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Eyeing a trip to Hawaii that you can book with frequent flyer miles? American Express' transfer bonus to Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles can help you get there for a little less, but it's ending soon. Through August 31, 2024, you can transfer Amex Membership Rewards points to Hawaiian Airlines and enjoy a 20% bonus.
Here's what you need to know about taking advantage of this offer, plus some insight on the cheapest ways to get to Hawaii using Amex points.
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Amex Transfer Bonus to Hawaiian Airlines
On a normal day, you can transfer Amex points to Hawaiian Airlines at a 1:1 clip in increments of 1,000 points. Through August 31, 2024, for every 1,000 points you transfer to Hawaiian, 1,200 will show up in your HawaiianMiles account.
This transfer bonus aligns with what we've seen a handful of times over the past few years, so it's hardly something to get excited about. Nor is HawaiianMiles the best currency for free flights to Hawaii — even with an active transfer bonus.
That said, if you're sitting on a pile of HawaiianMiles, this transfer bonus might be the perfect opportunity to top off your account. In that case, the sun and sand are a few clicks away.
Related: All Current Credit Card Transfer Bonuses
Transfer bonus key terms
- Get a 20% bonus on American Express membership rewards transfers to Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles.
- The transfer ratio with this promo is 1,000 Amex points to 1,200 Hawaiian miles.
- Transfers must be made in 1,000-point increments.
- The minimum transfer is 1,000 Amex points.
- Bonus expires at 11:59 p.m. MT on August 31, 2024.
- Amex will charge a federal excise tax on transfers — 0.06 cents per point, up to a maximum fee of $99.
Most transfers are immediate, but you should allow up to 72 hours for processing.
Related: How To Transfer Amex Points: A Step-by-Step Guide
Amex to Hawaiian Transfer Bonus History
About once or twice almost every year, American Express offers a transfer bonus to HawaiianMiles. The best offer we've seen offered a 25% bonus.
- This offer: 20% transfer bonus through August 31, 2024.
- 20% transfer bonus through January 31, 2023.
- 20% transfer bonus through September 30, 2022.
- 20% transfer bonus through March 31, 2022.
- 25% transfer bonus through September 30, 2021.
- 25% transfer bonus through June 30, 2021.
- 25% transfer bonus through October 7, 2019.
- 25% transfer bonus through June 26, 2018.
- 25% transfer bonus through June 21, 2017.
- 25% transfer bonus through June 21, 2016.
So, this 20% transfer bonus is slightly worse than what we've seen Amex offer in the past — but it's been the norm for a few years running.
Credit Card Offers for More Hawaiian Miles
If you're looking for more Hawaiian Airlines miles, you can earn a bundle with credit card welcome offers. Here are two examples of bonus points you can earn when applying for co-branded cards:
- Hawaiian Airlines® World Elite Mastercard®: Earn 60,000 bonus miles after spending $2,000 on purchases in the first 90 days
- Hawaiian Airlines® World Elite Business Mastercard®: Earn 50,000 bonus HawaiianMiles after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 90 days.
- 3X miles on eligible Hawaiian Airlines purchases
- 2x miles on gas, dining and grocery store purchases
- 1X miles on all other purchases
Alternatively, you can earn even more by leveraging top credit card offers from programs offering transfers to HawaiianMiles.
- Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
- 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 Hotel Credit: Get up to $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®. The Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay.
- $240 Digital Entertainment Credit: Get up to $20 back in statement credits each month on eligible purchases made with your Platinum Card® on one or more of the following: Disney+, a Disney+ bundle, ESPN+, Hulu, The New York Times, Peacock, and The Wall Street Journal. Enrollment required.
- With American Express Global Lounge Collection® eligible Card Members can enjoy access to over 1,400 airport lounges globally, including The Centurion® Lounge, Unlimited Delta Sky Club® Access when flying an eligible Delta flight, Escape Lounges, Lufthansa Lounges when flying Lufthansa Group, Plaza Premium, Priority Pass™ Select Lounges, & Additional Global Lounge Collection Partner Lounges subject to visit limitations. Lounges may have their own rules, like additional access rules and guest fees, and for Priority Pass Select, you need to enroll and there are unlimited airport lounge visits for Card Members. With Delta Sky Club Access, Card Members will receive 10 Visits to the Delta Sky Club to be used from February 1 until January 31 of the next calendar year and can unlock Unlimited Delta Sky Club Access by spending $75,000 in eligible purchases on their Card in a calendar year. To find a lounge, visit the membership section in the American Express® App or visit http://www.americanexpress.com/findalounge#/loungefinder.
- 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.
- $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.
- $200 Uber Cash: Platinum Card® Members can ride or dine in style with $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.
- $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. Use the dedicated CLEAR Lane to confirm your identity without taking out your passport or ID - this can mean shorter lines, less waiting. 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®.
- Receive either a $120 statement credit every 4 years for a Global Entry application fee or a statement credit up to $85 every 4.5 years for a TSA PreCheck® (through a TSA official enrollment provider) application fee, when charged to your Platinum Card®. Card Members approved for Global Entry will also receive access to TSA PreCheck at no additional cost.
- Shop Saks with Platinum: Get up to $100 in statement credits annually for purchases in Saks Fifth Avenue stores or at saks.com on your Platinum Card®. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- Use Global Dining Access by Resy to 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.
- $695 annual fee.¤
- Apply with confidence. Know if you're approved for a Card with no impact to your credit score. If you're approved and you choose to accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.
- Terms Apply.
- Rates & Fees
- Earn 5X points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel (up to $500,000 in purchases per calendar year).
- Earn 5X points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel.
Related: Do Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles Expire?
Is It Worth Transferring Amex Points to Hawaiian Airlines?
Of the 18 Amex airline transfer partners, Hawaiian Airlines is one of the least talked about. That's largely a function of comparatively mediocre award charts — both for flights it operates and those flown by a handful of partner airlines. And, since it's a U.S.-based frequent flyer program, you'll pay an excise tax on your transfer.
However, in the right circumstances, the HawaiianMiles program can be useful. For instance, you can book one-way awards to Hawaii from the West Coast for as little as 20K miles in economy or 40K miles in first class.
Factor in the 20% Amex transfer bonus; these awards are accessible from 17K and 34K Amex points, respectively.
You can also use HawaiianMiles to fly from Hawaii to Asia and the South Pacific. From just 65K HawaiianMiles (55K Amex points), you can fly directly from Honolulu to Japan, Korea, Australia, or New Zealand in a lie-flat seat.
Hawaiian Airlines also partners with a few airlines, such as JetBlue, Japan Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, and Korean Air. Hawaiian's partner charts aren't anything special; you can book flights on these airlines through other Amex partners, or through outright transfers for less.
Better ways to get to Hawaii using frequent flyer miles
It's not a secret that Hawaii is a vacation hotspot. Several airlines fly to the islands, meaning there are several mileage currencies you can book with. Even with the 20% transfer bonus applied, Hawaiian Airlines awards are typically more expensive than what you'll find with competing programs.
For instance, instead of transferring 34K Amex points to Hawaiian Airlines to book a round-trip economy award to Hawaii, you could transfer 22K to Delta and book a similar ticket with SkyMiles. That's big savings.
Qatar Airways Privilege Club charges similarly for round-trip awards on American Airlines and Alaska Airlines. For just 26K Qatar Avios, you can access Hawaii from the West Coast. The cost gets even lower when you consider leveraging ongoing Amex transfer bonuses to Avios programs and moving your Avios to Qatar Airways at no cost.
In other words, there are several ways to get to Hawaii — often for less than what Hawaiian Airlines charges.
Related: The Complete Guide to American Express Transfer Partners
Our Take
Amex's 20% offer to Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles is likely not that attractive — at least compared to other active Amex transfer bonuses. But if you're after cheap flights to Hawaii, other Amex transfer partners provide better value for your points, even when factoring in the bonus.
However, if you've got a stash of HawaiianMiles and are close to a redemption, taking advantage of this offer is a great way to top off your account. Just remember, this transfer bonus ends on August 31, 2024.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: The Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees)
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