For many, a honeymoon is the trip of a lifetime and no expense should be spared. But if the upcoming wedding is (way) over budget, conversations could focus on post-wedding cost cutting, including that dream honeymoon (eek!). Fortunately, not all honeymoon-related plans require cash. Some exclusive honeymoon destinations can be visited with points and miles, including the biggest names in tropical travel: The Maldives, Seychelles and Bora Bora.

Find out where (and how) to book your honeymoon with points and miles – without compromising your original imagination of first class accommodations and comfortable flights.

1. Maldives

Scattered across the Indian Ocean, the Maldives – and its jewel-colored water world filled with overwater bungalows – are exactly what honeymoon dreams are made of. International flights land on the capital island of Malé, from which you have to take a seaplane or speedboat to reach paradise. Every resort in the Maldives is on its own private island (yes, you read that right), which means privacy and social distance are part of this luxurious honeymoon experience.

How to book your honeymoon in the Maldives with points and miles

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The Maldives is one of the most exclusive honeymoon destinations to visit with travel points and miles – especially when you have a stack of Marriott Bonvoy points on hand. There are three excellent Category 8 properties to choose from: The St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort in Dhaalu Atoll, W Maldives on the island of Fesdu in North Ari Atoll and which recently debuted The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands in the North Male Atoll.

The prices for hotels in category 8 range from 70,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per night to 100,000 points per night, depending on the time during off-peak, standard or peak hours. Our research in March 2021 has shown that all three properties have short and long stay rooms (including those over five nights, a full week, or even longer, whatever you want for a honeymoon).

Flights

To book a long-haul flight from the USA to Malé in Business Class, there are essentially three options for cheap award seats with minimal taxes.

  • See how to redeem American Airlines AAdvantage miles on Qatar Airways for 70,000 miles.

  • Try Alaska Airlines miles to book a seat on Emirates Airlines, where a one-way trip in store costs 82,500 miles.

  • Consider redeeming United Airlines miles to book a ticket with a partner like Turkish Airlines with business seats from 93,500 miles. And remember, United is a Chase transfer partner should you need to add to your account balance.

2. Seychelles

Nestled between East Africa and the Maldives, the 115 islands that make up Africa’s smallest nation, the Seychelles, are a contrasting mixture of low-lying coral islands and the only towering mid-ocean granite islands in the world. Most of the resorts are located in the Inner Islands of the Seychelles, namely the capital Mahé, the heart and soul of the granitic grandeur of the archipelago.

How to book a honeymoon in Seychelles with points and miles

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Flights

To travel to Mahé in business class, use American Airlines points to book Qatar Airways for 75,000 miles each way. Alternatively, you can use Alaska Airlines miles to book a seat on Emirates Airlines at a cost of 120,000 miles each way.

3. Bora Bora

A global honeymoon foothold, the island of Bora Bora in French Polynesia is revered for its turquoise waters and incredible overwater bungalows. The island is notoriously expensive, and not so long ago using points and miles on a luxury Bora Bora honeymoon was the ultimate travel hack that involved using points and certificates from Hilton credit cards.

However, in the past few years the Standard Awards room has spread like wildfire on the internet and these days it is exceptionally difficult to plan a luxury honeymoon here on points. Finding availability for multiple days can be difficult, and in some cases only the super-expensive premium award stays are available. However, the availability of the points is constantly changing so it may still be worth checking and there is an IHG hotel option that may have better availability.

How to book a Bora Bora honeymoon with points and miles

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According to the Hilton Honors Points Explorer tool, this is stunning Conrad Bora Bora Nui should be bookable with Hilton Honors Points for 90,000 points per night for a standard room. However, on our last search (which stretched as far as the points calendar would allow) we couldn’t find a single room for this amount. The lowest point rate found was 193,000 per night in January 2022. InterContinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa Hotel, theoretically bookable with IHG points at the program’s maximum limit of 100,000 points per night, our search did not find any award stays.

A second, older Intercontinental on Bora Bora, InterContinental Le Moana Bora Bora, on the other hand, could accommodate up to six nights in a row with an award stay at rates of 70,000 points per night. If you are looking to travel to Bora Bora you may have to make this hotel your destination.

Flights

To get to Bora Bora, you must first fly to the French Polynesian capital, Tahiti. With Air Tahiti Nui you can fly miles to Tahiti with American Airlines. One-way in-store flights cost 80,000 from the US to Tahiti. Flights from Tahiti to Bora Bora cannot be redeemed for points and must be booked with Air Tahiti.

The bottom line

Although it has become increasingly difficult to find rewards in Bora Bora, there are two equally exclusive honeymoon destinations that you can visit with travel points and miles: Maldives and Seychelles. You can still travel your honeymoon and land a five-star castaway fantasy without paying for anything in cash.

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