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How to Fund your Wedding with Credit Cards and Maximise your Rewards

June 7th, 2008

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Marriage can be either exciting or stressful - regardless of which, funding a wedding will always be expensive. One of the easiest way to meet this short term funding strain is by employing the use of one or more credit cards. The following information in this article will explain which credit cards you can use to maximise the savings and rewards from using a credit card for your wonderful wedding.

There are a few prerequisites for the suggestions and strategies listed in this article to work:

Over 18 years of age - You need to be 18+ for a lot of the rewards programs.

Australian residency/citizenship
A relatively good credit history - this is necessary since you will need to be obtain a high enough credit limit to match the expenses of the wedding.

Free flights for your honeymoon!

For starters, you’ll want to earn frequent flyer points from spending on your wedding via a credit card with a generous rewards or cashback program. Some credit cards you may want to consider are:

Reward Program Credit cards for Weddings

American Express Blue Sky Card: If you’re planning or interested in spending your reward points for travel and flights, you can’t go much better than the AMEX Blue Sky card. See here for more details.

Qantas American Express Rewards Card: Another great offer from American Express, if you don’t already own a reward credits card, the initial 5000 free points that come with the Qantas card are a great way to get you started. See here for more details.
BP Citibank MasterCard: Features incredible 10% cashback at BP offers along with 1% everywhere else. The best choice if you’re more interested in shopping and petrol cashback than rewards. See here for more details.

Commonwealth Bank Awards Card: A generally balanced rewards card with excellent all-round features. See here for more details.

Once you have spent the entire wedding funds with your rewards card and capitalised on the benefits, it’s then time to switch to your second card, one with a low interest rate and low balance transfer rate to limit the repayments to the absolute minimum. Both the St.George Vertigo and ANZ Low Rate are 2 of the best and similar choices, since both feature:

0% balance transfer for the 6 months (essential feature to take advantage of)
Low interest rates - both below 13%, definately in the lowest range of credit cards available on the Australian market.

Low Interest/Balance Transfer Credit cards for Weddings

St.George Vertigo MasterCard: Arguably Australia’s most popular credit card at the moment, it’s really an incredibly competitive offer that you shouldn’t pass by. See here for more details.

ANZ Low Rate MasterCard: Very close in features to the Vertigo, with a few extra / less features, such as the ability to customize your credit card with your own image. See here for more details.

If you simply source your wedding from one credit card, you can reap the reward benefits but end up being plagued with high interest rates and annual fees typically associated with reward programs on credit cards.

Likewise, a credit card with generous interest and repayment features won’t have many, if any, reward offers.

The main trick with this dual credit card scheme is to take advantage of the initial introductory balance transfer period of 0% for the first 6 months. Best of luck maximising your savings and reward points for your upcoming wedding, or save a family or friend potentially thousands.