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Planning Your Honeymoon with Amex: Maldives and Bali on Points

Updated on 24 June 2026 · TravelLux.be

150,000 points. That's the number that keeps popping up in honeymoon forums, in Reddit threads, in whispered conversations with couples who just got engaged and suddenly discover that something like "flights on points" exists. It sounds almost too good to be true: planning your honeymoon to the Maldives and Bali with credit card points instead of a loan from the in-laws. But does it really hold up, specifically for us Belgian travellers departing from Brussels Airport?

Honestly: it's not as simple as "apply for the card and book." There are caveats, calculations are needed, and for some profiles it's frankly not a good idea. But for those who fit the bill, the difference can amount to thousands of euros. I've done the maths, made the comparisons, and listed the pitfalls.

Why the Maldives and Bali are popular as a honeymoon on points

The Maldives and Bali aren't just dream destinations. They're also exceptionally well served by airline loyalty programmes that partner with Amex Membership Rewards. That's a crucial detail. Not every destination is equally "points-friendly," but these two score highly because they're served by airlines like Emirates, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, and Etihad. All transfer partners of Amex.

From Brussels you typically fly with a stopover. That's not a disadvantage if you choose wisely: a stop in Dubai or Doha en route to Malé (Maldives), then onward to Denpasar (Bali) via Singapore or Kuala Lumpur. The flights themselves are available as award flights with these partners, meaning you can book them with points instead of cash.

The other advantage: hotels in the Maldives are expensive. Easily €500 to €1,200 per night for an overwater villa at a decent resort. Fine Hotels + Resorts from Amex Platinum doesn't directly cover part of those costs, but it does give you complimentary breakfast for two, a room upgrade when available, late check-out, and a credit of approximately €100 per stay on top. Over four or five nights that adds up. Bali is a different story: hotel costs there are considerably lower, which makes it a smart combination within one trip.

The maths: how many Amex points do you need for the Maldives and Bali?

Let's get specific. The exact points cost depends on the airline, travel class, and availability. But I'll give the range I most commonly see for two people, return from Europe.

Now the key question: where do you get those points? The Amex Platinum welcome bonus yields up to 150,000 points via referral. That's a one-time offer, and there's a spending threshold attached: typically you need to spend €4,000 to €6,000 in the first three months. As a couple, you could consider both applying for a card (the partner can get a supplementary Platinum card for €10 per month, or apply for their own primary card if their income allows it).

With 150,000 points from a single welcome bonus, you're already close to two economy returns to the Maldives. If you want business class for two, you'll need more. Count on 200,000+ points, which means that besides the welcome bonus you also need to earn points through everyday spending. At the standard earn rate of 1 point per €1, that's a long road. With the Booster option (4 points per €1 for an extra €10/month) it goes faster, but be realistic: €10,000 in spending then yields 40,000 extra points.

My honest estimate: if you apply for the card 6 to 12 months before the honeymoon and put your regular expenses on it (groceries, fuel, insurance, wedding expenses), you'll reach 180,000 to 220,000 points as a couple between the welcome bonus and regular spending. Enough for two economy returns plus an upgrade attempt, or one person in business and the other in economy (yes, that's possible, and it's less odd than it sounds).

Choosing transfer partners: which airline for which route?

This is the part where most people switch off, but it's also where the real value lies. Amex Membership Rewards points are worth nothing on their own if you don't transfer them wisely. The transfer to airline partners is typically 1:1 (1 MR point = 1 mile or point with the partner) and takes 1 to 3 business days.

For the Maldives, Emirates and Etihad are the logical choices from Brussels. Emirates flies daily via Dubai, Etihad via Abu Dhabi. Both regularly have award availability on the route to Malé. Qatar Airways via Doha is a third option, although availability there can be tighter.

For Bali it gets more interesting. Singapore Airlines has a strong route via Singapore to Denpasar, and their KrisFlyer programme is one of the best Amex transfer partners. But Qatar Airways and Emirates also offer Bali routes, though the layovers can sometimes be longer.

A pitfall I see frequently: people transfer points to an airline and only then discover there are no award seats available on their desired dates. Always, always check first. Use tools like seats.aero or the airline's own award search function. Only when you see availability should you transfer the points.

Fine Hotels + Resorts: where the difference really becomes tangible in the Maldives

Booking flights on points is the spectacular part. But honestly, the most tangible added value of the Amex Platinum for a honeymoon lies in the Fine Hotels + Resorts programme. And specifically in the Maldives, where hotel prices are absurdly high.

Fine Hotels + Resorts (FHR) is a booking channel within Amex Platinum that gives access to more than 14,000 hotels worldwide. You pay the same or comparable room rate as booking directly with the hotel, but automatically receive a range of benefits on top.

Let me make that concrete. Say you book 4 nights at a resort in the Maldives via FHR. Breakfast for 2 people at most Maldives resorts easily costs €60 to €100 per day (it's an island, everything is flown in). That's €240 to €400 in breakfast you don't pay for. The hotel credit of ~€100 goes towards a spa treatment or dinner. And if you're lucky, you get upgraded from a beach villa to an overwater villa. On a honeymoon, that's the kind of difference you remember.

In Bali, FHR works exactly the same way, but the absolute amounts are lower because Bali is simply cheaper. Breakfast at an FHR hotel in Ubud or Seminyak costs €20 to €40 per day, so the saving is smaller. But the room upgrade and late check-out are at least as enjoyable in Bali. Admittedly: I haven't personally booked an FHR stay in the Maldives or Bali. My FHR experiences are elsewhere, but the mechanism is identical and the benefits are contractually guaranteed.

When this plan doesn't work (and for whom the Amex Platinum is not a good choice)

It would be unfair to write this piece without the flip side. The Amex Platinum costs €780 per year. That's not nothing. And the whole honeymoon-on-points story sounds wonderful, but it doesn't work for everyone.

If your monthly spending is low (say less than €1,500 per month on the card), it takes a very long time to accumulate enough points beyond the welcome bonus. The welcome bonus is a one-time offer: you get those 150,000 points once, and after that it's 1 point per €1 (or 4 per €1 with the Booster at €10/month). For someone spending €1,500 per month, that yields a standard 18,000 points per year. With Booster, 72,000. That's not enough to fly for free every year.

Also important: the Amex Platinum is a charge card, not a traditional credit card with revolving credit. You pay the full balance monthly. A minimum gross annual income of €30,000 is required, and you must have no payment arrears. That's justifiably strict, but it also means not everyone qualifies.

And then there's the acceptance issue. Amex is far from accepted everywhere in Belgium. For everyday groceries at Colruyt or Delhaize it generally works, and online shops accept Amex increasingly often. But at the local bakery or at the market you simply pay with your Bancontact. Abroad, especially at hotels, airlines, and international chains, Amex acceptance is not a problem. And for a honeymoon, the bulk of your spending goes precisely there.

The honeymoon strategy step by step: a realistic timeline

How do you tackle this concretely if you say: "We're getting married in 9 to 12 months and want the Maldives and Bali as our honeymoon, partly on points"? This is the plan I would follow.

Month 1 to 3: apply for the card and earn the welcome bonus. Apply for the Amex Platinum via a referral link (which yields the maximum 150,000 points, more than a direct application). Via the TravelLux.be friend link you get that maximum bonus. Put your regular expenses on the card: rent, insurance, telecom, groceries, fuel. Wedding preparations help too: caterer, photographer, venue. You'll likely hit that €4,000 to €6,000 spending threshold without any trouble.

Month 3 to 6: let points grow and monitor availability. Once your welcome bonus has landed, start searching for award availability on your honeymoon dates. Check Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Singapore Airlines. Flexibility with dates helps enormously. Departing midweek often gives better availability than Friday or Saturday.

Month 6 to 9: transfer points and book. As soon as you find award seats, transfer the exact number of points to the loyalty programme and book immediately. Don't wait: award availability disappears quickly, especially on popular routes. Also book your hotels via Fine Hotels + Resorts for the FHR benefits.

The month before departure: arrange lounge access and check insurance. The Priority Pass with your Amex Platinum gives access to more than 1,550 lounges worldwide, including the guest travelling with you. At Brussels Airport you also have Fast Lane security (saves you €169 per year). The Amex Platinum travel insurance covers cancellation, luggage, and medical costs, but review the terms and conditions for the specific coverage limits. That's half an hour you'll be glad you spent afterwards.

What I would do myself (and what I wouldn't do)

I'm not a honeymoon expert. My own travel experiences lean more towards Florida, Thailand, Vietnam, and Australia. But I know the points system well enough to know what works and what doesn't. And if I were planning a honeymoon to the Maldives and Bali today, here's how I'd do it: collect the welcome bonus, transfer points to Emirates for the Maldives leg, and Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer for the Bali part. Hotels via FHR in the Maldives, and in Bali a mix of FHR and locally booked boutique hotels (because Bali has fantastic small hotels that aren't in FHR but cost €80 per night and are better than many a resort).

What I wouldn't do: try to put everything on points. That sounds like the holy grail, but it leads to suboptimal choices. Sometimes a cash flight of €400 per person in economy is smarter than spending 80,000 points that you could have better used for business class on a different route. The art is mixing: points where the value is highest (business class flights and expensive hotels), cash where it's cheap (domestic flights, budget hotels, local transport).

And if you're wondering whether the Amex Platinum suits you beyond the honeymoon: also read the comprehensive Amex Platinum review on TravelLux.be and the guide on using Membership Rewards points optimally. There you'll find the full picture, including the profiles for which the card does and doesn't work.

Transparency: if you apply for the Amex Platinum via the TravelLux.be friend link, I also receive points. That's why I stick to one rule: only recommend it if the numbers add up for you. The official product page can be found at americanexpress.com/be.

Also read:

• Amex Platinum Belgium: honest review after a year of use
• Using Membership Rewards points optimally as a Belgian traveller
• Best credit card for travel in Belgium: 2026 comparison