How to Earn Miles and Points from Your Wedding Expenses

If you’re knee-deep in wedding planning (we’re talking florist emails, dress fittings, cake tastings… the works), then let me ask: what if every dollar you spent on cake, dress, venue, and decorations could earn you free travel? 

Not just honeymoon flights but the whole enchilada. That’s what we’re doing here.

If you’re in the wedding-planning process, chances are you’ve got some major expenses coming your way. To help offset the stress of that growing bill, consider using a travel credit card (or two) to make those expenses work for you.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to:

• Use your wedding spend as a one-time fuel to meet welcome offers and earn sweet, sweet points.

• Take advantage of the newest offer on the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (and how it stacks with other cards).

• Allocate points toward your honeymoon or future travel, with some smart redemption ideas.

Why Use Credit Cards for Wedding Expenses?

Y’all… weddings are expensive. According to The Knot, the average cost of a wedding in 2025 is $33,000. Some might scoff at the idea of spending that much on a wedding, but to others, this is what they’ve dreamed about for literal decades.

The truth is, if you’ve planned for a wedding of any size and aren’t strategically putting those expenses on a travel credit card, you’re missing out on thousands of dollars in value that could be used for your honeymoon (or other trips!).

And better yet, when you apply for a new card, you’ll often receive a large welcome offer in the form of bonus points after meeting a minimum spend requirement — perfect for when you have upcoming charges.

Big News: 100k-Point Welcome Offer on the Venture X

While you’ve got several options, let’s start with, perhaps, the best one. There’s a new offer in the Venture family that pairs perfectly with a high-spend event like a wedding.

• The Venture X has a brand-spanking new offer: Earn 100,000 bonus miles once you spend $10,000 on purchases in the first 6 months from account opening - equal to $1,000 in travel.

• For the business version (Capital One Venture X Business) you’ll find even bigger tiers: Earn up to 400K bonus miles (200K miles once you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200K miles when you spend $150K in the first 6 months).

What this means for you: If you’ve got big wedding checks coming your way, you can intentionally meet that big minimum spend and unlock the bonus miles.

Which Cards Should You Use (and Why)

Since you’re in the wedding mode, you’ll want cards that:

• Earn transferable points (maximum flexibility for travel)

• Come with meaningful welcome offers 

• Offer travel perks you’ll actually use on your honeymoon/future travel (lounge access, travel credits, etc.).

These perks will only add to the value you receive while traveling — think free food and bev before your flight, early check-in at your hotel, and easy re-entry into the country.

These are some of our favorite cards to consider:

Whether you’re paying for a venue, catering, flowers, the dress, and more, you can most likely put it on a card and earn thousands of miles and points in the process.

Is Wedding Debt Ever Worth It?

This is something we need to address. If swiping a credit card for your wedding will result in you drowning in debt, it’s not worth it. Full stop.

Credit card rewards are great, but not if you're paying interest. The second you start carrying a balance, those perks lose their value fast.

Stick to your budget, spend only what you can afford to pay off in full, and treat credit cards as a tool — not a lifeline.

How To Earn Points From Your Wedding

If you’re looking for a little strategy on how to maximize this opportunity, we’ve got you covered.

Step 1: Apply for a Travel Credit Card

The first step in leveraging points and miles to pay for your honeymoon is to apply for a credit card.

The Venture X is a great card to start with, thanks to perks like:

• A $300 travel credit annually for bookings through Capital One Travel

• 10,000 miles as your anniversary bonus

• Complimentary access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, after enrollment

• 2x miles per dollar on all purchases

Although it has a $395 annual fee, the $300 travel credit can offset that tremendously.

Use this card to pay for your wedding expenses until you reach the minimum spend requirement and receive your 100,000 bonus miles!

Step 2: Refer Your Fiancé for the Same Card

Sharing is caring, especially when you're sharing expenses to earn points to cover your honeymoon. Referring your partner to get their own card and earn their own welcome offer is a strategy we like to call two-player mode. This can help accelerate the points you earn.

Once you’ve hit your minimum spend on the first card, pause your spending and have your partner apply for the Venture X using your referral link.

If they’re approved and meet the minimum spending requirement, you’ll receive a referral bonus — typically around 25,000 miles.

Continue to put additional wedding expenses on your partner’s card until the minimum spend is met. With your welcome offer and referral bonus, and their welcome offer, you’ll collectively have close to 200,000 miles!

With Capital One miles worth around 2 cents each when redeeming with airline partners, you’re looking at $4,000 in potential value!

Step 3: Apply for a Second Card

Still have wedding expenses left? If so, it might be worth applying for another card to earn more bonus points from a welcome offer! Just note it’s always a good idea to wait at least 30 days before applying for your next card.

Enter: The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

This is, perhaps, the most popular travel credit card out there. It may not offer some of the more premium travel perks like the Venture X does (e.g., lounge access). Still, with an annual fee of just $95, it’s a very worthy card to have in your wallet.

Here’s why we love it:

• 10% anniversary points boost (earn 10% of your total spend in points) each account anniversary

• $50 in statement credits each anniversary for hotel stays booked through Chase Travel^SM

• 5x points per dollar on Chase Travel^SM purchases

• 3x points per dollar on dining, select streaming services, and online groceries (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs)

• 2x points per dollar on other travel purchases

And once you meet this minimum spend, you’ll be looking at 75,000 Chase points to add to your travel stash.

Still have more to go? Rinse and repeat, my friend. Refer your fiancé and snag that second welcome offer (and all the bonus points that come with it 👀).

Redeem Your Points and Plan Your Honeymoon

This is the fun part — well, almost as fun as the actual travel itself!

With hundreds of thousands of miles and points at your disposal, it’s time to book those flights and secure your accommodations.

Honeymoon Mode

Let’s say you earned 100 to 200k+ points:

• Transfer to a premium airline partner and book business/first-class seats for you and your spouse (score!).

• Or book a luxury resort using hotel points transfer for 5 to 7 nights.

• Use your Venture X travel credit and lounge access to shave off costs

Future Travel

Maybe you want a 2-week escape in year two, or a family trip later:

• Keep earning and saving the points you get, because the bigger the stash, the sweeter the redemption.

• Use the same card perks year after year (travel credit, lounge access) to make other trips better.

• Don’t let the points pile up unused — transfer when you see the right award availability and lock it in, baby!

Caveats and Must-Dos

• Don’t carry a balance: If your wedding spend is high but you’re not paying off the card in full each month, interest eats your points value (not cool!).

• Know the vendor terms: Some wedding vendors may treat card payments like large business transactions, so always check for fees or hold policies.

• Don’t over-extend your budget: The aim is using spend you were already doing. It’s not a reason to stretch into unnecessary expenses just for points.

• Check offer eligibility: Some welcome offers are targeted and can change. Always check whether or not you’re eligible.

• Track transfer partners and availability: Earning points is half the game, and redeeming smartly is the other. Make sure you’re comfortable with how your points transfer and how you’ll use them.

Bottom Line

Even if your wedding budget is on the smaller side, you can still earn enough points for a dream honeymoon. And with a larger budget, you might score an even more luxurious getaway, with flights and hotels almost entirely covered by points.

By strategically applying for a credit card (or two), using it responsibly for your wedding expenses, and redeeming those points with the help of a tool like Daily Drop Pro, you’ll be jet-setting to the destination of your dreams, with minimal out-of-pocket costs, all thanks to miles and points. 💍✈️