AwardWallet receives compensation from advertising partners when you visit our site, click on a link, when you are approved for a credit card, or when an account is opened. Terms Apply to the offers listed on this page. Enrollment is required for select Amex benefits. The opinions expressed here are our own and have not been reviewed, provided, or approved by any bank advertiser. Here's our complete list of Advertisers. Offers for Bank of America cards mentioned in this post have been updated as of 06/11/2025
Offers for the Atmos™ Rewards Ascent Visa Signature® card, Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® and Hawaiian Airlines® World Elite Mastercard® are not available through this site. Some offers may have expired. Please see our card marketplace for available offers
Hawaii is a one-of-a-kind destination offering the warmth and exotic experience of a trip to the South Pacific without the hassle and expense of international travel. At the same time, 2,000 miles separate the Hawaiian Islands from the U.S. mainland, so flights to Hawaii can be expensive.
Thankfully, there are multiple ways to leverage points and miles to help offset the cost. And, if you're looking for the best deal on flights to Hawaii, we've got it below.
Page Contents
- Southwest: Fly to Hawaii for 9,000 Rapid Rewards Points
- Alaska Airlines: Fly to Hawaii for 10,000 Atmos Rewards Points
- Air Canada: Fly to Hawaii for 12,500 Aeroplan Points
- Qatar Airways: Fly to Hawaii for 16,000 Avios
- Air France: Fly to Hawaii for 17,500 Flying Blue Miles
- Singapore Airlines: Fly to Hawaii for 20,500 KrisFlyer Miles
- Turkish Airlines: Fly to Hawaii for 25,000 Miles & Smiles Miles
- Beware When Using American, Delta, or United Miles for Hawaii Flights
- Final Thoughts
Southwest: Fly to Hawaii for 9,000 Rapid Rewards Points
Southwest offers one of the best ways to get to Hawaii if you're on a budget. And thanks to its policy of no blackout dates, there's much more award availability than ever before. Keep in mind that Southwest Rapid Rewards is a revenue-based rewards program, which means the cost of award flights is tied directly to the cash price. When ticket prices are high, the cost of award tickets also rises.
During peak season, you'll likely get better value from one of the programs on this list with a fixed award chart. However, during the off-season, the cost of Southwest tickets falls — both for cash and points fares. For example, a shoulder-season flight from Oakland (OAK) to Kauai (LIH) might cost just 9,000 points one-way. Although that might not have been impressive a few years ago, it's a steal today.
Your value explodes if you hold a Southwest Companion Pass, which gives you two-for-one flights on Southwest for up to two years. That means you could theoretically book two round-trip flights to Hawaii for just 18,000 points.
However, Southwest won't always be the best use of points and miles for flying to Hawaii — the flight above during peak travel times jumps to 44,000 points. It's still a great benchmark program to ensure you get good value from your rewards.
If you're short on Southwest points, you could buy them (sometimes at a discount) or transfer them from Chase or Bilt.
Or, if you're a Southwest loyalist, you can consider applying for a co-branded Southwest credit card like the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card. This gives you benefits beyond points, like a complimentary preferred seat at booking, group 5 boarding, a free checked bag, and 7,500 points every year on your cardmember anniversary. That's almost enough to cover a one-way flight for your beach getaway.
- Earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $2,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- 7,500 anniversary points each year.
- Earn 4 points per $1 spent on Southwest Airlines® purchases, including flights, inflight, and Southwest gift cards.
- Earn 2 points for every $1 you spend at gas stations and restaurants
- First checked bag free for Cardmembers and up to 8 additional passengers in the same reservation.
- Select a Preferred seat at booking, at no additional charge, when available.
- Cardmembers and up to 8 passengers in the same reservation will board with Group 5 giving them earlier access to overhead bins.
- No foreign transaction fees.
- Member FDIC
- 4X points per $1 spent on all Southwest® purchases
- 2X points per $1 spent at gas stations and restaurants
- 1X point per $1 spent on all other purchases
Alaska Airlines: Fly to Hawaii for 10,000 Atmos Rewards Points
Thanks to the merger between Alaska and Hawaiian, Alaska Atmos Rewards are one of our favorite ways to get to Hawaii. Award rates are variable but start at only 10,000 miles one-way in economy or 35,000 miles in first class. However, most flights we see fall around the 12,500-point threshold for economy. That said, you can also book intra-Hawaii flights for just 4,500 points.
You can even score great deals on flights operated by Oneworld partner airlines, like this flight operated by American Airlines for just 35,000 points in first class.
The trouble is that Alaska Atmos Rewards points aren't as easy to earn as some currencies. Alaska only has a handful of transfer partners, including Bilt Rewards and some hotel loyalty programs.
That means your best bet for earning Alaska points is through the Atmos™ Rewards Ascent Visa Signature® card. If you don't want to use points to get to Hawaii, you can spend at least $6,000 on your card in a cardmember year to earn a $99 companion fare. This can be a great way to save on revenue bookings when you're low on points.
- Earn unlimited 3 miles for every $1 spent on eligible Alaska Airlines purchases
- Earn unlimited 2 miles for every $1 spent on eligible gas, EV charging stations, cable, streaming services and local transit (including ride share) purchases
- Earn unlimited 1 mile for every $1 spent on all other eligible purchases
Related: Best Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards Award Chart Sweet Spots
Air Canada: Fly to Hawaii for 12,500 Aeroplan Points
The Air Canada Aeroplan program uses a distance-based award chart. Even the shortest flight to Hawaii falls into the third distance band, which means flights will start at 12,500 points. However, even with an award chart, Air Canada uses dynamic pricing for its own flights and flights operated by partner airlines, including United Airlines. It might take some searching before you find a 12,500-point flight to Hawaii.
That said, you might get lucky and stumble upon a flight that's even cheaper than the “Starting at” value listed in the award chart, like this nonstop flight from Vancouver to Honolulu for 10,600 Aeroplan points each way.
You also have multiple ways to earn Aeroplan points, making these awards easier to access than flights booked through Southwest or Alaska Airlines.
Just like the other programs, Air Canada offers a co-branded credit card if you want to book your award using a welcome offer or points earned from day-to-day purchases. The Aeroplan® Credit Card is the only option for U.S. residents, but your options expand if you're based in Canada.
- Earn 75,000 bonus points
- Limited Time Offer: Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.
- $95 Annual Fee
- Redeem points for both international and domestic flights with the Aeroplan® Credit Card.
- Fly to another continent and travel the world with the Aeroplan® Credit Card.
- Earn 3X points for each dollar spent at grocery stores, on dining at restaurants, and Air Canada directly. Earn 1X point for each dollar spent on all other purchases.
- 500 bonus points for every $2,000 you spend in a calendar month - up to 1,500 points per month.
- Member FDIC
- 3x points directly with Air Canada
- 3x points on dining, including takeout and eligible delivery services
- 3x points at grocery stores
- 1x point on all other purchases
Qatar Airways: Fly to Hawaii for 16,000 Avios
Of all the airlines that use Avios, Qatar Airways offers the best award rates to the Hawaiian Islands. On flights covering 2,001 to 3,000 miles in total distance, you'll redeem just 16,000 Qatar Airways Avios for an economy seat or 43,000 Avios for business/domestic first class. This distance band covers most American Airlines- or Alaska-operated flights from the West Coast to Hawaii.
These rates are certainly higher than some of the other programs on this list. However, Qatar Airways Avios are very easy to earn, making it one of the most accessible programs for flights to Hawaii. You can transfer your American Express Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou Points, Capital One miles, and Bilt Rewards to Qatar at a 1:1 ratio.
If you don't earn any of these currencies, don't worry. You can also transfer your Chase Ultimate Rewards points to The British Airways Club at a 1:1 ratio. British Airways also uses Avios as its points currency, which means you can easily transfer Avios between accounts to book your award ticket.
That means that holding almost any credit card that earns a transferable point currency would help you book your flight to Hawaii. One of our favorites is the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, which offers a ton of valuable benefits in exchange for a reasonable annual fee.
- 10X miles per $1 on hotels and rental cars booked via Capital One Travel
- 5X miles per $1 on purchases through Capital One Entertainment
- 5X miles per $1 on flights when booking via Capital One Travel
- 5X miles per $1 on vacation rentals booked via Capital One Travel
- 2X miles per $1 on all other eligible purchases
Air France: Fly to Hawaii for 17,500 Flying Blue Miles
If you haven't noticed, Star Alliance and Oneworld have dominated this list. Luckily, if you're loyal to SkyTeam airlines like Delta, you aren't completely out of luck. Air France/KLM Flying Blue is one of our favorite ways to book Delta Air Lines flights, especially those to Hawaii.
You can score tickets from the West Coast to Hawaii for as low as 17,500 Flying Blue miles each way. Is it the lowest price on this list? No, but it's one of the only ways to book a Delta-operated flight to Hawaii. If you live near a Delta hub like Seattle, Flying Blue can be a great option.
If you don't want to be subject to dynamic award pricing, you might prefer to book through Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, a fellow SkyTeam member that uses a fixed award chart. You'll pay 22,000 Virgin Atlantic points for Delta flights from the West Coast to Hawaii. Although higher than select Air France redemptions, it's predictable — as long as there's availability, you'll know exactly how much you'll pay.
You can transfer rewards from several major point currencies to Flying Blue, making redemptions incredibly easy to book.
If you want to use Flying Blue to book a flight to Hawaii, consider applying for one of our favorite credit cards — the American Express Platinum Card®. Not only does it offer transfers to Air France, but you'll also be able to use the $200 annual airline incidentals credit for things like seat selection or overweight baggage, as long as you select Delta as your preferred airline. Plus, it's one of our top picks for credit cards to use to pay award taxes and fees.
(Terms apply)
- You may be eligible for as high as 175,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $12,000 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.
- Get more for your travels with 5X Membership Rewards® points on all flights and prepaid hotel bookings through American Express Travel®, including Fine Hotels + Resorts® and The Hotel Collection bookings. You earn 5X points on flights purchased directly from airlines or through American Express Travel® on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year.
- With over 1,550 airport lounges - more than any other credit card company on the market* - enjoy the benefits of the Global Lounge Collection®, over $850 of annual value, with access to Centurion Lounges, 10 complimentary Delta Sky Club® visits when flying on an eligible Delta flight (subject to visit limitations), Priority Pass Select membership (enrollment required), and other select partner lounges.* As of 07/2025.
- $200 Uber Cash + $120 Uber One Credit: With the Platinum Card® you can receive $15 in Uber Cash each month plus a bonus $20 in December when you add your Platinum Card® to your Uber account to use on rides and orders in the U.S when you select an Amex Card for your transaction. Plus, when you use the Platinum Card® to pay for an auto-renewing Uber One membership, you can get up to $120 in statement credits each calendar year. Terms apply.
- $300 Digital Entertainment Credit: Experience the latest shows, news and recipes. Get up to $25 in statement credits each month when you use your Platinum Card® for eligible purchases on Disney+, a Disney+ bundle, ESPN streaming services, Hulu, The New York Times, Paramount+, Peacock, The Wall Street Journal, YouTube Premium, and YouTube TV when you purchase directly from one or more of the providers. Enrollment required.
- $600 Hotel Credit: Get up to $300 in statement credits semi-annually on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts® or The Hotel Collection* bookings through American Express Travel® using the Platinum Card®. *The Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay.
- $400 Resy Credit + Platinum Nights by Resy: Get up to $100 in statement credits each quarter when you use the Platinum Card® to make eligible purchases with Resy, including dining purchases at U.S. Resy restaurants. Enrollment required. Plus, with Platinum Nights by Resy, you can get special access to reservations on select nights at participating in demand Resy restaurants with the Platinum Card®. Simply add your eligible Card to your Resy profile to book and discover Platinum Nights reservations near you.
- $209 CLEAR+ Credit: CLEAR+ helps get you to your gate faster by using your face to verify you are you at 55+ airports nationwide. You can cover the cost of a CLEAR+ Membership* with up to $209 in statement credits per calendar year after you pay for CLEAR+ with your Platinum Card®. *Excluding any applicable taxes and fees. Subject to auto-renewal.
- $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 the 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.
- Start your vacation sooner, and keep it going longer. When you book Fine Hotels + Resorts® through American Express Travel®, enjoy noon check-in, when available, and guaranteed 4PM check-out.
- $300 lululemon Credit: Enjoy up to $75 in statement credits each quarter when you use the Platinum Card® for eligible purchases at U.S. lululemon retail stores (excluding outlets) and lululemon.com. That's up to $300 in statement credits each calendar year. Enrollment required.
- $155 Walmart+ Credit: Receive a statement credit* for one monthly Walmart+ membership (subject to auto-renewal) after you pay for Walmart+ each month with the Platinum Card®. *Up to $12.95 plus applicable local sales tax. Plus Ups not eligible.
- Whenever you need us, we're here. Our Member Services team will ensure you are taken care of. From lost Card replacement to statement questions, we are available to help 24/7.
- $895 annual fee.
- Terms Apply.
- 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®.
- Earn 5X points on Fine Hotels + Resorts® and The Hotel Collection bookings.
Singapore Airlines: Fly to Hawaii for 20,500 KrisFlyer Miles
Singapore Airlines uses a zone-based award chart for flights operated by Star Alliance airlines like United. For flights from North America to Hawaii, you'll pay 41,000 KrisFlyer miles round-trip, or 20,500 miles each way. While that might not seem like a great deal at first glance, Singapore lumps all of North America into one zone. That means that a flight from the West Coast to Hawaii will cost the same as a flight from the East Coast to Hawaii.
If you're on the West Coast, you might prefer to book through one of the other partners that offer more affordable redemptions. However, for East Coast travelers, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer is one of the best ways to book your Hawaiian getaway. For instance, you can fly from New York (EWR) to Honolulu (HNL) via Los Angeles (LAX) or Houston (IAH) for just 20,500 miles each way.
A big part of the value of Singapore KrisFlyer is that you can transfer points from numerous programs, making it an ideal solution if points are spread across multiple rewards programs:
Any card earning these types of points can be used to earn Singapore KrisFlyer miles. If you want an affordable option, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is one of the best credit cards with an annual fee under $100. You'll receive a suite of top-tier travel protections, as long as you use your card to pay for your Hawaii trip. Plus, your Ultimate Rewards points will transfer to Singapore Airlines at a 1:1 ratio, unlocking this great redemption opportunity.
- Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases
- Earn up to $50 in statement credits each account anniversary year for hotel stays through Chase Travel℠
- 10% anniversary points boost - each account anniversary you'll earn bonus points equal to 10% of your total purchases made the previous year.
- Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
- Complimentary DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees & lower service fees for a min. of one year when you activate by 12/31/27. Plus, a $10 promo each month on non-restaurant orders.
- Member FDIC
- 5X points on Lyft rides through September 2027
- 5X points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3X points on dining at restaurants worldwide
- 3X points on eligible streaming services
- 3X points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs)
- 2X points on all other travel
- 1X point per dollar spent on all other purchases
Turkish Airlines: Fly to Hawaii for 25,000 Miles & Smiles Miles
Turkish Airlines used to provide the absolute best way to get to Hawaii on points and miles. You used to be able to book a United Airlines-operated flight to Hawaii using Turkish Airlines miles for just 10,000 miles each way in economy. However, this loophole was eliminated when Turkish Airlines added a Hawaii-specific award chart in December 2025 and hiked prices by 150% overnight. Now, the same flight costs 25,000 miles each way in economy for a flight from anywhere in the U.S. mainland to Hawaii.
Even though this sweet spot was decimated, Turkish Airlines remains on this list solely because the business class flight is still somewhat reasonable: 40,000 miles each way or 80,000 miles round-trip. It's not fantastic (and almost double what it used to be), but it's still lower than several other options on this list. In other words, use Turkish Airlines miles for flights to Hawaii in business, but look elsewhere for flights in economy.
Don't have a stash of Turkish miles to throw at flights? You have several options for replenishing your account:
Thus, you can transfer points earned on cards like the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (Rates & Fees) to book your flight. The current 75,000-point welcome offer on the Citi Strata Elite (see our Citi Strata Elite review) will fly you round-trip from anywhere in the continental U.S. to Hawaii for nearly free. It's not as great as it once was, but it's still an option.
- Earn 75,000 bonus Points after spending $6,000 in the first 3 months of account opening.
- Earn 12 Points per $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked on cititravel.com and 6 Points per $1 spent on Air Travel booked on cititravel.com
- Earn 6 Points per $1 spent at Restaurants including Restaurant Delivery Services on CitiNights℠ purchases, every Friday and Saturday from 6 PM to 6 AM ET. Earn 3 Points per $1 spent any other time
- Earn 1.5 Points per $1 spent on All Other Purchases
- Up to $300 Annual Hotel Benefit: Each calendar year, enjoy up to $300 off a hotel stay of two nights or more when booked through cititravel.com.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
- 12X – Earn 12 Points per $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked on cititravel.com.
- 6X – Earn 6 Points per $1 spent on Air Travel booked on cititravel.com.
- 6X – Earn 6 Points per $1 spent at Restaurants including Restaurant Delivery Services on CitiNights℠ purchases, every Friday and Saturday from 6 PM to 6 AM ET. Earn 3 Points per $1 spent any other time.
- 1.5X – Earn 1.5 Points per $1 spent on All Other Purchases.
How to book Turkish Miles & Smiles award flights to Hawaii
A couple of things to bear in mind when booking this award. First, you may run into problems when booking online for more than one passenger. However, you can book United partner awards with Turkish Airlines over the phone or via email.
For those who don't already have Turkish miles, the email option can be the best option. You need to nail down the exact flight details you want to book — including flight numbers. We recommend searching for saver-level award space on United.com or Seats.Aero to find it. Then, email the Ticket Sales Office with your Miles & Smiles account information and all the flight details, and wait to hear back.
When an agent confirms availability, you need to transfer your points or miles to Turkish to get the booking underway. Check out our transfer times tool to see how long it usually takes for the points to land in your account. Finally, you'll need to fill out and return all the paperwork before Turkish moves forward with ticketing your award.
Turkish Airlines' website has improved, sometimes showing availability for these flights. However, it is not consistent. If booking online doesn't work, revert to the phone and email methods outlined above.
Full Guide: How To Search and Book Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles Awards
Beware When Using American, Delta, or United Miles for Hawaii Flights
If you're loyal to a legacy carrier like American, Delta, or United, you might have a co-branded airline credit card and want to use your miles for your flight to Hawaii. You certainly can, but none of these carriers publish an award chart. That means the cost of an award redemption will vary drastically depending on where you're coming from and your travel dates. While there will be some routes and dates where you can get a good deal — particularly from the West Coast — it's more challenging to find outsized value by booking directly with American, Delta, or United.
However, there are occasional opportunities to book fantastic deals, such as United flash sales or unannounced Delta flash sales. Even without a flash sale, you can often score flights at decent rates with these airlines; it just takes a bit more searching.
For example, you can fly from Seattle (SEA) to Maui (OGG) via Los Angeles (LAX) for just 12,700 SkyMiles, or less if you have a Delta credit card.
Or, fly nonstop from Los Angeles (LAX) to Honolulu (HNL) for 17,600 United MileagePlus miles.
American is generally the most expensive, with a nonstop between Los Angeles (LAX) and Kailua-Kona (KOA) running around 22,000 AAdvantage miles.
If you don't earn these miles directly, you can transfer rewards from numerous partners:
If you're very loyal to one of these airlines, it's worth considering applying for a premium co-branded credit card. These generally offer lounge access, lucrative earnings on airline purchases, and a path to airline elite status. You might also receive perks like an annual companion certificate, a free checked bag and priority boarding when flying, or the opportunity to earn statement credits with select partners. Before your dream trip to Hawaii, weigh whether these perks are worth the annual fee.
$650Rates & Fees
(Terms apply)
- 3X miles per dollar spent on purchases made directly with Delta
- 1X miles on every eligible dollar spent on purchases.
$695Rates & Fees
- Earn 5 miles per $1 spent on United® purchases*
- Earn 2 miles per $1 spent on all other travel
- Earn 2 miles per $1 spent on dining
- Earn 1 mile per $1 spent on all other purchases
$595
- Earn 10X miles for every $1 spent on eligible hotels booked at aa.com/hotels and eligible rental cars booked through aa.com/cars
- Earn 4X miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases (increased to 5X miles through the end of the calendar year after you pass $150,000 in purchases annually)
- Earn 1X mile for every $1 spent on all other purchases
Final Thoughts
Flights to Hawaii don't need to be exorbitantly expensive. By leveraging these airline loyalty programs, you can book your flight for as low as 9,000 miles, plus taxes and fees. As always, having credit cards in your wallet that earn transferable rewards will open the doors for high-value redemptions.
If you want predictability when booking your flight to Hawaii, it's hard to beat Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines thanks to their fixed-price award charts. However, if you don't mind searching for the best prices, Alaska Airlines and Southwest certainly offer the lowest rates. When planning your next trip, award search tools like Roame.Travel, Point.me, or PointsYeah can help you identify the most affordable rates around.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card (Rates & Fees), Aeroplan® Credit Card (Rates & Fees), American Express Platinum Card® (Rates & Fees), Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (Rates & Fees), Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (Rates & Fees), Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card (Rates & Fees), and United Club℠ Card (Rates & Fees)
I searched last year from Chicago and found a couple options to HON. As I search now, the site always shows no availability on any dates. I attempted to e-mail a booking agent and they said there was no availability either. On the United site, I see seats varying in miles from 22.5k to 40k, but nothing to indicate a “saver” award. I have 100k+ Citi points I would love to use for this if anyone can offer another suggestion. Only other thing I can think is that my Turkish air currently has 0 miles because I don’t want to transfer and have them stuck there. Any help would be appreciated.
Ugh. Yeah, Turkish Airlines has really reduced the number of awards that can show online. Frustratingly, even if there’s saver award availability available to partners, Turkish Airlines may not show it. I went through the long process of emailing a ticketing office for a booking to book an award for my dad’s honeymoon – but it’s a process that certainly requires a few steps and lots of patience. I’d recommend emailing the Atlanta sales office (sales.atl@thy.com) as they were easier than Chicago.
Chuck, do you have any tips on searching and finding availability that can be booked via email? I’ve been trying to match up X class economy fares from united.com (not logged in) as well as Air France award search. The space available doesnt match between the two. Emails to turkish havent been responded to.
Seems like a unicorn at this point, but I do see occasional success stories such as yours.
Clint – the Turkish website has improved a lot lately, showing more availability online for United flights. I had success making a booking in the app last year when the website was giving me problems, so there’s also that option for Turkish. Not sure if I understood the 2nd part of your comment correctly. Flying Blue / United space won’t match up because they don’t have the same partners. You can use Turkish to book United and can use Flying Blue to book flights on Delta. Their availability won’t match. If I misunderstood, let us know if you still have questions.
Starting from your information here I now have booked a couple of non-stop round trip tickets between DENver and Hawaii for the total price of 30k Turkish Airlines miles. We leave in 45 days. My question is about how much baggage will be included. When I got a United MileagePlus Quest Visa card I was told each passenger would get a free checked bag if flying on a United plane. United says since the tickets were purchased with Turkish miles it depends upon Turkish Airlines rules. I’ve been trying to get an answer from Turkish Airlines, but not confident I’m reaching the right people. They say to expect no baggage is included.
Do you know what rules apply here?
Will we have to pay for carry-ons and checked bags?
Chuck – there’s a workaround for this that I have done several times. Get the confirmation number for your flight, log into your United account, and then go to “my trips”. There’s an option like ‘find a trip that isn’t listed’ or similar name. Add that trip to your United account. Now it will be associated with the fact you have a United credit card linked to your account! You can even then go to this page for the baggage calculator and use the “my flights” option. https://www.united.com/en/US/baggage-calculator/my-flights
Amazing Hawaii!
Being able to travel to this paradise using points, miles and advantages to book the trip is a great deal.
Each incentive program has to be well evaluated to see what best fits your situation. Having this range of options is great so rate, choose and enjoy your trip.
Aloha!!!!!
Seems good. I wish miles and rewards would just simplify across the board. No more doing this here and doing that there. its just become a game.
Great news! It’s another pro tip to to consider Hawaii as our next destination for trip holidays. Turkish airlines it’s a fruitful option for only 15k miles.
Much of the success of Method 1 will depend on how responsive (or not) and caring is T Airlines customer service by email.
Any recent data points? Thanks
Miles and Smiles offer the best award to Hawaii even though as indicated in the article the redemption process is not straightforward, it remember me the difficulty in redemption with the now deceased Jet Airways.
So glad a I read this as I am getting ready to plan a Hawaiian getaway soon. I see lots of great opportunities with the partners mentioned. Thanks!
If you’re on the West Coast and have a Southwest companion pass, getting to 2 RT tickets to Hawaii for 12k is an incredible deal…..thanks Southwest!
Nice combination of different options for reward flights to Hawaii, something for every points transfer from a credit card!
Turkish Miles and Smiles is the way to go!
Lots of way to go to Hawaii with points. I am always wanting to earn status so I’m more likely to use flexible points directly rather than airline points which won’t help me toward status. It uses more points but it works best for my overall goals. I benefit a lot from having status with the airline throughout the year.
Hawaii, I´m coming to you
Thanks for the article! Venture holder for years. I opened a Miles&Smiles account and keep trying to book US Star Alliance tickets. Although int’l tickets showed up, any domestic US searches show “Flight not found on the selected date and route…”. I first tried from CLE (home airport) to different cities, then more common routes like NYC-LAX/ORD/IAH/IAD, etc. over different dates, but again, no availability on anything. Called the airline and well-intended but ill-informed agent was clueless. I’m using the Star Alliance partner search, so that’s not the issue. Am I missing something? Thanks!
I finally went through the process myself. And yeah, it’s not easy.
Best case: award availability appears on the website and you can book it online. But, as you’re seeing, availability often doesn’t show up. So, I also tried calling and I was told that there’s no availability on a route where I’ve confirmed X award space (through an Aeroplan award search). So, I tried emailing the ORD ticket office and was also told that there was no availability. But, the ATL ticket office was able to find the availability and hold the award. To ticket, I needed to provide photos of the IDs for the passengers and the credit card – as well as filling out a credit card authorization form.
In the end, I was able to book 2 pax on a flight to Hawaii for 7,500 miles each. But, I’m definitely not going through that process for a mainland award. It seems with Turkish that you need to pick your battles.
I live in Atlanta and I would like to go to Honolulu. I have Chase UR points. I would like to fly Delta. What are my options? I prefer to travel business class if it does not require too many points.
thanks
Delta partners with two Chase UR partners: Air France/KLM and Virgin Atlantic. From Atlanta, you’ll want to try to use Air France/KLM as awards start at just 17.5k each way in economy (43k each way in business class). After a recent devaluation (https://awardwallet.com/news/virgin-atlantic-flying-club/delta-award-changes/), ATL-HNL now costs 27.5k Virgin points in economy.
Also watch out for cheap Delta flights. I’m finding ATL-LAX-HNL roundtrip for $556 roundtrip. That’s just 37k UR points roundtrip through the Chase Travel Portal if you have the CSR! Here’s more how to use that: https://awardwallet.com/credit-cards/chase-ultimate-rewards/chase-travel-portal/
Looking at chart if I’m reading correctly I see domestic to Hawaii is now 30,000 RT. If so, when did this change happen. No 15,000 mile s RT.
I was trying for a Southwest Companion pass. Chase recently did not approve my credit card request because I did not have a chase account. I was surprised I needed a bank or investment account with Chase.
From the midst of the corona virus shut-down, do you have any advice on when would be the opportune timing of booking tickets to Hawaii, and dates of travel? I plan to use Turkish miles to fly on United.
Hey Chuck, it’s still pretty hard to say. I’m not super familiar with the nuances of the TK award change/cancellation process, but it looks like the fees are pretty reasonable. Awards Info on Turkish here. Considering the total cost of a trip to Hawaii, I wouldn’t hesitate to lock in good awards with a $25-50 cancellation cost if I were confident about not spending hours dealing with customer service to refund an award (I just don’t have much experience with the process to say if this will be a headache). I’d recommend you ask around in our AT101 Facebook group. I know there are lots of folks in there that know Turkish well.
Thank you for that good information, Erik. I’m still hoping to visit Hawaii soon, but know it won’t happen while a 14-day quarantine is required. Has there been any word on a date when Hawaii might be opening up for visitors?
Not that I’ve heard.
The chart at the top seems to indicate you can use SQ points to book Alaska R/T biz/first for 45,000. I don’t see that in the SQ Alaska chart. What am I missing?
Looks like we’re out of date. Here’s the current chart. I’ve updated the values in our table. Thanks for the heads up!
When searching for award availability on UA’s website (for using Turkish miles), if I’m looking for the 7500 one way price, do I have to find SAVER level award availability on United?
So I look for the ones that are 22,500 on UA’s website, then book them with Turkish miles?
Or will the ones that are available for 45,000 on UA’s website be 7,500 Turkish miles as well?
You’re looking for economy that prices at 22.5K on UA website. Keep in mind that if you have the United credit card, you may see “Exclusively available to you as a MileagePlus Chase Cardmember” options at 22.5K that are not bookable by Turkish.
Would you check to see if it is still possible to get a round trip to Hawaii from the US for just 15,000 Turkish Airlines miles? The Miles & Smiles chart I just found shows the North American price to be 20,000 miles.
Thank you
Hey Chuck, thanks for the comment. It looks like there is an exception at the bottom of the award chart (link here) that shows “domestic flights” within the same country at 15K in economy class. (Scroll all the way to the bottom of the award chart table to find this section.
Erik, thank you for responding with that good news! I understand what you are saying and appreciate seeing that.
I think US carriers would be easier and more availability for booking within the US. Thanks for the information!
Yeah, with US carriers it makes more sense booking award flights to 49th state (Alaska), than 50th state (Hawaii).
I’m planning a Hawaii trip and have many avios…. thank’s for info, now I know how to spend it 🙂
Very well-done and contains a lot of information I didn’t know! I can’t believe I’ve been wasting so many miles using my regular points instead of this. Thank you so much!
American also has excellent partner availability with Hawaiian ex-HNL for onwards journeys. Booked awards recently in J for HNL–>HND at MileSAAver 52,500 per person + $5.60. Much availability on this route.
I’m planning a Hawaii trip, thanks for the info!
Please keep up the good work with these types of write ups! These are gold.
Hawaii is definitely always worth a visit!
I love Hawaii, too, but it’s been more than a decade since I’ve been able to use frequent flier miles to get there, (Availability via American Airlines has been a constraint.) Thanks for giving me new ways to make that happen!
I bookmarked this post. Great info in an organized writeup!
Thank you so much! This is a great resource. My family of 4 is beginning to plan a Maui vacation with our good friends and their kids. Saving money on travel by using points will leave us with more spending money for our vacation. We want to see and do as much as possible while we’re on the island.
Super informative on this for RT tickets to Hawaii. Wondering, though, from Cali since it’s such a short distance if it’s better to just rack up points on another mileage CC like Capital One ?
I Love Hawaii! I went in April to Kauai but I hope to visit Maui in January! Living in CA makes Hawaii fairly convenient! The Korean Air Pass l
Good to have Southwest in the fray, now.
The Singapore chart is a little bit confusing for Alaska Airlines and the devil is in the details. Transfers aren’t allowed; like Avios, Singapore charges *per flight* for Alaska flights. So, you can save a handful of points when using Singapore points to fly to Hawaii versus Alaska points, but not a ton.
I’m surprised that Iberia didn’t make the list. When bookings on American Airlines are available (they currently are not), Iberia’s distance based award chart can be a very good way to get to Hawaii. They don’t charge extra for connecting flights, just totaling up the distance for your itinerary by adding up the segments. Beware, though, Iberia only allows round-trip bookings on partner awards, and they don’t allow *any* changes at all after you book.
Always love to see posts about Hawaii, favourite place to visit!
What a great article. Thank you for opening my eyes to this.
For many of Turkish’s fare classes, you are only eligible to earn Turkish Miles and Smiles instead of partner airline points, so this could be a good use of crediting flights to Turkish when you have to.
I didn’t know SQ was a decent option to Hawaii.
Thanks-!
I guess am opening a Turkish Miles & Smiles account now.
That looks pretty obvious, doesn’t it! I’m looking for the credit cards that would transfer miles to Turkish Miles & Smiles.
I love the idea of using miles with partners. Has anyone had issues changing the flights though?
I would be worried about availability with changing at the last minute. I guess that I would have to
really think about that before booking through a partner.
Any tip on finding availability on korean air?
The Korean Air award site is the best free source, but they show availability that isn’t bookable with partner miles. It will be accurate for those using Korean miles only. Delta will display Korean flights available to partners as will Air France. Expert flyer is probably the most accurate and shows partner inventory (leaving out Korean only seats), but it comes with a $9.99 / month cost.
Excellent article to find some awards at good prices.
The redemption with Turkish Airlines anyway seems quite complicated.
Amazing amount of research you did, to find many creative solutions! In future I may use Hawaii as a stepping stone to SE Asia.
The TK 15k/25k price is asterisked as direct flights only. Does that mean single leg (non stop) flights from UA hubs or would 1&2 stop itineraries qualify as well? And would it be considered Biz (25k) or First (40k) since United considers domestic First class.
Domestic first should code as business. We don’t have a lot of intel on how the routing rules are working. Please let us know what you find out.
Direct and non-stop are not synonymous so if it says direct, layovers should be allowed.
It looks like there are many good options for Hawaii. But doesn’t Flying Blue have a good offer too? For me, I have no desire to go there. Not my thing.
I get the whole “not my thing” take. (As with everything in life, I hope you tried it first. 🙂 ) I did and actually found island life too small for me in some way, which was totally reinforced by driving around the island in just a few hours.
Now I know how to get good free flights to one of my favorite destinations.
Island-hopping in Hawaii is one of my travel goals. Especially to Niihau. Since that is going to be incredibly expensive, I appreciate these tip to get there inexpensive you.
I just recently returned from a week each in Kauai and Maui and it was an unreal experience. This article is a great starting point for planning your adventure because it can definitely be pricey!
If I use Singapore Miles to book an award ticket to Hawaii on United will I get a free bag checked if I pay the taxes with my United credit card?
I don’t believe you will get a free checked bag booking with SQ miles (at least not automatically). However, I’m not completely sure. I would recommend using the card to pay the taxes, and make sure you add your Mileage plus number to the reservation with the UA record locator. You may be able to add bags after by calling UA and get them to waive the fee. You also might pay for the bags (if United insists) with the card and call Chase to ask if they can make an adjustment on your statement. Please let us know how it goes. Anyone else have experience with this?
I just wish there was availability to Hawaii on SW so I can use my companion pass
Very comprehensive list. My family and I were fortunate enough to take advantage of a fare sale in 2018 when cash tickets on American from phl – hnl were <$400 so with the chase sapphire reserve cashing in Ultimate Rewards at 1.5 cents each we were able to get 4 revenue tickets for ~100k points and earn AA miles in the process. Now I'm going to keep an eye on United award availability to use some of my thank you points to go back with the tricks you identified. Thanks!
Hawaii is my next travel goal, so I appreciate your information at this time. Thank you. I have some Korean Air miles from one Asian trip, but need to build up the account to use the strategy you describe. What are some ways to earn Korean Miles? (specific credit cards that would transfer to Korean Air miles)
After Chase eliminated Korean as a transfer partner, Marriott is the only option that I know of.
Thank you for that answer, Erik. That’s a big help in forming my strategy.
Marriott doesn’t seem so great at a 3 to 1 points to miles ratio… but it is an option.
Hawaii is my next travel goal, so I appreciate your information at this time. Thank you. I have some Korean Air miles from one Asian trip, but need to build up the account to use the strategy you describe. What are some ways to earn Korean Miles? (specific credit cards that would work for this).
At this point, Marriot is the only Korean Skypass transfer partner. There is a Korean Skypass credit card as well: https://www.skypassvisa.com/credit/welcome.do?
Do you have much experience with using the companion ticket with Alaska Airlines for saving money to Hawaii? I wondered about the best time of year to go with good airfare reduction.
I’m also curious about whether there are any ways to apply companion fares to these redemptions with Alaska. I know of a trick to use UR points to book the travel and then cancel + rebook to apply the companion fare but if anyone has experience doing this from another airlines’ program please let me know!
My daughter and her family used an Alaska companion ticket for a roundtrip SEA-OGG 5 years ago in November — she and one of her sons flew with the main ticket and companion ticket, while her husband and lap-infant younger son used Alaska miles for his ticket. I’m not sure about the best time of year for good airfare reduction, but they were able to book in July for the November flights.
It’s amazing how different these reward charts are and how the choice of partner can make such a difference for the same flight. Thank you to the AwardWallet team for sharing these options.
Gotta love all the success stories,
Dipping my toe into research for a future trip to Hawaii. Did a blog search, and this post certainly looks like a good place to start my investigating.
What would be the best way to book a trip to Hawaii from Minneapolis for a family of four using Chase rewards points. We currently have about 63,000 points, so how can get the most of out my points to book for all of us? We have some frequent flyer miles with several airlines, but it is not enough for another flight. I am guessing we might have to pay for one ticket or is there a way to use points and cash?
You might could check out flying on AA through BA. If they offer four seats, they also offer different levels of cash/point combinations since you won’t have enough points.