My credit card made my Oahu destination wedding affordable

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• When my partner and I got engaged, we debated several options for our wedding.
• We decided on a destination wedding and my credit card helped make it affordable.
• We earned a lot of points and miles and it provided us with useful benefits on our flight to Oahu.

My partner and I love adventures, which is why we are always planning our next vacation or trip. Shortly after we got engaged, we debated about possible wedding locations that might make sense, like a larger wedding close to home in Seattle or an intimate wedding abroad with just the two of us.

We decided to get married on Oahu

When our wedding vision began to crystallize, we decided on a destination wedding on Oahu. We could have a smaller wedding, and people could show up for us and take a break from traveling. My partner’s family had ties to Hawaii and we saw it as an opportunity to make our wedding extra special.

Our first step was to find a local wedding planner who understood the challenges of planning a wedding as queer people of color, and we found that support in the Gay Agenda Collective. Our wedding planner was also able to help us find all-inclusive vendors that fit the bill, and even gave us discounts with certain vendors they worked closely with.

Through our conversations, we realized that we wanted to intentionally plan our wedding in a way that was very specific to us, whether it was offering lawn games so people could have fun and meet each other or having a book of invited audio where people could leave voicemails that we would listen to forever. We hoped people would feel loved and cherished as we did when we were in the presence of our chosen blood and family, and planning a beautiful wedding that reflected our love was one way to show that.

We earned points and miles with our credit card

Although the sales tax in Hawaii was less than half of our home state’s sales and the number of guests would be much lower, it was clear that our wedding would still be an expensive affair.

Because we were planning a destination wedding, we knew that in addition to the usual wedding day vendors—like rentals, photographers and videographers, catering, and decor—we’d also need to book flights, hotels, and a rental car for the day. .

My partner and I are based in Seattle. We knew we wanted to earn points or miles on our credit cards in a way that would benefit both of us, especially since we had the means to pay off our credit cards in full. After looking at several options, we decided to use our Alaska Airlines credit card.

Alaska Airlines has a main hub at our home airport and is the main airline we use for almost all of our travel together. The airline also offers direct flights to the island of Hawaii, Kauai, Maui, and Oahu, which made it easy for our local loved ones and us to get to Oahu without having to worry about having only one flight option or navigating a transfer.

Our credit card benefits made flying cheaper and easier

We saved on our flights to and from Oahu by using the companion fare benefit, which has no blackout dates for booking. This saved us hundreds of dollars since we booked our flight during peak season in July. We also earned thousands of miles on wedding purchases like hotel and transportation.

We also spent enough to qualify for a bonus point offer on our spending in 2024. These miles enabled us to book future trips, including our honeymoon, and we knew we’d be able to book flights next round trip to cities on our travel list like Austin, Chicago or Manhattan.

Because I had Alaska Airlines MVP status, I could check two bags for free, which was a benefit over the one bag that Alaska Airlines cardholders receive as a perk. This made it easier to pack personalized cards for our wedding seating chart, Polaroid film, toiletries, and clothing to wear during a week on Oahu.

We were able to pack our wedding attire into a garment bin bag and boarded early so we could get it in a bin as soon as possible. On the plane itself, I got 20% off in-flight WiFi and in-flight meals, which meant I could use the 5 1/2 hour flight time to send steps, research my next story, and ‘emailed my wedding planners with a. the latest signage requirement. We also ordered the in-flight Mediterranean Tapas box to pass through before we landed.