Are you getting married? Here's how to score enough points to take a second honeymoon (free)
Are you thinking about marriage? Everyone who has been married (at least once) knows that planning the most beautiful day [...]
Are you thinking about marriage? Everyone who has been married (at least once) knows that organizing the best day of one's life is stressful and wasteful.
In this article:
In this article we will try to explain what steps to take to maximize your spending so that no points are wasted.
We have said this repeatedly to the novices to this "game," you need a plan and a goal. That is why the first thing you will need to do is to think about where you would like to spend your second honeymoon, a trip that you will try to pay for exclusively with the points earned from the wedding and the first honeymoon.
Before the big day
The best bonuses
During this period and probably in the following months, you will take, in addition to the honeymoon, many other trips starting from bachelor/bachelorette parties to romantic weekends and maybe even more than one trip to celebrate the first anniversary.
Given all these shifts, it is time to think about the American Express Platinum which among all the benefits offers one of the best travel insurance available in the market. You will be protected in every way, both in your daily expenses and when you are traveling, without then having to spend to buy other protections, which, depending on the honeymoon destination, could cost even more than the annual charter fee.
In addition to this you will receive a rich welcome bonus, status in hotel chains and rental companies. These benefits will come in handy during this particular year.
First step to increase points. After one spouse becomes a cardholder, he or she must immediately invite the other or the other to obtain the same card. In this way, the former will get the bonus, while the latter will have a chance to get his or her own.
Doing so will leave you with a small nest egg of no less than 60/70k Membership Rewards points each.
Many of the expenses are not borne by the bride and groom, but by family members, which is why as soon as you get your card you should make a request that additional cards be issued to your immediate family members.
IMPORTANT The additional cards are linked to the primary cardholder's checking account, so balances will be charged to the same account and likewise it will be your Membership Rewards account that grows, spend by spend.
All you have to do is have the expenses incurred by your relatives, witnesses or other associates transferred to your bank account. The math is quickly done 1€=1point MR (barring promotions)
For example, if you commission the advice of a wedding planner ,you can equip her with the card as well so that she can use it, obviously only for expenses related to your wedding.
At a time when you will have to incur a lot of expenses, you will have no difficulty in spending enough to complete the required amounts to get the welcome bonus and accumulate all the transaction-related points.
Is the father of the bride paying for the meal? Well, choose a restaurant that you can pay with Amex and, in case American Expresse cards are not accepted, pay with Paypal, many companies have a Paypal account for everyday expenses.
Are friends planning the weekend for the bachelor/bachelorette party? Make sure everything is paid for with one of the cards available to you, you know on this type of vacation you always overdo it a little bit, having insurance that covers virtually every eventuality is a good thing.
The wedding list
Increasingly, newlyweds are deciding to list their wedding at travel agencies and/or large commercial chains.
Again you must make arrangements with the owners/managers.
In the case of the traditional wedding registry you must make it clear to the merchant that once the collection is complete you will be the one to finalize the purchases with your credit cards. By doing so, not only will you have obtained all the points related to the items your friends have given you but you will also enjoy insurance on the goods you buy, included in the annual fee of your card, which protects you for the first few months in case of accidents, theft and/or damage.
The honeymoon
As with the honeymoon registry, talk to the travel agent and explain how you plan to settle the bill. If you also do "wedding registry" at the agency, again make it clear that the balance will be through your credit card and that everything should be charged to the relevant cards.
Are you planning to fly to Papeete after two weeks of coast-to-coast in the United States? Choose your airline carefully, sign up for the loyalty program, and figure out how to maximize the points/miles you can get.
Whatever type of trip is chosen, there will be a chance to make tens if not hundreds of thousands of points.
The resort to go to in your honey moon ? You must aim for a resort that belongs to a chain of which you have a status or that allows you to accumulate points to turn into other free stays. Of course the travel agent may try to convince you that in the other atoll the water is cleaner, the beach whiter...Don't fall into the trap, one of the most exclusive places in the Maldives is the Conrad with its $10,000 a night underwater suite.
If your desire is to stay at a resort in the Maldives, where the cost per night can easily be over €500, know that at the very least in one week you can collect at least 30/40k points, enough to allow you to stay three nights free in Miami for your first anniversary.
The benefits
All this also translates into benefits, because in any case you would have had to buy travel insurance as well, the cost of which for long stays alone equals the annual card fee. Insurance that will also save you money on insurance coverage for the rental car with which you drove from LA to San Francisco and then down to Las Vegas.
Again, taking advantage of chains such as Hilton, Shangri-LÃ or Marriott in your travel will lead to savings on room costs and more benefits than booking through an agency.
In conclusion
As we have shown, this is the exact time to start accumulating points because all expenses will have to be incurred anyway, if others then incur them as is often the case, you will earn the points without spending anything.
In travel you will be protected by the best insurance on the market today and protected from every possible emergency and/or eventuality.
Think well Where to credit miles earned for your flights, Are you getting married and want a "little help" in planning strategy? contact us on FB we will be glad to help you