According to a new study by wedding planning website Zola, 63% of couples are postponing their weddings by one year or more from their original date as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
And the change in timelines isn't just affecting the bride and groom. If you were planning to attend a wedding in 2020, you've probably already had to shift your plans to 2021. Lots of couples (24% according to Zola's study) plan on tying the knot in 2020 and having their reception later, but a good portion (38%) are delaying their entire wedding until things calm down.
Between the "catch up" weddings postponed from 2020, and the 2021 weddings proceeding as planned, it's time to prepare for your budget to take a hit as next year's calendar fills up with bridal showers, bachelorette/bachelor parties and/or out-of-town receptions.
But there's an added glitch: No matter how far in advance you plan, you should also stay flexible given the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic and whether it will be safe to gather in groups by the spring or even next fall.
With so many things up in the air, it's important to make a plan now as to how you'll save for upcoming costs so you aren't left scrambling when invitations arrive. Below, we've got the scoop on how to prepare your finances and save money during the sure-to-be hectic 2021 wedding season.
Look into rewards cards with bonuses
No matter how you spend your money on, a rewards credit card can help you earn cash back and/or points to cover some of your wedding costs.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees) offers 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card packs a punch for a $95 annual fee card, offering annual travel credits, comprehensive travel protections, flexible rewards and more.
- You can transfer rewards to all of Chase's travel partners including World of Hyatt, Southwest Rapid Rewards and many more
- Long list of travel and shopping protections
- Annual Chase Travel hotel credit
- Has an annual fee
- Requires a high credit score
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff.
- Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase TravelSM, 3x on dining, 3x on vacation homes, 3x on gas & EV charging, 3x on top streaming services and online groceries (excluding Walmart, Target, and wholesale clubs), 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases
- Earn up to $100 in statement credits each account anniversary year for hotel stays through Chase Travel
- Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Emergency Evacuation and Transportation and more
- Get a year of complimentary Apple TV when activated by December 31, 2026 - a value of $156.
- Complimentary DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees & lower service fees for 12 months when you activate by 12/31/27. Plus, a $10 promo each month on non-restaurant orders.
- Receive one statement credit of up to $120 every four years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to your card for a Global Entry, TSA Precheck® or NEXUS application.
- Transfer points to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs
- Member FDIC
Balance transfer fee
Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
You need to have good to excellent credit to qualify for most rewards cards, particularly ones that offer no-interest periods. For those with fair or average credit, consider the Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card.
With the QuicksilverOne, cardholders can earn 1.5% cash back on all purchases, with no limit on the amount of cash back you can earn. This card has a $39 annual fee, but the average American can earn enough to offset it.
The QuicksilverOne charges no foreign transaction fees (great for destination weddings) and comes with auto rental collision damage waiver and 24-hour travel assistance services.
You can take advantage of the time between now and the upcoming wedding season to make everyday purchases with your card and earn cash back. That way, you'll have plenty to cash in as a statement credit to cover any wedding-related travel costs.
The Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card is available to those with limited-to-fair credit, which makes it surprising that it features an elevated 1.5% cash back on all purchases.
- Available for those with limited to fair credit
- Simple 1.5% cash back rewards structure with no caps or categories to track
- Get automatically considered for a higher credit line in as little as six months
- Charges a high variable APR if you carry a balance from month to month
- Comes with a $39 annual fee
- No welcome bonus offer
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff.
- Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase, every day
- No rotating categories or limits to how much you can earn, and cash back doesn't expire for the life of the account. It's that simple
- Be automatically considered for a higher credit line in as little as 6 months
- Enjoy peace of mind with $0 Fraud Liability so that you won't be responsible for unauthorized charges
- Help strengthen your credit for the future with responsible card use
- Earn unlimited 5% cash back on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- Monitor your credit score with CreditWise from Capital One. It's free for everyone
- Check out quickly and securely with a contactless card, without touching a terminal or handing your card to a cashier. Just hover your card over a contactless reader, wait for the confirmation, and you're all set
- Top rated mobile app
Balance transfer fee
- $0 at the Transfer APR, 4% of the amount of each transferred balance that posts to your account at a promotional APR that Capital One may offer to you
Start a savings bucket for weddings
Now is a good time to start stashing away extra cash so you can be ready for what 2021 brings. You can use your current savings account or a new account designated just for wedding season.
The Ally Online Savings Account is a good choice for when you want to create separate savings "buckets" all within one savings account. If you have more than one wedding to budget for, you can make up to 10 different funds, all labeled and easy to keep track of.
High-yield savings accounts earn you more than a traditional savings account would, since the interest rates are a lot higher than the 0.35% average for more traditional savings accounts. APY for high-yield accounts are on the lower side right now, but when the economy is stronger, APY is known to rise to close to 2%.
Ally Bank Savings Account
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
3.00% APY
Minimum balance
None
Monthly fee
None
Maximum transactions
10 withdrawals or transfers per statement cycle
Excessive transactions fee
None
Overdraft fee
None
Offer checking account?
Yes
Offer ATM card?
Yes, if have an Ally checking account
Terms apply.
Read our Ally Bank Savings Account review.
Pros
- Strong APY
- No minimum balance or deposit
- No monthly fees
- Option to add a checking account with ATM access
Cons
- Higher APYs offered elsewhere
- $10 excessive transactions fee
Sign up for airline alerts
Whether you have a co-branded airline credit card, such as any one of the seven Delta SkyMiles Amex cards, or you jump from airline to airline and pay with general travel card like the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, sign up for alerts to track when prices drop.
There are a few ways to get alerts: Apps like Skyscanner or Skiplagged help you track and find low-cost flights, whereas newsletters like Scott's Cheap Flights send out regular announcements when fares dip. You can also set an alert on travel aggregate sites like Kayak.com or Hotwire.com.
Install a coupon app or browser extension
The popular browser coupon extension PayPal Honey can save you big when it comes to wedding gift shopping. When you're checking out at nearly any online store, Honey automatically scans the web for coupon and promo codes and finds you the best savings before you click "Buy." The service is free, and you can even earn Honey rewards in the form of cash back on purchases over time.
The social app, Fluz, lets you share deals with friends and earn cash back on what you buy.
Other services include Rakuten, which is like Honey but features rotating cash-back offers; Pricescout, which comparison shops to find you the best price; Gumdrop by Goodshop which helps you locate deals and donates a portion of eligible purchases to a school or nonprofit; and Coupon Cabin, which gives you price-saving tips based on your Google searches. (These extensions are compatible with Google Chrome.)
Sign up for an airline and/or hotel credit card
The average cost of attending a wedding is $430, according to a 2019 study by The Knot, and as much as $1,440 for out-of-town weddings requiring a flight.
That's where signing up for a hotel or airline credit card with a loyalty program can save you big.
With Chase's current welcome offer for the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card, new cardholders can earn 4 Free Night Awards (valued up to 50,000 points) after spending $3,000 on qualifying purchases in the first 3 months. Plus, through 6/30/2027, get up to $100 in statement credits after spending $500 on eligible airline purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually.
The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card is useful if you're working toward higher levels of Marriott status because of its bonus elite night credits and the elite credit you can earn from spending with the card.
- Annual free night award every year after your account anniversary
- 15 elite night credits each calendar year and you can earn additional elite night credits through spending
- Valuable welcome bonus
- Complicated application restrictions
- Bonus rewards on grocery, dining and gas purchases have an annual limit
Rewards
- Earn 3X points per $1 on the first $6,000 spent in combined purchases each year on grocery stores, gas stations, and dining
- 1 Elite Night Credit towards Elite Status for every $5,000 spent
- Earn up to 17X total points per $1 spent at over 7,000 hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy® with the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Card
Balance transfer fee
- Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
For another big offer on hotels, new applicants signing up for the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card (see rates and fees) can qualify to earn a fourth reward night free when you redeem points for a consecutive four-night IHG® hotel stay.
For airline miles, consider the no-annual-fee card United Gateway℠ Card (see rates and fees), which earns you 5x total miles on eligible United flights and 2x miles on all other eligible United® purchases, at gas stations, and on local transit and commuting. 1x mile on all other purchases.
New cardmembers can also benefit from an offer of up to 40,000 bonus miles: Earn 30,000 bonus miles after you spend $1,000 on qualifying purchases in the first 3 months your account is open, plus 0% APR on purchases within the first twelve months (after that, a variable APR of 19.74% - 28.24%). Plus, earn 10,000 bonus miles after you add an authorized user to your account in the first 3 months your account is open.
Learn more: How to make the most of your airline miles
Save on gasoline
Another option is road-tripping to out-of-town weddings, and there are plenty of great rewards cards to save on gas.
The PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature® Card currently offers the highest rewards rate at gas stations with 5X points per dollar spent on gas purchases at the pump, and if you maximize the rewards you earn, the average American can save up to $111 annually on gas purchases alone.
PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature® Card
Rewards
5X points on gas purchases at the pump and electrical vehicle charging stations, 3X points on purchases at the supermarket (including most Target and Walmart locations†), restaurants, and TV, radio, cable, streaming services
Welcome bonus
15,000 points when you spend $1,500 in first 90 days
Annual fee
$0
Intro APR
0% introductory APR for 12 months on balance transfers made in the first 60 days after account opening.*
Regular APR
17.99% variable on purchases; 17.99% non-variable on balance transfers
Balance transfer fee
3%
Foreign transaction fee
None
Credit needed
Good/Excellent
Terms apply.
Pros
- High 5X points on gas at the pump and 3X on supermarket purchases
- No bonus category activations
- Good special financing offer on balance transfers
Cons
- 3% balance transfer fee
*0% introductory APR for 12 months on balance transfers made in the first 60 days after account opening. After that, the APR for the unpaid balance and any new balance transfers will be a non-variable rate of 17.99%. 3% balance transfer fee per transaction. Subject to credit approval. If you take advantage of this balance transfer, you will immediately be charged interest on all purchases made with your credit card unless you pay the entire account balance, including balance transfers, in full each month by the payment due date.
Check out our full list of best gas rewards credit cards.
Bottom line
While next spring's wedding season is shaping up to be a wild ride, there are still ways to save on your expenses. Plan ahead and take advantage of our tips above, whether you plan to travel to weddings this spring or celebrate your loved ones on Zoom.
