How to Book a Luxury Honeymoon Using Credit Card Points
Bringing your dream wedding to life requires time, energy and a carefully outlined budget – and your honeymoon deserves the same level of intention. The good news? Your wedding spending can help fund the flights, hotel stays and upgrades for your trip, and a professional can help you guide you along the way to make the most of your money.
Joel Ang, founder of Matrimoney, has worked closely with nearlyweds and newlyweds. He spent six years as a North Carolina wedding photographer, and later launched Matrimoney to help couples plan for and book their dream honeymoons using credit card points. He and his wife have used points to adventure around the world themselves. In 2019, they flew business class to visit 12 countries throughout Europe and Asia for only $500 out of pocket.
Joel keeps in mind that a wedding may be the largest expense a couple has managed together. He specializes in helping to-be-weds map out their wedding expenses, choose the credit cards that offer optimal rewards, and redeem the earned points for honeymoon travel.
By Caleb LeJeune | Photography courtesy of Joel Ang
Steps to Planning Your Dream Honeymoon with Matrimoney
Joel asks clients to dream big from the beginning. “Wedding planning can be fun and also incredibly stressful, so part of my job is to inject some joy and excitement into the process,” he says. “I love to see couples light up when I ask them to describe their dream honeymoons.”
Do you see yourself and your new spouse enjoying the restaurants and bakeries of Paris? Or is a relaxed beach trip in the Caribbean more your speed? Will the honeymoon be a five-day or a two-week trip? “Japan is a really popular destination at the moment,” Joel says. “European cities such as Italy and Paris are mainstays, of course. Recently, some stellar hotels have opened across the Caribbean and Central America, so couples looking for shorter travel times are going there.”
Forming a rough idea of the kind of honeymoon trip you’d like to take is the first step of working with Joel.
“Once everyone’s aligned and excited about a honeymoon destination, then we start working toward that goal,” Joel says. He partners closely with couples to plan for upcoming deposits and costs, recommending credit cards that will best fit their ideal trip, and guides the timing of card applications so that points can be redeemed for the honeymoon.
Plan Honeymoon Travel Across the Globe Using Credit Card Points
Credit card points, when used well, can enable all types of honeymoons, ranging from simple to extravagant. “I just helped a couple book an incredible two-week trip to Japan and Vietnam, complete with first-class tickets and 5-star hotels,” Joel says. “The cash cost for their itinerary was $60,000. They paid $1,000. Without points, they wouldn’t have been able to afford that honeymoon.”
You might wonder if it’s wise to use credit cards for expenses related to your wedding. Joel says that, while opening a new credit card will lower your credit score temporarily by 2-3 points, credit cards will help your score in the long term.
“There’s a misconception that credit cards negatively affect your credit score, but as long as you pay off the bills in full, it’s actually a net positive to have a larger credit line to your name.” Nevertheless, Joel knows that credit card debt is problematic. “Earning and redeeming points only makes sense if you’re not paying the high interest rates that can come with credit cards. The last thing I want is to have a couple start off their married life mired in credit card debt. However, if wedding costs would have been paid off anyway, then couples have the opportunity to save thousands on their honeymoon expenses.”
Use Your Wedding Expenses to Book Luxury Travel
Connect with Matrimoney as early as possible in your wedding planning process so that you can leverage the costs of your wedding and use credit card points toward your honeymoon expenses. Let’s face it – even if you have a microwedding with a tiny guest list, you’re probably going to spend a significant amount of money on your wedding, so Matrimoney can help you make the most of that spend.
When you return from your honeymoon and settle back into your normal daily routines, Matrimoney can continue to help you earn points and redeem them for travel. In addition to helping couples save for their honeymoon, Joel works with families as a points concierge and helps them leverage everyday expenses to book family vacations.
Honeymooning around the world and staying in luxury hotels is possible, especially with a professional who can help you make smart decisions. When you’re planning your romantic trip for two, Matrimoney is here to ensure you travel in style and save in the process.
