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The Savvy Secret to Booking Your Dream Honeymoon for (Almost) Free

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Honeymoon the savvy way: learn how credit card reward points and miles can help you book your dream honeymoon for less!

The Savvy Secret to Booking Your Dream Honeymoon for (Almost) Free
Tanner Krauth

Have you ever been scrolling Instagram to see photos of a friend who’s flown across the world on an incredible trip? It may have caused you to wonder, “How did they afford to do that?” 

Maybe you haven’t been able to afford to travel as much as you’d like to, but you’re hoping to take a great honeymoon to celebrate the start of married life with your partner. Paying for a big trip can seem overwhelming, especially while you’re trying to save for a wedding on top of your typical life expenses. If you’re on a tight budget or are already feeling pressed with all the wedding expenses, taking a honeymoon can seem like an even bigger challenge.

But there’s a secret something I want to share that will help so many couples afford to travel in a savvy way.

When I was right out of college, I literally had no money– I actually had to ask my dad for help paying my first month’s rent when I moved to start my first post-grad job. I didn’t want to delay travel and exploring the world until I was able to save up hundreds or thousands of dollars to take a couple of trips. I felt like there had to be a better way… so I scoured the web for ways to travel for less. And that’s when I discovered the world of points and miles!

honeymooning for free with points and miles

What is reward travel? 

In short, reward travel is the concept of using credit card sign-up bonuses to travel for free.

After reaching a minimum spending requirement on certain rewards credit cards, you receive a huge point bonus which you can then use to book airfare and hotels.

Hitting the minimum spend on these cards as a bride or groom-to-be likely won’t be very hard with all of the different wedding-related expenses you will be incurring. You can even open more than one credit card to receive multiple sign-up bonuses and have more points to use for your travels. 

So what can points and miles do for you, as a currently engaged couple? How about saving you hundreds or maybe even thousands on your honeymoon! 


honeymoon for free

Book Your Dream Honeymoon for (Almost) Free!

Traveling together as a couple has many benefits to your relationship, so what better way to enter into married life than going on a fabulous honeymoon together? Reward travel can open up some incredible possibilities for your honeymoon, including allowing you to take a *dream* trip for (almost) free.

Take a look at the list below to see the types of things your credit card rewards points could pay for when you utilize points and miles: 

  • Roundtrip flight(s) to Hawaii 
  • Multiple roundtrip flights in the continental United States
  • Flights to international locations like Barcelona, New Zealand, Thailand and Italy
  • Nights at some really nice hotels 

Think about it for a second. You don’t need to spend or save any extra money, and you could actually take a honeymoon to some amazing places across the United States or even the world for practically free!

The only hard costs involved with reward travel are the taxes and fees associated with your airfare or hotel stay. I don’t know about you, but I’ll gladly pay the $20 tax to save $700 on a flight any day! For me, it’s a no-brainer.


honeymoons travel hacking

How I’ve Used Credit Card Rewards to Vacation for (Basically) Free

I know you may be thinking that this all sounds too good to be true, but it’s not! How do I know this points and miles thing actually works? Since 2014, I have personally traveled using credit card rewards many times with great success and saved thousands of dollars. Take a look at the list below to see where points and miles have taken me over the years:

  • Denver, Colorado every year to ski with my family
  • A family vacation in Key West, Florida
  • Sedona, Arizona to escape the midwest winter cold with my partner
  • Portland, Oregon to visit my partner’s family over the holidays
  • Chicago, Illinois to spend time with my best friend
  • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to visit my partner’s best friend
  • Florham Park, New Jersey to attend a friend’s wedding

Rewards travel isn’t just for domestic travelers either. My partner and I just booked a 3-week vacation to New Zealand for February 2020 using points! If you save your points and use them strategically, you can totally do the same thing for your honeymoon. 

Earning and utilizing points and miles has played an important part in my life over the years. It has allowed me to take some amazing trips, visit friends and spend time with family which are all things I value greatly. Honeymoons are a big part of the wedding experience, and it shouldn’t cost you another couple thousand dollars to spend some amazing one-on-one time with your new lifelong partner. Utilizing a few rewards-earning credit cards in a savvy manner could allow you to take your dream honeymoon for (almost) free!

Reward Travel for Engaged Couples

Now that you know a little more about points and miles and how they can help you save money on your honeymoon, we want to hear from you about *your* honeymoon plans!

What would points and miles do for you and your honeymoon plans? Where would you and your partner go if you could cover the cost of your entire honeymoon with credit card rewards?

Travel rewards can definitely save you money, but time is another valuable resource during this busy time in your life. Of course, you can take the route that I did and do all the research yourself. But since you’re already so busy planning your big day, I thought I’d help you out by putting together some resources to help get you started on your Travel Rewards Journey ASAP.

Get our new Honeymoon Rewards E-book!

Interested in learning more about how you can utilize travel rewards for your honeymoon? Check out our new ebook, The Budget-Savvy Honeymoon! This book is an incredible guide that will teach you the step-by-step process to earn points to redeem for free travel, complete with specific card recommendations, sample itineraries, and more! ✈️

The Budget-Savvy Honeymoon

The Budget-Savvy Honeymoon:

The Ultimate Guide to Booking the Trip of Your Dreams for (Almost) Free!

Get the full details on the book and see a sneak peek of what’s inside! We know this will be an incredibly valuable tool to help you make the most of your wedding spending and reap the ultimate reward: the honeymoon trip of your dreams!


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Tanner Krauth

is a CPA and money coach who loves to help people pay off debt, save more money and create money habits that make lasting changes in their life. Travel hacking is one way he saves money, and he enjoys taking free trips with his partner to experience new cities and enjoy outdoor adventures.