What to Know About Travel Rewards Credit Cards Before Your Honeymoon

The tradition of newlyweds enjoying a honeymoon is still going strong. Nearly three-quarters (72%) of couples who got married last year planned a honeymoon, according to a study by The Knot. If you're doing so, you probably want to make sure you have an amazing trip without needing to drain your savings for it. That second part can be tough; the Knot found that the average honeymoon costs $5,700.

There are ways to make it more affordable, however. Lots of couples set up honeymoon registry funds where guests can donate instead of buying a gift. Another popular option is travel rewards credit cards. If you're thinking about getting one, here's everything you need to know first.

How travel rewards credit cards work

Travel credit cards earn points (sometimes called miles) that you can use to pay for travel purchases. There are a few popular types of travel cards:

• Airline credit cards: These cards are issued by a specific airline and earn miles with it. For example, a Delta Air Lines credit card earns miles you can use to fly with Delta.
• Hotel credit cards: These cards are issued by a specific hotel and earn points with it. A Hyatt credit card earns points you can use to stay at Hyatt hotels.
• Travel cards in credit card rewards programs: These cards aren't tied to an airline or hotel. They're part of a card issuer's rewards program, such as Chase Ultimate Rewards or American Express Membership Rewards.

I recommend starting with a card in the last group, because they give you more flexibility. These cards let you transfer your points to any of their airline or hotel partners, so you're not locked into using your points with just one airline or hotel.

They also let you redeem points at a fixed rate (often $0.01 per point, but sometimes more) toward travel bookings. So if you have 50,000 points, you could use them for a $500 flight ticket or hotel booking.

Plan ahead if you want to use them

The Knot recommends a seven-month timeline for honeymoon planning. If you want to cover some of the costs with a travel card, you should get that early on as well.

Most travel cards have welcome offers that you can earn as a new cardholder. A card may offer 60,000 bonus points if you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months. Welcome offers are a fast way to earn points, and they can save you a lot of money on travel.

But if you open a travel card two months before your honeymoon, you probably won't have enough time to earn the welcome offer before booking your trip. Travel credit cards aren't a last-minute solution. Open one as far in advance as possible so you have enough time to earn and use the welcome offer.

You'll save more if you play in two-player mode

"Two-player mode" is a term used for couples who work together to earn credit card rewards. You'll be able to earn more points this way, and more points means more money saved on travel.

Make sure you and your partner are both using a travel card for all your spending. If you each spend $2,000 per month, but your partner isn't paying with a travel card, then you're earning half as many points as you could.

The best method is for both of you to open your own travel credit cards. This allows you to earn two welcome offers instead of just one. If you each open a card with a welcome offer of 60,000 bonus points, you could earn 120,000 bonus points in total.

Another option is for one of you to open a travel card, and then add the other partner as an authorized user. The authorized user will get their own card, and they can use it to earn travel points. You won't be able to earn two welcome offers this way, but it's a good alternative if one of you doesn't want to get your own travel card or doesn't have a high enough credit score to qualify.

They're best used for booking your biggest travel expenses

Travel rewards are perfect for a honeymoon because you typically get the most value when you use them for expensive, luxury bookings. The best redemption options are business-class and first-class airfare and high-end hotel stays.

So, if you have an airline card that earns miles, you'll get the most value if you use those miles to fly in business class or first class. If you have a hotel card, you'll get the most value by redeeming your points at an upscale hotel. And if you have a card with transferable points, you can do either of those.

Keep in mind that these types of award bookings also have the most demand. Many passengers want to pay for business class with miles, and there aren't a lot of seats to go around. That's another reason why it's a good idea to plan ahead with travel rewards and book as far in advance as possible.

Now that you know how to use travel rewards cards to book your honeymoon, you can choose a card and get started. There are lots of great options that can get you anywhere in the world -- check out cards for international travel if you'll be going abroad. If you start early, you should be able to earn enough points to make your honeymoon much less expensive.