American Airlines First Class Hawaii | Best Lie Flat From Mainland

I recently completed flying Delta One Honolulu to Atlanta (HNL-ATL), United First class Honolulu to Washington Dulles (HNL-IAD), and American Airlines first class Dallas-Fort Worth to Honolulu (DFW-HNL) from July – September.

After trying 3 different US airlines first class products, I say American offers the best first class, lie flat seats from the US mainland to Hawaii. Hawaiian Airlines lie flat first class looks really good as well but I haven't tried it yet.

My wife and I flew first class on all of these routes thanks to credit card miles and points I accumulated from earning credit card welcome bonuses. Currently I get $10,000 in annual fees removed from Chase and American Express cards thanks to their support for the military.

If you're active duty military or a military spouse, you can learn how to get your first annual fee reduction in my Ultimate Military Credit Cards Course.

Or check out this month's best credit card welcome offers and my step by step SCRA and MLA credit card guide for military troops.

On this trip, my wife and I flew from Baltimore, Maryland (BWI) to Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas (DFW). We then caught AA5 from DFW to Honolulu, HI.

DFW Admirals Club Military Lounge Access

I'm still getting used to the fact that even if you spend thousands of dollars on a first class or business class ticket in the States you do not automatically get club or lounge access with the airline. This is not the norm overseas.

You can access thousands of airport lounges and the Amex Centurion lounges, including the one at DFW, with the Amex Platinum card.

The Platinum Card^® from American Express
Learn how to apply on our partner's secure site

• $695 annual fee. Reduced to $0 with American Express special military protections
• You may be eligible for as high as 175,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you're approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you're approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
• Earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel® up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year and earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel®.
• $200 Annual Hotel Credit: Get $200 back in statement credits each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts^® or The Hotel Collection bookings through American Express Travel using your Platinum Card^®. Note that The Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay
• $240 Digital Entertainment Credit: Get up to $20 back in statement credits each month when you pay for eligible purchases with the Platinum Card^® at your choice of one or more of the following providers: Disney+, a Disney+ Bundle, ESPN+, Hulu, Peacock, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. Enrollment required.
• $200 Uber Cash: Platinum Card® Members can get $15 in Uber Cash each month, plus a bonus $20 in December after adding their Card to their Uber account. Use your Uber Cash on rides and orders in the U.S. when you select an Amex Card for your transaction. Enrollment required.
• $200 Airline Fee Credit: Select one qualifying airline and then receive up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year when incidental fees, such as checked bags and in-flight refreshments, are charged by the airline to your Platinum Card® Account. American Express relies on airlines to submit the correct information on airline transactions to identify incidental fee purchases. If you do not see a credit for a qualifying incidental purchase on your eligible Card after 8 weeks, simply call the number on the back of your Card. Qualifying airlines are subject to change. See terms & conditions for more details.
• $199 CLEAR® Plus Credit: CLEAR® Plus helps get you to your gate faster by using unique facial attributes to verify you are you at 50+ airports nationwide. Receive up to $199 in statement credits per calendar year after you pay for your CLEAR Plus Membership (subject to auto-renewal) with the Platinum Card®.
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• Lounge life! Enjoy the benefits of the Global Lounge Collection, with over $500 of annual value if you visit Centurion Lounges and each of our partner lounges including Delta Sky Club® lounges when flying an eligible Delta flight (subject to visit limitations), select Lufthansa lounges when flying Lufthansa, Plaza Premium lounges and Escape Lounges, and enroll in Priority Pass Select. See terms.
• A Walmart+ membership can get you free shipping with no order minimum on eligible items shipped by Walmart. Use your Platinum Card® to pay for a monthly Walmart+ membership (subject to auto-renewal) and receive one statement credit for up to $12.95 (plus applicable taxes. Plus Ups not eligible) each month. Free Shipping excludes most Marketplace items, freight & certain location surcharges. Paramount+ Essential plan only, separate registration required.
• Up to $100 annual Saks Fifth Avenue credit, enrollment required
• Global Dining Access by Resy gets you access premium dining experiences. Receive Priority Notify and unlock insider access to some of the world's most sought-after restaurants with Global Dining Access by Resy. Download the Resy iOS app or log into Resy.com and add your Platinum Card® to your Resy profile to take advantage of your special benefits and discover restaurants near you.
• No foreign transaction fees
• Enrollment is required for select benefits
• The Platinum Card^® from American Express – learn how to apply
• Read my full review of the Amex Platinum card for military, terms apply

Since we were only domestic first class, we did not get Admirals Club lounge access at DFW. I asked if they allowed military servicemembers and was able to get in that way.

The club's food options were not very extensive. They were offering avocado toast at a special station, so I munched on that.

AA 5 Business Class Seat

Boarding was smooth. Plenty of overhead space on today's AA5, a 777-200 with American's Flagship Business Class seats.

Like United from HNL there was no amenities kit provided. The bathrooms were spacious and clean but lacked amenities other than soap and water.

First drink service was 20 minutes after takeoff as soon as we reached cruise. Service was friendly and quick throughout the flight.

The entertainment system had good selection and a large, bright screen.

The seat was very comfortable and had lots of great storage compartments. In fact is say this was probably my favorite business class seat after Singapore's and Emirates.

Food on American Airlines First Class to Hawaii

First course of dinner was ginger shrimp, hot bread selection, and a salad with green goddess or balsamic vinaigrette. Bread was served with Kerrygold butter, so bonus points for that.

The seat's sliding tray is a real nice feature and makes getting out of your seat during dinner service easy.

Dinner was actually really nice. I had the pumpkin tortellini option with kalua pork ragu and mushy peas. The other food options on AA5 were:

• Friend chicken with mashed potatoes, haricot vert and sweet chili Thai sauce
• Sweet and Sour eggplant with brown rice, broccolini, carrots, and sweet and sour sauce (vegetarian option)

The mushy peas on the side weren't that exciting, but the pumpkin tortellini and kalua pork ragu was delicious.

For dessert we had a choice between a cheese plate or vanilla ice cream sundae with mango, strawberries, Macadamian nuts, whipped cream. I went with the sundae and a chamomile tea.

Overall I really enjoyed my flight from DFW to Honolulu on American Airlines. I would like to fly American Airlines first class to or from Honolulu again.

I do not recommend Delta's or United's first class product from HNL. They have a lot of work to do to catch up with American. I would even fly American with a connection in DFW to avoid flying Delta or United again.

This flight would have cost $1600 each but instead I traded in 87,500 American Airlines miles for it. Thanks to my annual fee protected Amex Platinum and Chase Sapphire Reserve, it's easy to accumulate points and miles to cash in for really nice flights like this one.

My next big redemption is a $27,000 flight to Tokyo on ANA. Look for that review next year!