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, Hawaiian Airlines® World Elite Mastercard® and Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card 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 use points, miles, and perks to book flights to Hawaii. And, if you're looking for the best deal using points and miles to fly to Hawaii, we've got it below.
Page Contents
- Flights to Hawaii With Points and Miles
- Fly to Hawaii for 10,000 Miles With Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles
- Book Southwest Cheap Hawaii Flights From 5,725 Points
- Fly From the West Coast to Hawaii for 10,000 Alaska Points
- Fly West Coast to Hawaii for 12,500 Air Canada Aeroplan Points
- Fly to Hawaii From 13,000 Singapore KrisFlyer Miles
- Fly West Coast to Hawaii for 16,000 Qatar Airways Avios
- Fly From the West Coast to Hawaii for 20,000 British Airways Avios
- Beware When Using American, Delta, or United Miles for Hawaii Flights
- Use Flexible Rewards Programs for Flights to Hawaii
- Final Thoughts
Flights to Hawaii With Points and Miles
| Rewards Program | Operating Airline | Economy (Round-Trip) | Business/First (Round-Trip) | Transfer Points From |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Rapid Rewards | Southwest Airlines | 16,000+ | N/A | • Chase Ultimate Rewards • Bilt Rewards • Marriott Bonvoy |
| Delta SkyMiles | Delta Air Lines | 17,000+ | 80,000++ | • American Express Membership Rewards • Marriott Bonvoy |
| United MileagePlus | United Airlines | 20,000+ | 100,000++ | • Bilt Rewards • Chase Ultimate Rewards • Marriott Bonvoy |
| Korean Air SKYPASS | Delta Air Lines | 25,000 | 45,000 | • N/A |
| American Airlines AAdvantage | American Airlines | 25,000+ | 80,000++ | • Citi ThankYou® Rewards • Marriott Bonvoy |
| Alaska Atmos Rewards | Alaska Airlines | 25,000+ | 60,000+ | • Marriott Bonvoy • Bilt Rewards |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | Alaska Airlines | 26,000 | 101,000 | • American Express Membership Rewards • Brex Cash • Capital One miles • Chase Ultimate Rewards • Citi ThankYou Rewards • Marriott Bonvoy |
| Korean Air SKYPASS | Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines | 30,000 | 60,000 | • Marriott Bonvoy |
| Qatar Airways Privilege Club | American Airlines, Alaska Airlines | 32,000 | 86,000 | • American Express Membership Rewards • Citi ThankYou® Rewards • Marriott Bonvoy • Bilt Rewards |
| Air France/KLM Flying Blue | Delta Air Lines | 38,000++ | 60,000++ | • American Express Membership Rewards • Bilt Rewards • Brex Cash • Capital One miles • Chase Ultimate Rewards • Citi ThankYou Rewards • Marriott Bonvoy |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | United Airlines | 41,000 | 86,000 | • American Express Membership Rewards • Brex Cash • Capital One miles • Chase Ultimate Rewards • Citi ThankYou Rewards • Marriott Bonvoy |
| British Airways Club | American Airlines, Alaska Airlines | 44,000 | 110,000 | • American Express Membership Rewards • Bilt Rewards • Capital One miles • Chase Ultimate Rewards • Marriott Bonvoy |
| Turkish Miles & Smiles | United Airlines | 50,000 | 80,000/ 100,000 | • Capital One miles • Citi ThankYou® Rewards • Marriott Bonvoy • Bilt Rewards |
Fly to Hawaii for 10,000 Miles With Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles
This Hawaii sweet spot lets you redeem Turkish Airlines miles for United flights to Hawaii for a super-low 10,000 miles each way in economy! No, that is not a typo. That is just 20,000 miles for a round-trip flight from anywhere in the U.S. mainland to Hawaii. Crazy enough, this price is actually a bit higher than it was before an award chart change on February 16, 2024.
If you are lucky enough to find saver-level award space on United, business-class awards will set you back 15,000 miles one-way or 30,000 miles round-trip. Turkish passes on carrier-imposed charges on award tickets. But, since you're flying United within the U.S., the fees and taxes are just $5.60 each way.
Turkish Miles & Smiles lists Hawaii (Honolulu at least) in the North America region, treating flights between the mainland and Hawaii as domestic itineraries.
Turkish Miles & Smiles allows you to book one-way awards for half the price of a round-trip award. Thus, one-way awards cost just 10,000 miles in economy and 15,000 miles in business class. You aren't required to book round-trip itineraries to lock in this pricing.
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 Premier® Card or Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card. The current 60,000-point welcome offer on the Citi Strata Premier (see our Citi Strata Premier review) will fly a family of four to Hawaii, round-trip from anywhere in the continental U.S. for nearly free. That's a deal.
- Earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening, redeemable for $600 in gift cards or travel rewards at thankyou.com.
- Earn 10 Points per $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked on CitiTravel.com.
- Earn 3 Points per $1 on Air Travel and Other Hotel Purchases, at Restaurants, Supermarkets, Gas and EV Charging Stations.
- Earn 1 Point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
- $100 Annual Hotel Benefit: Once per calendar year, enjoy $100 off a single hotel stay of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees) when booked through CitiTravel.com. Benefit applied instantly at time of booking.
- No expiration and no limit to the amount of points you can earn with this card.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees on purchases.
- 10X on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked through CitiTravel.com
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Air Travel and Other Hotel Purchases
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Restaurants
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Supermarkets
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Gas and EV Charging Stations
- 1X – Earn 1 Point 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 trying to book online for more than one passenger. However, you can book United partner awards over the phone or via email with Turkish Airlines.
For those who don't have Turkish miles already, the email option can be best. 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 a 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 determine how long it will usually take 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
Book Southwest Cheap Hawaii Flights From 5,725 Points
Fares to the Hawaiian Islands have gotten even more competitive, and thanks to Southwest's policy of no blackout dates, there's much more award availability to Hawaii than before.
Southwest Rapid Rewards is a revenue-based rewards program. That means the cost of award flights is tied directly to the cash price. When the cost of tickets is high, the cost of award tickets also rises.
You'll likely get better value from one of the fixed-award-chart rewards programs like Singapore KrisFlyer or Turkish Miles & Smiles if you can find availability during peak season. However, during the off-season, the cost of Southwest tickets falls — both for cash and points fares.
For example, take a shoulder-season flight from Oakland (OAK) to Kona (KOA). Southwest is currently selling this award for just 5,725 points one-way!
That value explodes if you hold a Southwest Companion Pass, which gives you two-for-one flights on Southwest for up to two years.
In the example below, flying from Los Angeles to Honolulu, the lowest one-way fare costs $109 or 7,051 points. Those with the Southwest Companion Pass could book round-trip flights to Hawaii many days of the week for two people for ~14,102 points round-trip — for both people. That's an exceptional value!
As with most carriers on this list, there are a few options for redeeming rewards on Southwest. If you hold a Chase Sapphire Reserve® or Sapphire Reserve for Business℠, you can purchase these $118 flights through the Chase Travel℠ portal, redeeming for a fixed value of up to 2¢ per point. Southwest will treat the flight as a revenue fare, and you'll earn 6x Rapid Rewards points on your base fare.
You also could transfer Ultimate Rewards points to Rapid Rewards and redeem 7,051 points plus $5.60 in taxes for the same flight. As the cash price of the ticket is $109, you are getting about 1.47¢ per point for the transferred points. However, you won't earn additional points or miles on the purchase.
Transferring Chase points to Southwest makes a lot more sense if you hold a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, which return a fixed value of up to 1.75¢ per point (depending on the card you hold and specific redemption) when you redeem via the travel portal. While your exact value with these cards will vary, transferring points to Southwest is typically better than redeeming them via the portal with these cards.
Southwest will not always be the best use of points and miles for flying to Hawaii, but it's a great benchmark program to ensure you get good value from your rewards. Short on Southwest points? You could buy Southwest points or transfer from Chase, but the Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card also offers a great introductory welcome bonus that could potentially take the whole family to Hawaii.
- Earn 80,000 points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- 9,000 bonus points after your Cardmember anniversary.
- Earn 4X pts on Southwest® purchases.
- Earn 2 points for every $1 you spend at gas stations and restaurants
- Earn 2X points on hotel accommodations booked directly with the hotel
- Earn 2X points on local transit and commuting, including rideshare.
- First checked bag free for Cardmembers and up to 8 additional passengers in the same reservation.
- Cardmembers and up to 8 passengers in the same reservation will board with Group 5 giving them earlier access to overhead bins.
- Member FDIC
- 4X points per $1 spent on Southwest® purchases
- 2X points per $1 spent at gas stations and restaurants
- 2X points per $1 on hotel accommodations booked directly with the hotel
- 2X points per $1 spent on rideshare
- 1X point per $1 spent on all other purchases
Fly From the West Coast to Hawaii for 10,000 Alaska Points
Using Alaska Atmos Rewards points for flights to Hawaii is another good option for those flying from the West Coast. Award rates are variable but start at only 10,000 miles one-way in economy or 40,000 miles in first class.
The trouble is that Alaska Atmos Rewards points aren't as easy to earn as some currencies. Alaska only has a few transfer partners:
That means your best bet for earning Alaska points is through the Atmos™ Rewards Ascent Visa Signature® card:
- 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
Fly West Coast to Hawaii for 12,500 Air Canada Aeroplan Points
The Air Canada Aeroplan program also uses a distance-based award chart, with partner flights to Hawaii costing 12,500 or 22,500 Aeroplan points, depending on where you are flying from.
Round-trip awards cost twice the points price of a one-way ticket. Aeroplan is in the Star Alliance with United, so you can use Aeroplan points to fly on United's flights to Hawaii.
You also have multiple ways to accumulate Aeroplan points, providing easier access to these awards.
- Earn 60,000 bonus points
- Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $3,000 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
Fly to Hawaii From 13,000 Singapore KrisFlyer Miles
There's more than one way of getting to Hawaii with Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles. The cheaper option is via a direct partnership with Alaska Airlines. KrisFlyer has a separate award chart (caution: PDF link) for redeeming miles on Alaska Airlines. This chart features lower award prices to Hawaii than if you redeem Singapore miles for United flights.
The downside is that it only applies to flights from the West Coast, Midwest, and the Rocky Mountain states. All cities in Zone 4 (generally the U.S. East Coast) are excluded from this pricing with KrisFlyer. Instead, you would need to make two redemptions: one to the West Coast and then the other to Hawaii.
Note that you need to call Singapore Airlines to book Alaska awards. Unfortunately, you cannot book them online.
Booking United award flights to Hawaii through KrisFlyer
Although you pay a little more for your flights, there are no such geographic or booking restrictions if you redeem Singapore miles on United flights. KrisFlyer charges 19,500 miles each way to fly United to Hawaii from the contiguous 48 states, with a round-trip economy award costing 39,000 miles + $11.20 in fees and taxes.
The ease with which you can book United redemptions on the KrisFlyer website makes it much less of a hassle than booking over the phone or by email. And you can redeem miles for nonstop flights from many United hubs, including Newark, Chicago–O'Hare, Washington–Dulles, Houston–International, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Denver. If you're able to find award availability for United business class, KrisFlyer charges 39,000 miles each way for that.
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.
- 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
Fly West Coast to Hawaii for 16,000 Qatar Airways Avios
Of all the airlines that use the Avios currency, Qatar Airways has the best award rates to the Hawaiian islands. And that's despite a recent devaluation. 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.
Even better, you can quickly accrue Qatar Airways Avios courtesy of a trio of transfer partners. However, there are even more ways to grow your Qatar Avios balance when you consider that you can freely transfer Avios between accounts, opening up the doors to earn British Airways Avios, for example, and transferring them to Qatar.
Fly From the West Coast to Hawaii for 20,000 British Airways Avios
One of the most well-known and high-value redemptions for flights to Hawaii from the West Coast comes courtesy of British Airways Executive Club. British Airways — which counts both American and Alaska as partners — offers a distance-based award chart.
You'll need to fly nonstop to get the cheapest rate, but American Airlines and Alaska options include flights to Hawaii from Oakland, Phoenix, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento, Bellingham, San Jose, Portland, Seattle, and even Phoenix and Anchorage.
A recent Avios hike in award fares on Alaska and American raised the cost of economy flights between 2,000 and 3,000 miles in distance from 16,000 to 20,000 Avios per way. All things considered, 40,000 Avios for a round-trip flight to Hawaii is still a fair deal. In addition, while out-of-pocket costs on British Airways awards can be incredibly expensive, the taxes and fees on this award are just $5.60 each way.
Read through our guide on how to redeem British Airways Avios and check out the latest credit card offer for the British Airways Visa Signature® Card if you're looking to take more people to Hawaii. British Airways even allows you to pool points in its loyalty program, Executive Club, with other travelers. Plus, its numerous transfer partners make for an easy way to add up Avios for a redemption.
- Earn 75,000 Avios after you spend $5,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening.
- Earn 3 Avios per $1 spent on purchases with British Airways, Aer Lingus, Iberia, and LEVEL.
- Earn 2 Avios per $1 spent on hotel accommodations when purchased directly with the hotel.
- 10% off British Airways flights starting in the US when you book through the website provided in your welcome materials.
- Every calendar year you make $30,000 in purchases on your British Airways Visa card, you'll earn a Travel Together Ticket good for two years.
- Pay no foreign transaction fees when you travel abroad.
- Simply tap to pay with your contactless British Airways Visa Signature Card. Just look for the contactless symbol at checkout. It's fast, easy and secure!
- Member FDIC
- 3X Avios per $1 spent on purchases with British Airways, Aer Lingus, Iberia, and LEVEL
- 2X Avios per $1 spent on hotel accommodations
- 1X Avios for every $1 spent on all other purchases
Related: How To Book American Airlines Flights Using British Airways Avios
Beware When Using American, Delta, or United Miles for Hawaii Flights
More people than ever before are utilizing frequent flier miles. But, when it comes to leveraging different programs, most of us still focus on legacy airlines that are now merged into just three carriers: American, Delta, and United.
All three of these legacy carriers no longer publish an award chart, so the miles price 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 — generally, it's hard to find outsized value by booking directly with American, Delta, or United.
However, there are occasional opportunities to book at decent rates, such as a United flash sale to Hawaii for 9,600 miles or unannounced Delta flash sales.
Use Flexible Rewards Programs for Flights to Hawaii
Our preferred method of collecting miles to get to Hawaii is with flexible rewards programs that offer transferable points. This strategy allows you to transfer travel rewards into mileage programs with multiple airlines, letting you use your points with whichever program has availability at a price you are willing to pay. Here's a look at the top transferable currencies you can earn:
- American Express Membership Rewards
- Bilt Rewards
- Brex Rewards
- Capital One Rewards
- Chase Ultimate Rewards
- Citi ThankYou® Points
- Marriott Bonvoy
Flights to Hawaii with Chase Ultimate Rewards points
Our favorite program for flights to Hawaii is Ultimate Rewards, which offers nearly two dozen different ways to redeem Chase points. Points can be earned with Chase's Ultimate Rewards-earning cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card. You can transfer these points at a ratio of 1 point:1 mile (in 1,000-point increments) to 10 different airlines:
You can earn Chase Ultimate Rewards with multiple credit cards, find a good redemption option, and then transfer points when you're ready to book.
- 3X points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, Internet, cable and phone services, advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year
- 1X point per $1 on all other purchases
Hawaii flights with American Express Membership Rewards
You can transfer American Express Membership Rewards to 17 different airlines, including Delta, Singapore Airlines, and British Airways.
Additionally, Hawaiian Airlines offers awards starting at 20,000 miles one-way from the West Coast, along with awards from 25,000 or 30,000 miles each way from further into the mainland U.S. First class with Hawaiian starts at 40,000 miles each way. Note that prices for both economy and first class are “starting at” and can increase as seats get full. However, those with elite status or a Hawaiian Airlines credit card like the Hawaiian Airlines® World Elite Mastercard® get access to reduced award prices that can provide discounts of 12% or more.
Despite recent changes to the program, another option is Flying Blue, the frequent flyer program for Air France and KLM, which partners with numerous points transfer partners. That makes it one of the easiest programs in which to fund a balance for redemption.
You can earn Membership Rewards points with many cards, providing multiple ways to earn and redeem rewards for flights to Hawaii.
- You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 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 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. That's up to $120 Uber Cash annually. Plus, after using your Uber Cash, use your Card to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points for Uber Eats purchases made with restaurants or U.S. supermarkets. Point caps and terms apply.
- $84 Dunkin' Credit: With the $84 Dunkin' Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations. Enrollment is required to receive this benefit.
- $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
- Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $325.
- Terms Apply.
- 4X Membership Rewards® Points at restaurants worldwide, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S. (on up to $50,000 per year in purchases, then 1X)
- 4X Membership Rewards® points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per year in purchases, then 1X)
- 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com
- 2X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid hotels and other eligible travel booked on amextravel.com
- 1X on other eligible purchases
Related: How To Transfer Amex Points: A Step-by-Step Guide
Final Thoughts
The key is knowing which points make the most sense for your unique situation. If you value flexibility, it's hard to beat Chase Ultimate Rewards with some of the best transfer partners available at the best rates.
We also need to add Citi's ThankYou Rewards into the mix when discussing the best points for flights to Hawaii. While not traditionally one of the best programs in the world, the Turkish Miles & Smiles option and the ability to redeem KrisFlyer miles on Alaska Airlines flights make ThankYou Points another valuable option for using points to get to Hawaii.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Citi Strata Premier® Card (Rates & Fees), Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card (Rates & Fees), Aeroplan® Credit Card (Rates & Fees), Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (Rates & Fees), British Airways Visa Signature® Card (Rates & Fees), and American Express® Gold Card (Rates & Fees)
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
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.