From Zero to Hero: How to Plan Your Luxury Honeymoon on Miles and Points
Major milestone events like honeymoons and 'round' birthdays are a perfect opportunity to use miles and points. You'll usually have plenty of time to plan them, which helps enormously with both earning points and availability for redeeming them.
In terms of a timeline to go from nothing to five-star with miles and points, 18-24 months in advance of your honeymoon is a great time to start planning the trip. Even if you don't have a single point to your name right now, if you've got time up your sleeve, here are some tips for that (truly) once in a lifetime travel opportunity.
18-24 Months in Advance
You don't have to pick your dates right now, but it's a good time to at least pick a destination and then work out how many points you'll need to earn in order to redeem. The amount depends on where you want to go and how comfortable you want to be both flying there and staying there. You can have a look at your preferred airline to fly there and determine how many points you'll need based on the preferred class of service. You can do the same for hotels at your destination bookable with points.
Your required 'points budget' could be anything from a (low) five figure points balance for say a European trip with Airbnb stays, through to potentially a seven-figure points balance if you're wanting first class flights and an exotic location like the Maldives, Seychelles or French Polynesia. You'll need to be realistic about how many points and miles you can earn in the next 6-12 months, as that's when you'll to redeem them. If you're only earning points through credit card spend, it's unlikely you'll have hundreds of thousands of points between now and your honeymoon if you're not putting huge amounts of spend through the cards every single month.
Related: Best Fixed-Value Point Credit Cards
Once you have your points budget, it's time to work out how to get there. One way to boost your balance is to consider applying for a credit or charge card that comes with a generous sign-up bonus. You may wish to either add your fiance as a supplementary cardholder, or they could apply for their own card for the chance for both of you to receive the sign-up bonus. You can try and estimate how much you will spend on your card over the next 6-12 months to see how quickly you will reach your points goal.
For example, if your card or card earns 1 point per $1 spent and you manage to put $5,000 per month on the card (perhaps some of the wedding expenses!), in a year's time you will have earned 60,000 points.
Consider other ways to also boost your points balance like e-stores — especially if you are purchasing lots of things for your big day. You may find your points add up very quickly.
12 Months in Advance
If you have enough points for your flights and your dates and destination are picked, now is a good time to book your flights with points and miles. Different airlines release their award seats at different times, starting from 12 months in advance (like British Airways) with many other airlines releasing these seats 11 months in advance. If you're looking for premium cabin redemptions to popular destinations, the earlier you can book, the better. Business class award seats on direct flights to the likes of the Seychelles may all be booked within hours rather than weeks of being released.
You can use a program like Expert Flyer to monitor availability for you.
Related: The Best Credit Cards for Travel Protections
If you also have enough points to redeem hotel rooms for your honeymoon, it's also a good idea to book them sooner rather than later, as some properties will book out. But depending on your destination it's probably more important to book the flights than hotel if you only have enough points for one or the other right now.
6 Months in Advance
If you haven't booked your hotel with points yet and now have earned the points to do so, now is a good time.
1 Week in Advance
If you are taking your honeymoon straight after your wedding, it's likely during this week that points will be the last thing on your mind. But if you have increased your points balance since booking your flights or hotels and were hoping to upgrade to a better class of service on the flight or a better hotel room at the same property, you may want to check if there is any last-minute availability, as some airlines and hotels may release this.
After all, who wouldn't choose first class for their honeymoon if they had the points to do so.
TPG featured card
at Bilt's secure site
Terms & restrictions apply. See rates & fees.
| 1X | Choose to earn up to 1X points on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee |
| 2X | Earn 2X points + the option to earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday purchases |
Pros
- Choice to earn up to 1 Bilt Point per dollar spent on rent and mortgage payments
- Elevated everyday earnings with both Bilt Points and the option to earn Bilt Cash
- $400 Bilt Travel Portal hotel credit per year (up to $200 biannually)
- $200 Bilt Cash annually
- Priority Pass membership
- No foreign transaction fees
Cons
- Moderate annual fee
- Designed primarily for members seeking a premium, all-in-one card
- Earn points on housing with no transaction fee
- Choose to earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday spend. Use Bilt Cash to unlock point earnings on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee, up to 1X.
- 2X points on everyday spend
- $400 Bilt Travel Hotel credit. Applied twice a year, as $200 statement credits, for qualifying Bilt Travel Portal hotel bookings.
- $200 Bilt Cash (awarded annually). At the end of each calendar year, any Bilt Cash balance over $100 will expire.
- Welcome bonus (subject to approval): 50,000 Bilt Points + Gold Status after spending $4,000 on everyday purchases in the first 90 days + $300 of Bilt Cash.
- Priority Pass ($469/year value). See Guide to Benefits.
- Bilt Point redemptions include airlines, hotels, future rent and mortgage payments, Lyft rides, statement credits, student loan balances, a down payment on a home, and more.