Using credit cards to pay for your wedding: pros and cons

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Many engaged couples within the U.S. are counting on forms of credit to pay for his or her wedding ceremony. Specialists say that strategy might be good, if achieved rigorously.

Whereas 46% of surveyed newlyweds — {couples} who tied the knot inside the previous two years — used principally financial savings to pay for prices, 24% paid with bank cards, according to a report by LendingTree. The positioning polled 1,050 newlyweds in early March.

A separate report by Zola, primarily based on a survey of 6,000 {couples} getting married in 2025, discovered that 31% of engaged {couples} polled plan to make use of bank cards to pay for his or her wedding ceremony, together with utilizing factors or making use of for brand new playing cards.

“In the event you’re strategic, a bank card might be a tremendous instrument,” mentioned Matt Schulz, chief credit score analyst at LendingTree.

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In any other case, a credit card could be a slippery slope, main {couples} to stroll down the aisle with long-lasting and costly debt, specialists say.

About 67% of surveyed newlyweds took on debt for his or her wedding ceremony, in keeping with LendingTree.

For brand new playing cards, the common annual proportion price, or the borrowing value, is 24.35%, the very best since December, LendingTree discovered.

“Finally, an attractive wedding ceremony ought to by no means come at the price of monetary stress to a brand new marriage,” mentioned Gloria Garcia Cisneros, an authorized monetary planner at LourdMurray, an funding and wealth administration agency.

‘Make these financial savings work even more durable for you’

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Weddings have gotten more expensive yearly. The common value for a marriage in 2025 is predicted to be $36,000, according to Zola. That is up from $33,000 in 2024, and $29,000 in 2023.

When you have financial savings put aside to cowl your wedding ceremony prices, charging the expense to a bank card after which instantly utilizing these financial savings to repay the invoice will help you earn rewards corresponding to factors or miles, mentioned Schulz.

Some bank cards supply massive sign-up bonuses while you spend a set quantity on the cardboard inside a brief interval of opening it. That could be greater than you spend on regular bills, however inside attain in case you have massive bills — corresponding to wedding-related purchases and deposits — arising.

By instantly paying that cost off together with your financial savings, you possibly can make the most of the rewards for issues corresponding to your honeymoon, Schulz mentioned.

“It is a approach to make these financial savings work even more durable for you,” he mentioned.

Utilizing a bank card can produce other benefits, too. Bank cards supply layers of federal safety that may assist cardholders dispute expenses and get a refund if issues go awry with an merchandise or service bought with a card, specialists say.

Some playing cards additionally supply purchase protections, a type of insurance coverage towards theft or damages, per NerdWallet. Ensure to learn the high-quality print of what your bank card affords and the way lengthy the phrases final.

Do not tackle debt for a ‘short-term occasion’

Nevertheless, the important thing with bank cards “is to pay in full,” mentioned Ted Rossman, a senior trade analyst at Bankrate.

“I undoubtedly wouldn’t advocate placing wedding ceremony bills on a card if you are going to be dragging that out over time,” he mentioned.

Not paying the steadiness off will go away you with high-interest debt as you begin your new marriage.

Almost 1 / 4, or 24%, of newlyweds married inside two years of the survey are nonetheless paying the debt off, in keeping with LendingTree. Of those who nonetheless owe cash, 47% mentioned they may end paying the debt in six months to a yr.

“You do not wish to sacrifice your long-term well-being for a short-term occasion,” Rossman mentioned.

A 0% APR credit card could be a instrument for wedding ceremony funds, as you may be paying little to no curiosity on excellent balances for a time frame. Nevertheless, ensure to complete paying off the cardboard earlier than the promotion expires, specialists say. In any other case, no matter steadiness is left will then get curiosity tacked on.

Think about bank card charges, money reductions

As you start to plan the wedding and attain out to distributors, ask in the event that they settle for bank cards as a type of fee, mentioned Jason Rhee, a marriage planner in Los Angeles.

Some distributors would possibly take solely money or test funds, whereas others would possibly cost further processing fees for bank cards, Rhee mentioned. Such additional charges can vary from 1.5% to three.5%, in keeping with Bankrate.

Assess whether or not paying the additional value is each reasonably priced and price it to you, or if it is best to make use of a distinct type of fee with the seller, mentioned Lauren Kay, govt editor of The Knot.

What’s extra, some distributors might supply reductions for funds in money.

Wedding ceremony insurance coverage trumps credit score protections

Whereas bank cards can supply sure protections to incurred funds or purchases, they won’t supply broader protections or insurance policies to cowl bigger expenditures, such because the reception or the venue, Kay mentioned.

“In most cases, your bank card would not supply any actual profit if one thing had been to go fallacious with a purchase order of that magnitude,” mentioned Kay.

For such bills, wedding ceremony insurance coverage insurance policies could be a good choice to contemplate. They assist defend you from sudden dangers corresponding to excessive climate, theft or a vendor who did not present up, mentioned Kay.