Using credit cards to pay for your wedding: pros and cons
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Many engaged couple in the US rely on their credit forms to pay for their weddings. Experts say that if done carefully, the approach may be smart.
46% of the newly involved in the survey – couples connecting the knot in the last two years – mostly savings for costs, 24% of savings paid with credit cards. in accordance with To a report of Lendingtree. The site destroyed 1,050 newly married in early March.
A to separate Zola’s report, based on a survey of 6,000 couples who married in 2025, found that 31% of the engaged couples planned to use credit cards to pay their weddings, including points or apply for new cards.
“If you are strategic, the credit card can be an incredible tool,” Lendingtre Chief Credit Analyst Matt Schulz said. He said.
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Otherwise, a credit card may be a slippery slope and leads to couples to walk with long -lasting and expensive debts in the corridor.
According to Lendingtre, about 67% of the newly involved in the survey borrowed for their weddings.
For new cards, the average percentage percentage or borrowing cost is 24.35%with the highest since December.
“After all, a good wedding should never come to a new marriage at the expense of financial stress,” Gloria Garcia Cisneros, an investment and asset management firm Lourdmalray certified financial planner.
‘Make these savings even more difficult for you’
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Weddings become more expensive every year. The average cost for a wedding in 2025 is expected to be $ 36,000. in accordance with To Zola. This rose to $ 33,000 in 2024 and $ 29,000 in 2023.
Schulz, if you have savings to cover your wedding costs, use the costs to a credit card and then use these savings to pay the invoice immediately, to help you win prizes such as points or miles.
Some credit cards offer large registration bonuses when you spend a certain amount on the card in a short time. This may be more than you spend on normal expenses, but if you have large expenses such as wedding purchases and deposits, it comes.
Schulz, you can benefit from rewards for things like your honeymoon by paying this accusation immediately with your savings.
“A way to make these savings even more difficult for you,” he said.
Using credit cards may have other advantages. Credit cards offer federal protection layers that can help card holders’ dispute fees and Get refund Experts, if things go wrong with a product or service purchased with a card.
It also offers some cards Buy protectionA form of insurance against theft or damage per nerdwallet. Be sure to read what your credit card offers and how long the conditions last.
Do not borrow for a ‘short -term event’
However, the key to credit cards is “to make full payment,” he said, a senior industrial analyst Ted Rossman in Bankrate.
“If you are going to drag it over time, I certainly do not recommend that you put wedding expenses on a card.” He said.
Failure to pay the balance will leave you with high -interest debts when you start your new marriage.
According to LendingTree, about one quarter or 24%of the newlywed newlyweds who have married within two years from the survey are still paying debt. 47% of those who are still owed to money said they would finish payment from six months to one year.
“You do not want to sacrifice your long -term prosperity for a short -term event.” He said.
Factor in credit card fees, cash discounts
When you start Jason Rhee, a wedding planner in Los Angeles, asked if they accepted credit cards as a payment format.
Rhee may request additional trading fees for credit cards that some sellers can only pay cash or control. A lot Additional fees According to Bankrate, it can range from 1.5% to 3.5%.
KNOT’s manager Editor Lauren Kay, assessing whether the payment of the extra cost is both affordable and worth it, or whether it is best to use a different way of payment with the seller.
Moreover, some sellers can offer discounts for cash payments.
Wedding Insurance Credit Protects Trumps
Credit cards may provide specific protections to payments or purchases, but may not provide wider protection or policies to meet larger expenditures such as reception or space.
“In most cases, your credit card would not provide a real benefit if something would go wrong in the purchase of this size,” Kay said.
For such costs, it can be a good option to consider wedding insurance policies. Kayin helps you to protect you from unexpected risks such as excessive air, theft or an invisible seller.
Wedding insurance policy pricing may be more than $ 100 to $ 1,000, accordingly Nerdwallet depends on the size and scope types of your policy.
“It is important to think about what you hope to protect,” Kay said.
