As if weddings weren’t expensive enough, especially with the rising cost of venue rental, decorations, or even special performances like booking lion dances for flair and showmanship, there’s your honeymoon to think about…the pricey tradition of escaping for a week or two to a beautiful paradise with your newlywed partner.
The most frugal savers might consider skipping this extravagance as way too far out of your already-stretched budget, but chances are you’ll be regretting that decision down the road, no matter how financially wise it was.
But what if you could have the best of both worlds?
A beautiful, long, luxurious vacation away for just the 2 of you to celebrate your newly-certified bond…without the huge price tag.
Some of your biggest dream honeymoon ideas can become extremely affordable when paired with the right card.
Never miss an amazing deal again + get our bonus 250+ page eBook for FREE. Join 50,000 other Canadians who receive our weekly newsletter – learn more.
Cards that can help get you to your dream honeymoon destination
Whether you dream of escaping across the Atlantic or making like birds and dropping down south for warmth, a travel credit card can get you there.
We’ll look at 2 of the most popular options:
Related: How To Maximize The Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Program
Honeymoon in Italy
But some people aren’t as keen about the beating sun and the feeling of sand between their toes.
If that doesn’t sound ideal for you, maybe travelling to the history-soaked ruins of Rome or the snaking canals of Venice is more up your (brick-lined) alley.
Filled with iconic food, art, and architecture, Italy could very well be the honeymoon of your dreams. Treat you and your loved one to a relaxing ride on the famous gondolas in Venice, or marvel at the size and history of the Colosseum in Rome…
But how do you get there?
A lot of travel reward programs leave something to be desired when it comes to European redemptions. They often charge exorbitant taxes and fees on top of your mile redemption, decreasing your point value in the process.
That’s why American Express Membership Rewards are your best bet for long-distance flights (like, say, across the Atlantic ocean…).
Using their Fixed Points Travel Program, your flight to Europe will cost you 60,000 points. Using their maximum base ticket price for Europe ($900), this will give you a point value of 1.5 CPP.
And though the Fixed program doesn’t cover taxes and fees, you can actually use the Flexible Points Travel Program to cover them – essentially letting you use your points for any travel purchase at a value of 1 CPP.
Your best bet for collecting Amex Membership Rewards? The
You’ll get unprecedented earn rates:
- 5 points per $1 spent on eligible groceries and restaurants
- 3 points per $1 spent on eligible streaming services
- 2 points per $1 spent on eligible gas, transit, and ride share purchases
- 1 point per $1 spent on foreign currency purchases
- 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases
Plus with a generous welcome bonus of up to 15,000 points after spending $750 every month for the first year, this alone will get you halfway to a ticket.
And with the option to add a second card for free, you and your future spouse could both work towards earning your points.
By our calculations, it’ll take you almost 2 years to earn enough points for 2 tickets, including the welcome bonus and based on a typical spending of $2,000 a month.
Get more details here:
Transfer points to Aeroplan and 7 other travel partners with Canada's #1 credit card.* Transfer points to Aeroplan and 7 other travel partners with Canada's #1 credit card.*
×8 Award winner 
8x Award winner
Honeymoon in Vegas
Maybe you’re more of a big city dweller, and love to take in the lights, sounds, and excitement of a place like Las Vegas.
But how do you get there?
The best travel reward program to get you and your lover on your way to a North American destination is Aeroplan.
One of the biggest problems people have with Aeroplan is the lack of flexible reward seats available. One of the best ways around this? Book as early as you can.
Related: How To Maximize The Aeroplan Program
Since you’ve probably already picked a date for your wedding, you’ll know exactly when you want to hop on a plane, honeymoon-bound. This gives you a definitive advantage to overcome Aeroplan’s limitations.
Using the Fixed Mileage Flight Rewards program, a flight to Vegas requires 25,000 miles. Assuming your flight value is the average $400 to $600, your miles will be worth 1.6 to 2.4 CPP when used this way.
When looking for the best card to get you Aeroplan points, look no further than the
You’ll earn at the following great rates:
- 2 points per $1 spent on all gas, grocery, drugstore, and travel purchases, then
- 1 point per $1 spent on everything else.
Then every point you earn can be transferred to Aeroplan at a 1:1 ratio, making it the best Aeroplan earn rate in the country.
And with a welcome bonus of 25,000 points after you spend $1,500 in the first 3 months…you’ve already got your first ticket covered.
Then, we estimate it would take you a little over 9 months to earn the rest of the points for your second ticket. This gives you plenty of time to book ahead without having to spend a dime.
Get more details here:
GC: $125
$125 GeniusCash + Up to 60,000 Welcome Bonus Membership Rewards® points.*
What about the hotel?
If you’re interested on a free hotel stay on top or instead of your free flights, you could look into the Marriott Bonvoy rewards program.
With over 7,000 locations worldwide, Marriott has locations in all 3 destinations we’ve covered – and most of the ones we didn’t cover too.
Using your Marriott Bonvoy points to cover hotel stays will give you an average CPP of 0.97. But your points had an even higher value of 1.11 cents in Europe and 0.99 cents in the U.S.
The best part? You can transfer your Bonvoy points to more than 40 airline partners, most of them at a 3:1 ratio. This can be a fantastic way to earn airline points, if you’re not so keen on using points on hotel stays after all.
Related: How To Maximize The Marriott Bonvoy Rewards Program
The best way to earn Marriott Bonvoy points
As usual, the best way to earn points is by using a credit card. In this case, the
- up to 50,000 points after spending $1,500 in the first 3 months,
- 5 points per dollar spent at Marriott properties, and
- 2 points per dollar spent on everything else.
The amount of points you’ll need depends on how fancy you want the hotel and where you stay. But if you want great hotel perks and rewards, Marriott Bonvoy is definitely a great way to go.
Get more details here:
So how will you start your honeymoon fund?
Marriage is a super exciting time, no matter how far away it may seem now.
It’s also a time to splurge, since you’re hopefully only going to experience this once in your life. Better make it count.
But that doesn’t mean you have to spend a fortune to get to your dream honeymoon location…you don’t even have to spend anything if you have the right card.
So where will you be going? Or where did you go?
Let us know!
creditcardGenius is the only tool that compares 126+ features of 229 Canadian credit cards using math-based ratings and rankings that respond to your needs, instantly. Take our quiz and see which of Canada's 229 cards is for you.
GC: 
Comments
Leave a comment
Required fields are marked with *. Your email address will not be published.