Benefits of paying the wedding with a credit card

[Diamond Confused]

Has anybody thought of paying the wedding on a credit card that gives air miles or hotel points (paying the balance in full right away though)? I looked into a starwood (the W, Le Meridian, The Ritz etc.) points credit card and for what we plan on spending for the wedding, we would get about 3 to 4 free nights at a really nice hotel.

Has anyone done this?

 

[Cleopatra]

I say if you have the cash to pay it off 100%, then go for it! Make your credit work for YOU!

But if there is even a slight inkling that you might not be able to make the full payment each month, then you would be opening yourself up to a world of trouble. Weddings can cost upwards of $20K - that's not ANY kind of debt I'd like to be in with 12%+ interest

ETA: DH and I paid for a lot of things with our credit card (paying it off each month) and we just cashed in our points! Wooo hoo!

PS - I'd get one of those triple-point cards on the items you spent most on each month!

 

[tlh]

My folks did that. I think it was for Hotel points... and they are planning a trip later on to use them too.

 

[Diamond Confused]

Date: 2/19/2009 4:45:52 PM
Author: Cleopatra
I say if you have the cash to pay it off 100%, then go for it! Make your credit work for YOU!

But if there is even a slight inkling that you might not be able to make the full payment each month, then you would be opening yourself up to a world of trouble. Weddings can cost upwards of $20K - that''s not ANY kind of debt I''d like to be in with 12%+ interest

I agree, it can be tempting to not pay it in full especially if we want to use the money for something else but my FI is great with money so I know he''ll take care of it right away. If he was anything like me then I''d be VERY worried.

But yes, we have all the cash saved up already so we''d pay it off once the first bill comes.

 

[CellarDoor]

We're doing this. We had the most frequent flier miles with Delta already, so we each signed up for a Delta American Express. Once you use the card, you get 20,000 free frequent flier miles. They also have some thing where you get miles for eating at certain restaurants, we each did that too which gave us 1500 more miles each, so basically we are getting both of our honeymoon flights for free.

I know that American Airlines has a credit card which gives you 20,000 miles too.

 

[FrekeChild]

My dad is insisting that we put all of our wedding stuff on his credit card. He's got one of those Southwest frequent flyer mile things going on, and we figure if he's going to be dropping around $15k on our wedding, he should at least get some free airline tickets out of it. ETA: he pays off his bill every month. So no worries there either.

 

[Diamond Confused]

Date: 2/19/2009 4:52:34 PM
Author: CellarDoor
We''re doing this. We had the most frequent flier miles with Delta already, so we each signed up for a Delta American Express. Once you use the card, you get 20,000 free frequent flier miles. They also have some thing where you get miles for eating at certain restaurants, we each did that too which gave us 1500 more miles each, so basically we are getting both of our honeymoon flights for free.

I know that American Airlines has a credit card which gives you 20,000 miles too.

Wow 20,000 to start? I''ll look into this.

 

[teapot]

like others said, if you could afford to pay for it, than make your credit work for you. Just a warning, make sure you strictly monitor your spending, sometimes it''s easy to let the budget run away from you when you just sign at the bottom, ykwim?

 

[sunnyd]

We got an AMEX specifically for wedding purchases. No interest until next Jan (which is after the wedding) so we have until then to pay it off plus it''s a travel points card.

 

[neatfreak]

We did as did a few of our friends. Not only do you get points, but if the vendor doesn''t come through you have protection through your CC and can do a chargeback. With cash you are at the mercy of the court system which is useless if a vendor were to go bankrupt.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Date: 2/19/2009 5:37:51 PM
Author: neatfreak
We did as did a few of our friends. Not only do you get points, but if the vendor doesn''t come through you have protection through your CC and can do a chargeback. With cash you are at the mercy of the court system which is useless if a vendor were to go bankrupt.

Extremely smart neatfreak!!!

We put everything on a cc every month anyway and pay that one bill in full. I like seeing all our expenditures on one statement. The miles or hotel points really add up!

 

[newbie124]

I try to charge everything I can for the wedding (some vendors only accept checks, including our caterer, which sucks). But I also always pay off my full balance every month.

I used to have a United mileage credit card but got so fed up with them and switched to the Chase cash back card which I like soooo much more. For every $200 in cash back you accumulate, they give you an extra $50. I've already gotten $500 back and am close to getting another $250.

Personally, I'd much rather have cash in my pocket than have to deal with all the stupid regulations and fees the airlines now impose when you try to redeem your miles. Plus, $750 is close to 3 free domestic flights already. I'm sure it would've taken me longer to accumulate that in miles.

 

[violet02]

Date: 2/19/2009 5:37:51 PM
Author: neatfreak
We did as did a few of our friends. Not only do you get points, but if the vendor doesn''t come through you have protection through your CC and can do a chargeback. With cash you are at the mercy of the court system which is useless if a vendor were to go bankrupt.

This is what we did for the same reasons. I read somewhere about CC protection early on so I went into with that mindset. Anyone that took CC we paid with that!

We had an AMEX blue card that was used for airline miles. It paid off really well! We had about $600+ dollars in free airfare to be used on any airline. I think we paid for all of our Aegean Air flights around Greece and our Alitalia RT trip from Paris to Athens!

 

[Blair138]

Date: 2/19/2009 6:44:58 PM
Author: violet02

Date: 2/19/2009 5:37:51 PM

Author: neatfreak

We did as did a few of our friends. Not only do you get points, but if the vendor doesn''t come through you have protection through your CC and can do a chargeback. With cash you are at the mercy of the court system which is useless if a vendor were to go bankrupt.

This is what we did for the same reasons. I read somewhere about CC protection early on so I went into with that mindset. Anyone that took CC we paid with that!


We are doing the same thing too, but I am paying it off each month in full. It also just helps me keep track of what I am paying.

 

[elrohwen]

Yes! I bug FI about this alll the time. Currently, I'm putting almost everything on my credit card. I pay off what I can out of my paycheck while he continues to add to the savings account. If I spend more than I can pay off, I just pull a bit out of the savings account. My credit card gives points, but they're not as useful as, say, airline miles would be. Originally we were going to wait until after we married to get a joint credit card, but now I'm pushing him to get one now so we can actually get useful points for all of this stuff! Or I just need to look into my plan and figure out the best way to use all these points I've racked up over the years. I'm sure I can get something good for them.

Growing up, my mom put everything from gutters to my high school tuition on the credit card, and we took awesome trips with all of the miles. As long as you can pay it off at the end of the month, it's a great plan!

 

[honey22]

Date: 2/19/2009 6:03:09 PM
Author: diamondseeker2006

Date: 2/19/2009 5:37:51 PM

Author: neatfreak

We did as did a few of our friends. Not only do you get points, but if the vendor doesn''t come through you have protection through your CC and can do a chargeback. With cash you are at the mercy of the court system which is useless if a vendor were to go bankrupt.

Extremely smart neatfreak!!!


We put everything on a cc every month anyway and pay that one bill in full. I like seeing all our expenditures on one statement. The miles or hotel points really add up!

Ditto! Our neat, she''s a thinker this woman!!

 

[musey]

We use credit cards for everything. Literally everything. Wedding included.

The bill is paid in full every month though. To be honest, I actually didn't realize that that was something that anyone didn't do until mid-way through college. I thought it was like any other bill - you don't pay it, BIG TROUBLE. Someone once mentioned credit card debt/paying a balance and had to explain the concept to me ("you mean, they didn't PAY?!?").

Shows what I knew!

 

[rockin11]

We have a Marriott visa. I think we got 20,000 points or so to open the card PLUS a free night. We also get a free night every year as well! You can stay at any Marriott brand and get 5 points for every $1. Other purchases are 1-3 points per $1. The points add up fast and you can redeem them at any Marriott brand hotel.

 

[AmberGretchen]

We used one that gave us points at a store to get stuff we needed for our home - I think this would be a similar concept, and if you can pay it off right away, I think its a great idea

 

[Clairitek]

We have a Southwest Airlines card that we will use for our wedding expenses. Hopefully it will earn us enough credits to get our flights out to San Francisco for our honeymoon!

I agree with others that have said its a great idea provided you can pay it off before accruing interest.

 

[Deelight]

Date: 2/19/2009 5:37:51 PM
Author: neatfreak
We did as did a few of our friends. Not only do you get points, but if the vendor doesn''t come through you have protection through your CC and can do a chargeback. With cash you are at the mercy of the court system which is useless if a vendor were to go bankrupt.

Thats what we plan to do just in case

 

[kittybean]

FI pays for everything with his CC, so he has racked up enough airline reward dollars to pay for most of our (expensive!) honeymoon flight to Italy. My parents are paying for most of the wedding, and they are using a mileage rewards credit card, so they will have a few free flights coming their way when it''s all over. My parents and FI pay off their bills in full each month, so no worries about racking up any unwanted interest or debt.

 

[noelwr]

yes, I''ve got a Visa and AMEX with different airlines; I don''t even use my Mastercard anymore because it''s not linked to anything. the honeymoon alone racked us up quite some points. but I also fly a lot for work so we''ve been able to get free flights for our vacations the past few years. likewise, I always stay at the Intercontinental for work and then I can use those points to stay at the Holiday Inn during my vacations.

 

[katamari]

We are doing this, too. But, as someone who researches debt I am trying to be very cognizant of the fact that people spend ~30% more per transaction when charging than they do when paying cash (because the disassociation allows them to rationalize spending more). Maybe this is the cause between most weddings coming in at 30% above budget (can''t remember who posted that, but I remember reading it in the budget thread recently). It certainly seems to be happening to us

 

[Amandine]

We did this with Amex blue, but got cash back. We do pay the card off every month, and due to spending more the wedding year kicked up to a higher percentage of cash back. Woo-hoo!

 

[miraclesrule]

Here comes a buzzkill...

Me and my DD actually brought each other to tears with fighting over this issue during her wedding planning. I hate debt...hate it. It scares the bejesus out of me. She wanted to put a lot on her credit card and I wanted to tone down the wedding instead with the cash we already had available. And we had a substantial amount of cash available.

Many of the credit card companies give you miles, but that is only because they are reaping huge interest rates, and those 12% interet rates are likely to turn into the 29% rates really soon. As soon as March 09. The money you eventually spend in interest over time to pay off the balance is far more than the goodies a credit card company uses to entice you into using the credit line.

Trust me when I tell you that the flights and hotel rooms to plan your own vacation can be bought for far less than what you pay in interest.

The only person I know who managed to eek out an advantage by using a credit card was a guy who used his for everything. And by everything, I mean he used it when he bought groceries, medicine, toys, EVERYTHING!! Then he paid it monthly. If used like a debit card and paid monthly with no interest, and you get the benefit of miles and points, it may be worth it.

In this economy, debt =unnecessary stress. In fact, I just went to a conference about the economy and the top piece of advice for survival was to pay off credit cards.

But other than that, Congratulations on your upcoming wedding!!!!

 

[goldenstar]

We are doing this too.

FI uses his CC to pay for everything: gas, food, etc. and pays it off each month. No exceptions. He has never carried a balance in his life. We are now using the card to pay for wedding stuff: vendors, attire and more. We do have the cash to cover our entire wedding budget and are still paying off the card each and every month.

As a result, we got our honeymoon plane tickets (2 roundtrip from CA to HI) for free-- completely free. A few months ago he redeemed some of his points for a $400 Sony digital camera.