When two of my college friends were getting married, they lamented that their wedding expenses were a lot to handle — even before considering their honeymoon expenses. I asked what card they were using for these expenses and was saddened to learn they were mostly using checks and a card that earned no rewards.
Here at TPG, we know that’s just leaving money on the table, so we created resources to help future newlyweds maximize points and miles when planning their wedding and honeymoon.
If you want a straightforward card that doesn’t have complicated bonus categories — or you simply want to book your honeymoon travel using rewards from your wedding spending, but know that most of the charges won’t post until close to your wedding day — the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card may be the right choice for you.
Capital One Venture Rewards Card overview
Annual fee: $95 (see rates and fees)
Sign-up bonus: Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. This welcome bonus is worth $1,388, according to TPG valuations.
Earning rate: 2 miles per dollar spent on everything and 5 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through the Capital One Travel portal.
Earning 2 miles per dollar spent on every purchase is appealing — especially when it happens automatically and you don’t have to worry . And, as we’ll discuss later in this guide, the Venture Rewards Credit Card offers various redemption options including the ability to redeem miles for travel and transfer miles to airline and hotel partners.
Cardholders also have access to a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit (up to $100). Additionally, you won’t pay any foreign transaction fees (see rates and fees) and you’ll also have access to benefits such as extended warranty protection, MasterRental Insurance and trip cancellation/interruption coverage when you use your card.
Related: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card review
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Earning miles on wedding expenses
Since the Capital One Venture Rewards card earns 2 miles per dollar on all purchases, you can use it without worrying about how each purchase will code. If you are hosting your wedding or reception at a restaurant or hotel — and know the changes will post as dining or lodging — you may want to use a card for those expenses that earns more rewards for those specific categories. You also earn 5 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through the Capital One Travel portal. This can be a great way to maximize earnings during your wedding if you are booking hotel rooms, especially if you are booking at hotels not attached to a major chain.
Additionally, if you’re going for straightforward, no-stress earning, then you may just want to put everything on your Capital One Venture Rewards card. You could put your wedding expenses on this card, earn the sign-up bonus and then use the miles earned from the welcome bonus to offset some of the costs of your honeymoon.
Related: Reasons to get the Capital One Venture Rewards card
Redeeming miles for your honeymoon
You likely want to plan and book your honeymoon well before your wedding day arrives. But, if you’re looking to pay for your trip with credit card rewards earned on wedding expenses, you may have a problem. This is because you aren’t given credit card rewards until after purchases post, and many wedding purchases won’t post until long after you’ll likely want to book your honeymoon.
You could either delay your honeymoon or use miles you’ve already accumulated from charging and paying for wedding expenses to help offset honeymoon costs. Keep in mind that this may not give you access to all of the miles you’ll eventually earn from charging and paying off honeymoon bookings (think flights, hotels, massages, excursions, etc.).
Related: Starter card showdown: Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Capital One Venture Rewards
There are other options for redeeming your Capital One miles, though, and some can provide greater value. For example, you can also transfer your Capital One miles to select airline and hotel partners, and then redeem them for flights or stays through these programs.
Based on the value you can get redeeming within these partner programs, TPG’s latest valuations peg the value of Capital One miles at 1.85 cents each.
This means you may not be maximizing your Capital One miles to offset recent travel expenses if you’re not transferring them to partners. Other cards also may provide a greater return on dining, hotels and non-bonus purchases. But if you’re just looking for a way to offset honeymoon expenses using rewards earned while paying for your wedding, the Venture Rewards Credit Card is one of the best ways to do so.
TPG senior writer Katie Genter likes to transfer her Capital One Miles to Turkish Air or Wyndham if she finds a redemption she wants to make in either program and needs to top off her balance.
Related: To transfer or not to transfer: What to do with Capital One miles
Bottom line
The Capital One Venture Rewards card can be a great card for weddings and honeymoons. It earns a flat rate of 2 miles per dollar on purchases, and you can further maximize your earnings if you book hotels through the Capital One Travel Portal. We recommend you sign up for the card before your wedding, put all your expenses on it to earn the signup bonus so you can establish a large repository of miles that can be used for your honeymoon.
Redeeming points with Capital One is easy, and if you utilize transfer partners, you get outsize value on your honeymoon.
Apply here: Capital One Venture Rewards
For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.
