Five Best Ways to Fly to Hawaii Using Points

For travelers with an acute need to relax, a curiosity for other cultures and no passport, Hawaii is the perfect vacation destination. With its sunny beaches, lush landscapes and laid-back vibe, it truly feels like a paradise on Earth. From the iconic shores of Waikiki to the towering cliffs of Kauai, Hawaii offers a unique mix of adventure, relaxation and cultural richness.

However, there’s a hefty price tag on this paradise. Flights to Hawaii can be notoriously expensive, with round-trip tickets often costing hundreds of dollars. Fortunately, by leveraging points and miles, you can significantly reduce or even eliminate the cost of your flight to the islands.

Let’s explore five of the best ways to fly to Hawaii with points, ensuring you can enjoy your dream vacation without breaking the bank.

Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles (Star Alliance)

Let’s start with the most economical avenue to fly to Hawaii with points. For this award redemption, we’ll be looking at the Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles program.

Because Turkish Airlines is part of the Star Alliance, we can use its program to book domestic United Airlines flights to Hawaii. The award pricing on these flights is excellent if you can find United Saver award space—you’ll pay just 10,000 Miles&Smiles miles per direction in economy and 15,000 miles per direction in domestic first class.

Moreover, the redemption rates are the same no matter where you’re flying from within the U.S. This makes this redemption option particularly advantageous for those living on or close to the East Coast.

For example, here’s an economy flight from Chicago (ORD) to Honolulu (HNL):

Considering that this flight is longer than nine hours, 10,000 Turkish miles is a bargain. If you’re booking for yourself, you can make this redemption directly from the website. However, if you need more than one seat, you’ll have to call the airline at 1-800-874-8875 to complete your booking. Making this redemption does require some extra hassle, but it’s well worth it.

Ways to Earn Turkish Miles&Smiles Points

You can earn Turkish Miles&Smiles miles without ever stepping foot on a Turkish Airlines plane. That’s because Turkish Airlines is a transfer partner of three major credit card programs: Bilt Rewards, Capital One Rewards and Citi ThankYou Rewards. Points transfer to Turkish Airlines at a 1:1 ratio from each of these programs.

So, to earn a large stash of miles that you could potentially transfer to Turkish Airlines for this Hawaii booking, you might consider applying for the following credit cards:

• Bilt Mastercard® (rewards & benefits) (see rates & fees)
• Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
• Citi Strata Premier℠ Card

Air France-KLM Flying Blue (SkyTeam)

Air France-KLM Flying Blue is one of the most valuable loyalty programs for award redemptions, and we can take advantage of it for our Hawaii getaway as well.

Air France is part of the SkyTeam alliance, which means we can use it to book domestic Delta Air Lines flights. While the pricing here isn’t as amazing as with Turkish Airlines, it’s still quite good at 17,500 miles per direction in economy class from the West Coast.

For example, here’s a flight from Los Angeles (LAX) to Honolulu (HNL):

This pricing isn’t fixed like it was for Turkish Airlines. If you’re taking off from the East Coast, the rate nearly doubles to 34,500 miles one way.

Here’s a flight from New York (JFK) to Honolulu (HNL):

Thirty-four thousand five hundred miles for a one-way flight from the East Coast to Hawaii isn’t a terrible deal, but it definitely pales in comparison to the 10,000 miles we saw with Turkish Airlines. On the other hand, this redemption makes a lot more sense for individuals departing from the West Coast.

Ways to Earn Air France-KLM Flying Blue Miles

Flying Blue is one of the easiest programs to earn miles in. All five major transferable currencies transfer 1:1 to Air France-KLM: American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards and Citi ThankYou Rewards.

This means that there are tons of avenues to earning Flying Blue miles via credit cards. Here are just a handful to consider:

• American Express® Gold Card (see rates & fees)
• Bilt Mastercard® (rewards & benefits) (see rates & fees)
• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
• Citi Strata Premier℠ Card

British Airways Executive Club (Oneworld)

We’ve covered the Star Alliance and SkyTeam booking methods, so let’s look at Oneworld now. Your best option here is to use the Avios currency, shared by multiple Oneworld airlines, including British Airways and Qatar Airways, to book flights on American Airlines.

Note that Avios are interchangeable between British Airways Executive Club and Qatar Privileges. Depending on your specific route, the two airlines sometimes charge different rates for the same flight. To ensure you’re getting the best deal, compare pricing and book the option that charges fewer Avios.

Suppose you’re trying to book an American Airlines flight from Los Angeles (LAX) to Honolulu (HNL). Here’s one result we found on British Airways:

You’ll find that for the same flight, Qatar Airways beats this price

In this case, you’d go with the Qatar Airways booking. Sixteen thousand Avios is a pretty good deal and actually beats the Flying Blue deal we saw earlier.

Ways to Earn British Airways Avios

The Avios currency is really easy to accumulate in the credit card space. Four of the most common currencies transfer to British Airways Avios, including American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards. You can transfer your Avios at a 1:1 ratio from British Airways Executive Club to Qatar Privileges if you find a better deal.

To earn Avios, consider the following cards:

• The Platinum Card® from American Express (see rates & fees)
• Bilt Mastercard® (rewards & benefits) (see rates & fees)
• Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
• Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards

Outside of the big three alliances, Southwest Airlines also offers an affordable way to get to Hawaii. Southwest is often known for its cheaper cash fares, but because its point redemptions are tied to their cash rates, it has pretty good Rapid Rewards rates as well.

For example, here’s a month of current costs in Southwest Rapid Rewards points for one-way flights from San Jose, California (SJC), to Honolulu (HNL):

Obviously, there’s a pretty wide range here, but depending on your departure date, you could get to Hawaii with as few as 6,804 Rapid Rewards points, which is an absolute steal.

Travelers with the Southwest Companion Pass will be able to extract even more value out of this redemption. If you’re traveling in a pair, it’s tough to beat getting two tickets to Hawaii for 6,804 Rapid Rewards points and a few bucks in taxes and fees.

Perhaps the biggest downside with Southwest is the limited number of cities with direct flights to Hawaii. This option is great if you live in places like the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Las Vegas or Phoenix. Otherwise, you’ll have to live with a layover or choose a different option.

Ways to Earn Southwest Points

Southwest offers a suite of co-branded cards issued by Chase that allows you to earn their points directly. Here are some cards you might consider:

• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card
• Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card

Alternatively, Southwest is a transfer partner of Chase, so you can transfer your Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Southwest at a 1:1 ratio. This won’t be the most valuable way to redeem Chase points, but it’s still a great option nonetheless for those who want an easy way to get decent value from their Ultimate Rewards.

Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles

Up until this point, we’ve been focusing on the most economical ways to get to Hawaii (obviously, in economy class). However, what if you wanted to get to Hawaii in luxury and style, still using points? Your best bet is probably Hawaiian Airlines, which offers a great lie-flat domestic first-class product out of select cities.

Hawaiian Airlines uses an award chart to determine pricing for redemptions. For first class, the pricing is just 40,000 Hawaiian miles each way, regardless of where you’re departing from:

This is definitely a sweet spot, and one that East Coast travelers will be able to take full advantage of. However, it’s quite the hassle to actually make the booking. Those familiar with the Hawaiian Airlines website know that it doesn’t publish redemption rates for their seats.

To make the booking, you first have to search for your desired flight on Hawaiian Airlines. Then, call Hawaiian at 1-800-367-5320 to see if award space is available. Because you might not get your first choice, it’s a good idea to have several flights in mind before calling.

Alternatively, a more robust method is to ask the Hawaiian representative whether points upgrades are available on your selected flight. Then, you can book the flight with cash and use your points to upgrade to first class over the phone. You’ll spend more out of pocket this way, but you’ll get to experience lie-flat seating en route to paradise.

Ways to Earn Hawaiian Airlines Miles

Hawaiian Airlines currently offers a couple of co-branded cards with Barclays that directly earn their miles:

• Hawaiian Airlines® World Elite Mastercard®
• Hawaiian Airlines® World Elite Business Mastercard®

Following the merger between Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines, these cards are slated to become discontinued. There are still two transfer partners in American Express Membership Rewards and Bilt Rewards, where you can transfer points 1:1 to Hawaiian Airlines. Note that American Express does charge a small fee for point transfers to domestic airlines.

Final Thoughts

Hawaii’s natural beauty, rich culture and endless opportunities for adventure make it a true bucket-list destination for many. Getting there can be expensive, but we covered five ways to book these flights using points. As you can see, you actually have many booking methods at your disposal. Your best method will depend on availability out of your home airport as well as the credit card currencies you have.

So, start planning, maximize your points and get ready to relax in paradise without having to worry about the cost of your flight.