmen, Mexico called Impressions Moxche (I truly cannot recommend it enough!).

Using points we earned from credit card sign-up bonuses, we booked five nights completely free. There would’ve been no way we’d pay for this in cash, with rooms going for over $1,000 per night, let alone staying in one of the premium suites!

That meant:

• the room was covered
• food and drinks were included (and the food was actually SO GOOD)
• resort amenities were included (a different pool every day, entertainment every night, even a nightclub!)
• no stress about the cost of every meal or drink (indulging all day is an understatement)
• one of our credit cards also gave us a spa credit we got to use for a couples massage!
• we put a catamaran excursion on our registry, so we didn’t have to pay for off-resort things either!

After the whirlwind of wedding planning, it felt amazing to simply show up, relax, and enjoy being newly married without worrying about what everything cost.

The only thing we paid for were our flights, but that was a personal preference! If done strategically, you could make the entire trip free. Being in San Diego, we chose instead to just walk across the border and fly from Tijuana for a cheap flight!

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How Couples Can Use Wedding Expenses to Earn Travel Points

If you’re planning a wedding, you’re in a unique position to earn travel rewards quickly.

Many couples naturally hit credit card bonus thresholds by paying for things like:

• venue deposits
• catering installments
• wedding attire
• rings
• other honeymoon expenses (excursions, flights, other transportation)
• travel and accommodations (hotel blocks!!)
• plus everyday spending like groceries or gas

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Important Rules for “Travel Hacking” with Credit Cards

Before using this strategy, there are a few important rules.

Always pay your balance in full

Travel hacking only works if you never carry a balance. Interest charges will cancel out any benefit from points. Only pay for what you can afford!

Start early

Opening a travel card early in your engagement (or even beforehand) gives you plenty of time to meet the spending requirement before booking your honeymoon. The earlier you start, the more credit cards you both can open, and the more points you can earn! Also, some rooms for the specific hotel you want may have less availability if you want to pay with points, so they can sell out faster than you would think. This means you’d want to finish opening your cards early enough to also book the hotel rooms way ahead of time!

Be strategic about which cards you open

Different cards offer different benefits. Some are better for flights, while others are better for hotel stays. I give more in depth information on this in my guide! Otherwise, look for cards that reward the highest welcome bonus with a minimum spend you can manage. And don’t forget to make sure those credit card points can transfer to the hotel brand you have in mind! For example, Impressions Moxche is operated by Hyatt, so I used Chase points.

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Want My Exact Travel Hacking Strategy?

When I started researching this years ago, it took hours of reading travel blogs, comparing credit cards, and listening to podcast episodes to figure out the best approach.

So after family members started begging me to teach them my secrets, I eventually put everything we learned into a simple travel hacking guide specifically designed for couples trying to travel on a budget.

Inside my guide you’ll find:

• the exact credit card timeline I recommend for couples (including exact cards to open, their welcome bonuses, their travel brand partners, and a pre-filled spreadsheet to keep track)
• how to maximize sign-up bonuses
• strategies for earning points with wedding expenses if you don’t have high everyday spend
• tips for booking hotels and flights using points in a way that maximizes value
• common mistakes to avoid

If you want the step-by-step version of this strategy, you can find the full guide here:

→ Get my Travel Hacking Guide on Etsy (coming soon)

And if I’m your photographer for your wedding, you get the guide for half-price (aka $10) 🫶

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Why This Strategy Is Worth Considering

After shooting over a hundred weddings (and recently planning my own), I’ve seen firsthand how much time, money, and emotion couples invest in their day.

Your honeymoon is often the first moment where everything slows down and you finally get to enjoy being married.

If there’s a way to make that experience more luxurious, more relaxed, and less financially stressful, it’s absolutely worth looking into.

Our five days in Playa del Carmen were exactly that.

Slow mornings, ocean views, way too many margaritas, and the chance to actually breathe after months of planning.

Starting our marriage that way felt pretty perfect.

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If you’re planning a wedding and a honeymoon, learning how to use credit card points for travel can make a huge difference in your budget.

Even a single credit card sign-up bonus could cover multiple hotel nights – turning what might have been a modest trip into something truly memorable.

And after everything that goes into planning a wedding, that kind of experience is more than deserved.