How To Register For Experiences

The Getaway

Trips Not Toasters: Wedding Registries for Travel Lovers

Should the happy couple plan a honeymoon in St. Croix, guests can help foot the bill through registries and gift cards.

Credit... Danielle Villasana for The New York Times

April 5, 2016

Jump wedding season is here. Why register for mainland china when y'all tin register for a trip to China?

These days travel lovers tin forgo table linens and steak knives and register instead for flights, hotels and far-flung experiences from brands including United Airlines, Hyatt and Carnival Prowl Lines.

Guests can do good also. If they pay with a advantage credit carte du jour that earns double points for travel purchases (such as Chase Sapphire Preferred), or if they buy a souvenir card through an airline shopping portal that doles out points for what they spend (similar American Airlines AAdvantage eShopping), they can apply your wedding ceremony gift to get closer to their ain getaway.

Hither are some of the latest possibilities.

Airfare

United Airlines is ane of the few United States carriers that allow members to necktie their frequent flier accounts to a registry. Couples can include a desired destination if they want to make the registry more than personal, and tin employ United's email tool to allow guests know they're registered there. Alternatively, couples tin simply provide guests with a link to the United gift registry. Gifts toward air travel purchases can be made online anywhere from $25 up to $10,000.

Outside the formal registry model, many airlines offer souvenir cards and certificates, including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines. All you accept to do is provide guests with the link to the gift bill of fare landing page, and so in most cases they can just send yous a digital or concrete card. If y'all're creating a wedding website, just add together the link to the souvenir card page there.

Of class, if y'all want to get the most miles possible, skip registries and souvenir cards altogether and deposit whatsoever cash or checks yous receive into a bank account. And so purchase your honeymoon airfare with a travel advantage credit menu — that way you get the trip your guests gave you while also earning miles for yet some other trip.

Hotels

A number of major United states hotel and resort brands — Disney Parks and Resorts, Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, Hilton, Starwood Hotels, Sandals Resorts, Atlantis — outsource their registry services to the same company, HoneymoonWishes.com, based in California.

There are typically two types of gifts couples can receive through this service: a "trip contribution," which are funds that are transferred to the recipients past check or bank transfer, or a "resort credit," which is practical to the couple'due south hotel business relationship and can be used for annihilation that tin exist billed to a room while at the resort. Bank check your preferred chain'south registry site for specifics though, every bit the options vary.

Like other travel registry companies, HoneymoonWishes.com charges "service and handling" fees, which it says include account direction and toll-free customer service for guests. These fees are charged to the guest buying a gift, the couple, or both. HoneymoonWishes.com fees are amidst the highest. In full general, purchasers on a registry powered by HoneymoonWishes.com (read: your guests) are charged a service and treatment fee at checkout of either 7 or 9.65 percent, depending on how you dissever the fees. Yous tin read about how to distribute the fees between the guests and the couple on individual hotel registry sites. Wedding couples who wish to avoid fees altogether should skip these sorts of sites.

Not all big hotel bondage take partnered with Honeymoon Wishes. Hyatt Hotels, for example, partnered with TheHoneymoon.com on its registry, which charges service fees based on the cost of the gift (higher purchases have lower service fees). Couples can request gifts toward a honeymoon stay or spa services and do so in pocket-sized, dissever increments (for example, request for six gifts of $50 toward a $300 a night room instead of asking for one $300 gift). Hyatt then sends the couple a gift card or check certificate (there's no expiration engagement) with all the funds.

For Marriott loyalists, instead of a registry the company offers gift cards from $25 to $2,000, including a "Happily Ever Subsequently" design with rings that says "best wishes." Those who desire Ritz-Carlton souvenir cards can find them at Ritzcarltongiftcards.com.

Cruises, Cars and Trains

Like many hotels, cruise companies, including Carnival Cruise Lines, Royal Caribbean area and Princess Cruises, also employ HoneymoonWishes.com to power their registry sites. The handling fee is typically 7 percent at checkout plus a two.65 percent credit carte du jour processing accuse. Other cruise lines offer souvenir cards, and there are no fees to purchase them. For instance, Norwegian Cruise Line offers souvenir cards that can be used toward the purchase of a prowl or experiences on lath and on shore. The minimum amount is $25; the maximum is $1,000.

Railroad buffs may exist interested in Amtrak souvenir certificates, which are bachelor from $50 to $1,000 and can be purchased online. Just notation that they can be redeemed just at staffed Amtrak station ticket offices. Amtrak also charges an additional $5 treatment fee for each document.

And for newlyweds who want to hit the open road, the machine-sharing visitor Zipcar sells "zipcertificates," to pay for a Zipcar membership or driving costs.

Online Booking Sites

If you don't want to be wedded to a particular hotel chain or airline, consider a site such equally Hotels.com, which allows people to buy gift cards from $10 to $ii,000 with no fees or expiration date. The couple tin can redeem the cards from over 150,000 hotels worldwide.

Viator, which offers all kinds of tours and travel experiences around the world, besides has gift certificates, though in well-nigh places they expire after two years.

Ski and snow lovers may want to check out Liftopia.com, which sells souvenir certificates for lift tickets and passes.

And don't forget that many museums, such every bit MoMA in New York City, allow for gift memberships.

Honeymoon Registries

Near sites for travel honeymoons are essentially slick ways to collect greenbacks gifts. Past assuasive couples to register for activities such every bit surfing lessons or wine tastings, the sites help guests feel every bit if they are giving the happy couple specific experiences. In reality, the money given for those experiences is usually passed along to the couple as a cheque or bank transfer to utilise however they see fit, which ways they can use it toward surfing lessons — or non.

Which of these companies you lot choose depends on how much you similar the expect of their registry and of course the fees it charges you or your guests. Popular options include Honeyfund (i of the least costly options), Wanderable, Honeymoon Pixie and Traveler's Joy.

Travel Gear

Wedding ceremony couples can also register for noise-canceling headphones, iPods, chargers and other travel gadgets at places like Bose.com, Apple.com and Brookstone.com. Need gear for a big trip? At that place'southward Camping Earth, Eastern Mountain Sports and Canon. A site such as MyRegistry.com allows couples to create a unmarried free registry, still annals for items beyond multiple websites including embankment and honeymoon items at Havaianas, Ray-Ban and Patagonia; and luggage from Bric's, Tumi and eBags.com. All that'due south left to practise is pack.