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After PCSing to Hawaii I suddenly became very interested in Hawaiian Airlines!
HA offers great inter-island flights, flights to the mainland, and even a direct flight to Boston (BOS) or New York (JFK) for those who want to get to the Northeast quickly and without switching planes.
In this post:
Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard
The Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard (learn how to apply here) is one of the official personal card (there's a business version as well) that earns you 60,000 Hawaiian miles after meeting minimum spend requirements.
- Note the annual fee is NOT waived for military, unlike AMEX or Chase
- Learn how to apply for this card here.
- 60,000 bonus miles after $2,000 in purchases within the first 3 months.
- One-Time 50% Off Companion Discount for roundtrip coach travel between Hawaii and North America on Hawaiian Airlines
- $100 annual companion ticket discount each year for roundtrip travel between Hawaii and North America on Hawaiian Airlines.
- Free first checked bag on Hawaiian Airlines flights book with card (primary cardholder only)
- 3X miles for every $1 spent on purchases made directly from Hawaiian Airlines
- 2X miles per $1 spent on gas, dining, and grocery store purchases
- 1X mile per $1 spent on every other purchase
- No foreign transaction fees
- $99 annual fee, not waived for military
How to Use 60,000 Hawaiian Airlines Bonus Miles
Here's an example of how to use the 60,000 Hawaiian Miles you can earn with the Hawaiian Airlines card. You can find the Hawaiian Airlines award chart here.
HNL-BOS roundtrip for 61,250 Hawaiian miles. This is looking only 2 weeks out from today, for a 2 week trip, in economy cabin. You can get better Saver deals if you look farther out and can plan farther ahead.
Note that if you have a Hawaiian Airlines credit card, you are eligible for the “Discounted Award Amount.” So in the above example instead of paying 70,000 miles, you will only pay 26,250+35,000 miles, or 61,250. I don't have the card yet, which is why it's showing 70k miles.
With the HA Mastercard you can fly roundtrip to BOS from HNL with just meeting the minimum spend ($2000 spend = minimum of 2000 miles) + 60,000 welcome bonus miles = 62,000 miles.
The cash value of this example is $781. $781/61,260 is 1.27 cents per point. Not a great redemption value, but not bad. Better than paying cash!
You can get better value by flying Hawaiian international first class. For instance, HNL – AKL (Honolulu to Auckland, New Zealand) can cost $4000 in first class or 130,000 miles round-trip. $4000/130,000 is 3 cents per point a much better redemption rate.
Learn more about how to use credit cards to fly for free and stay in 5 star hotels for $0 in my FREE, 5 day, Ultimate Military Credit Cards Course.
Hawaiian and AMEX Membership Rewards
Hawaiian Airlines is also a transfer partner of American Express. If you have the American Express Platinum card (no annual fee for military), you can transfer your Membership Reward points to HA and book award tickets.
You might get better value transferring your MR points to say, Singapore Airlines and booking a first class suite. But Singapore does not fly to Hawaii, so it's an apples to oranges comparison.
If you're trying to get from the mainland US to Hawaii, Hawaiian Airlines first class is a great way to go, with lots of direct flights from the West and East coast.
Some of the awesome places you can visit in Hawaii include snorkeling in Hanauma Bay on Oahu and the Byodo-In Temple on the Windward side:
Hawaiian Airlines Lie Flat First/Business Class
Hawaiian Airlines is one of the few US domestic air carriers to offer lie flat seats on their domestic first class product. I struggle sleeping on airplanes and having lie flat seats REALLY helps me get some good sleep, especially on over night flights.
Check out those classy looking seats! I have not yet tried Hawaiian's first class product but I'm looking forward to flying with them soon.
Hawaiian Airlines is a great option to get back to the mainland or around the Pacific for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any other military leave you take. Learn how to apply for this card with up to 60,000 welcome bonus miles.