Best Credit Cards for Wedding Expenses

Some offers mentioned on this page may be outdated. To confirm offers and credit card details, check the issuer’s website.

---

Getting married is an exciting milestone but wedding expenses can really add up. According to The Knot, the average U.S. wedding costs $33,391.

Hopefully, you have some savings tucked away for the big day, but if not, you can consider combining one of the best credit card offers with other financial services to fund your celebration.

Just be aware of the pros, cons, and potential longterm costs of using a credit card to pay for your wedding. Ideally, you use a credit card with a 0% introductory bonus and pay off the balance before the intro period is up.

On this page:

• Best Credit Cards for Wedding Expenses
• Is it a Good Idea to Use a Credit Card to Pay for Your Wedding?

4 Best Credit Cards for Wedding Expenses

The best wedding credit card will depend on your specific needs or what type of rewards you’d like to earn. Listed below are four you might consider.

Best for Honeymooners: Chase Sapphire Preferred

This offer is expired and is no longer valid.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is one of the best travel credit cards on the market. It comes with an excellent sign-up bonus, great rewards rates, and the best travel rewards program available: Chase Ultimate Rewards.

Benefits

If you spend $4,000 within three months of opening the card, you’ll earn 60,000 bonus points. That’s a $750 value towards travel when redeemed through Chase Ultimate Rewards. Plus, you can earn double points when you spend money on dining and travel.

Chase also offers a number of other benefits including trip cancellation insurance, baggage delay insurance, emergency travel assistance, and rental car insurance. They also never charge any foreign transaction fees.

The Ultimate Rewards Points can be transferred to a wide network of airlines, so you can easily use the points you earn for flight expenses on your honeymoon or for a future trip.

Downsides

There is a $95 annual fee, which means you’ll want to make sure you use this card for more than just your honeymoon to earn more than you pay. Additionally, Chase doesn’t offer an introductory 0% APR on this card, so you should avoid carrying a balance on the card — a scenario that could occur for a couple with a lot of wedding expenses. If you can’t pay your balance in full each month, this may not be the right card for you.

Recommended Credit Score

Chase requires a good to excellent credit score to qualify for this card.

Best for the Rehearsal Dinner: Capital One Savor

The Capitol One Savor card offers some of the best rewards for anyone who regularly spends money on dining and entertainment. It comes with a solid sign-up bonus and excellent cash back rewards for purchases at restaurants and entertainment halls.

Benefits

New cardmembers can earn a $300 cash bonus if you spend $3,000 within three months of opening the card, which will be applied as a statement credit. Plus, you can earn an unlimited 4% cash rewards on dining and entertainment, 2% at grocery stores, and 1% on all other purchases. And cardholders receive access to premium dining and entertainment experiences.

The dining and entertainment rate is higher than what most cards offer and can be useful if you’re planning on hosting any large dinners. And if your wedding location uses a merchant code that identifies it as a restaurant or entertainment hall, you could get 4% cash back on those expenses, too.

Downsides

There is a $95 fee but it’s waived in the first year. Besides, the rewards make the fee more than worth it. But if you’d like a lower-tier version of this rewards credit card without the annual fee, you can also consider the Capital One SavorOne card.

However, the rewards rate depends on the merchant code so it may be difficult to know whether your wedding hall and party locations will earn the 4% cash back rate. You can try asking the venue what merchant code they use for credit card payments and double check that against the card’s terms. Also, since there’s no 0% introductory APR, you’ll need to be ready to repay your expenses right away.

Recommended Credit Score

You’ll need to have good to excellent credit to qualify for this card.

Best for Financing Your Wedding: American Express EveryDay Credit Card

If you aren’t ready to pay back your wedding expenses right away, the American Express EveryDay card is going to be your best bet. It comes with a 0% intro APR and pretty decent membership rewards.  

Benefits

New cardholders can earn 10,000 Membership Rewards points if you spend $1,000 in qualifying purchases within three months of opening the card. Additionally, you can earn 1 point per dollar spent on all purchases, and double points on supermarket purchases for up to $6,000 in purchases per year.

If you use your card 20 times or more during a billing cycle, you’ll earn 20% more bonus points on those purchases.

These rewards are good but not as exciting as what some of the other cards offer. However, the real draw of this card is that you’ll receive a 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 months, as long as that balance transfer is made within 60 days of account opening.

Many cards have balance transfer offers, but most don’t include new purchases in that offer. This will allow you to spend money on your wedding interest-free. There’s also no annual fee charged.

Downsides

The ongoing rewards on this card aren’t as good as what you could get with the previous two cards.

Recommended Credit Score 

Amex requires a good to excellent credit score to qualify for this card.

Best for Cashback on All the Little Things: Citi Double Cash Back

If you’re just looking for a great, flat cash back rate without worrying about spending categories, the Citi Double Cash Back card is hard to beat. You can earn 2% cash back with a 0% intro APR on balance transfers.

Benefits

One of the best things about the Citi Double Cash Back rewards card is its simplicity. There are no categories or spending caps to deal with. They don’t charge any yearly fees and you’ll receive a 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months.

When you use the card, you’ll earn 2x cash back rewards. You get 1% when you make the purchase and another 1% when you pay.

And you only have to make your minimum payment each month to earn the rewards, though it’s always advised to pay your balance in full to avoid interest.

Downsides

You could get higher credit card rewards in certain categories from other cards. But for general purchases, most rewards cards only offer 1% to 1.5% cash back.

This card also doesn’t offer a signup bonus to new cardholders, and with big wedding expenses on the horizon, now would be an easy time to qualify for another card’s bonus.
 
 Finally, you’ll have to pay a 3% foreign transaction fee for all spending overseas, meaning this card might not be one to bring on the honeymoon.

Recommended Credit Score

Citi requires a good to excellent credit score to qualify for this card.

Is it a Good Idea to Use a Credit Card to Pay for Your Wedding?

There are advantages and disadvantages to paying for wedding expenses with a credit card. On the plus side, it can be a great way to earn extra rewards for purchases you were going to make anyway. And the cash back rewards could be used toward your honeymoon or future expenses.

However, you should do so with caution since credit card interest rates can cost you a lot of money when the bill arrives. Credit cards have very high interest rates when you’re not in a 0% APR period. Here are a few things you should keep in mind before taking out a wedding credit card:

• Your financial situation: Be realistic about whether or not you’ll be able to pay off your balance in full every month. If you can’t then it’s a good idea to find a card with a temporary 0% APR.
• Your credit score: You’ll also be limited by the total credit limit imposed by your credit card company. If your credit score is on the low side, you may not qualify for a very high credit limit, and your interest rates will be higher.
• Your credit utilization: You’ll also want to keep your credit utilization in mind. This is the ratio of your outstanding credit card balances compared to your card limits. If your credit utilization is too high, this can damage your FICO score.

Pros

• You can take advantage of 0% APR intro periods.
• The ability to earn rewards, such as cash back, travel miles, and even elite rewards program status.
• There’s no need to deal with personal loan applications.

Cons

• Unless you can find a 0% APR intro period, you’ll be stuck with an extremely high APR.
• High credit utilization could damage your credit score in the short-term.
• You may hit your credit limit.

Paying for a wedding can feel overwhelming but there are financing options available to you. If you can find the right deal and avoid paying too much money in interest, using a credit card to pay for your wedding might be a good option.