Aloha my friends! Hawaii is the place that dreams are made of. If you haven’t been, stick with me and I’ll show you how to make your dream vacation a reality without costing you a small fortune. If you have been then you are probably like me and want to return again and again and again! When it comes to a Hawaiian vacation the biggest hurdle to cross is getting there! Luckily, through credit card points you can get there for nearly free! In this guide, I’ll explain all the best ways to get to Hawaii on points. We’ll talk Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou Points, Capital One Venture Miles, and some co-branded airline cards.

I like transferable points when it comes to booking to Hawaii because you have multiple options. If you can’t find dates on one airline you can try another. That being said, sometimes award travel requires a little bit of flexibility. By changing your travel days and leaving a day or two earlier than you originally planned you can sometimes save a lot of points! I recommend searching using the flexible dates feature offered on the airline website when possible. One thing I want to stress is never transfer points from one of your transferable accounts to one of their partners until you have confirmed that the seats are available. Once points are transferred they are stuck in that particular loyalty account.

 

Using Chase Ultimate Rewards

There are a variety of ways to get to Hawaii using Chase Ultimate Reward points. The following three cards allow you to transfer your points to Chase travel partners:

Chase Sapphire Preferred 

Chase Sapphire Reserve 

Ink Business Preferred

You can also open any of the no-fee cards and combine those points with one of the cards listed above. To book flights to Hawaii using Ultimate Rewards you will be transferring your points into a loyalty account.

United Airlines

This is one of the most simple and straightforward options for flying to Hawaii on points, but not the cheapest. 

To Search and Book:

You will want to go to the United website and look for Saver Awards which will cost 22,500 points each way. Once you find the flights transfer the points from your Ultimate Rewards account to your United account. Points will show up in your United account instantly.

One really cool option is United allows you to do a free stopover on another island with an award booking. This is called the “Excursionist Perk”. Basically, outside of the continental U.S., Alaska, and Canada, you can book a multi-city booking for free as long as it is in the same region as your destination. To do this just click on “advanced search.”

 

Now you will want to click on “multi-city” where it asks for your trip type.

 

You’ll then be able to choose your flights, with the inter-island flight costing you $0! In the end, you will see your total is 45,000 points. Exactly the same as if you were to book roundtrip Salt Lake City to Honolulu! Pretty cool!!

 

 

This perk is also great if you are planning a trip to Europe and what to hit up another country!

British Airways

British Airways is a partner of American Airlines. This means that you can transfer your Chase Ultimate Rewards to your British Airways account and then book a flight on an American Airlines plane. British Airways uses a distance-based award chart; each segment of a flight is used to calculate the distance flown. The longer the flight and the more layovers, the more expensive it will be.

If you are flying out of the west coast or Phoenix, this is a fabulous option as they offer direct flights. Flights start at 32,000 points round trip. To see how many British Airways Avios (points) it would cost to fly from your home airport to one of the Hawaiian islands, or anywhere for that matter, you can use this handy tool.

To Search and Book:

You can search for American flights on the British Airways site. To do this you need to create an account with British Airways. Here is a sample flight from LAX-OGG (Maui).

Once you verify availability, transfer your points and book. Points transfer to British Airways instantly.

 

Singapore Airlines Krisflyer

Singapore is part of the Star Alliance along with United and many others. Because of this, you can book a flight on Singapore but actually be flying in a United plane. The great thing about Singapore is it cost 39,000 points round trip while United will cost you 45,000! On the exact same plane!

To Search and Book:

You will need to create a Krisflyer account and then click on redeem miles in the search box.

 

You can see that it will be 39,000 points to fly directly from San Francisco to Maui. This is the price roundtrip.

 

 

Singapore is also partners with Alaska Airlines, meaning you can use your Singapore miles to book a flight on an Alaska Airlines plane. Singapore will charge you per leg for this option, so it only makes sense to do this if you are taking a non-stop flight from the west coast. A one-way, direct flight ticket to Hawaii will cost you 12,000 points.

To Search and Book:

Search on American Airlines to see what partner availability is. If you find something call Singapore Airlines to confirm and then transfer your points and book. 

Southwest

Southwest is my favorite option for flying to Hawaii! On our last trip, we booked flights for 22,000 points roundtrip from Salt Lake City to Maui! What’s even better is if you have the Southwest Companion Pass, you can fly someone with you for free! We have the pass, so our last flight was just 22,000 points for the two of us! The amount you pay in points is tied to the current cash price. To find out how many points it will take to get you there, do a search on Southwest.com. If you find a flight you like, transfer your points. Transfers are instant to Southwest. 

Air Canada 

Air Canada is part of the Star Alliance. What this means is you will book your flight through Aeroplan but actually be flying in a United plane. Search directly on Air Canada and select book with points Aeroplan. This won’t work for every departing city but I found luck searching from SFO and DEN.

 

Chase Travel Portal

The Chase Travel Portal is also an option. I always check the prices in the portal. If you find a great cash fare somewhere, definitely log into the portal and check how many points you can get a flight for. If it is more points than any of the options listed above then I wouldn’t do it.

Avianca LifeMiles

We have used Avianca LifeMiles for flights to Hawaii before. The cost was 22,500 one way and the flight was on a United plane. To do this search you’ll want to make an account with lifemiles and use the lifemiles.com site to search and book. 

 

Delta

You can transfer your Amex MR points into your Delta account. Delta doesn’t have an award chart so the prices fluctuate. You can find award sales sometimes but typically flights to Hawaii are around 45,000 points roundtrip, although sometimes much higher. Occasionally, Delta will run flash sales where you can find tickets for less than 45,000 points.

Singapore Airlines

Read about how to use Membership Reward points to book a flight on Singapore Airlines in the Chase UR section.

British Airways

Membership Reward points instantly transfer to British Airways. To see how to search and book using British Airways, scroll back up to the Chase UR section.

Hawaiian Airlines

Hawaiian doesn’t offer the best price when it comes to booking an award seat but it can be nice for inter-island travel.

To Search and Book:

You will need to make an account with Hawaiian Airlines. When you find your flight transfer your points into your account. They should show up instantly. Then go ahead and book!

Using Citi ThankYou Points

 

Turkish Airlines

Citi ThankYou Points are one way to get very cheap flights to Hawaii! To get the points to book you will want the Citi Premier card. What you can do with those points is transfer them to Turkish Airlines Miles and Smiles. Turkish Airlines is part of the Star Alliance meaning you can book flights on United through Turkish. The great news is that a round-trip ticket to Hawaii on Turkish Airlines is just 15,000 points! Sometimes you can book online but other times it requires calling or emailing Turkish Airlines to book these flights. You can check out this post to learn all about how to do this. 

In addition to Turkish Airlines, you also can look into Avianca Lifemiles and Singapore Airlines. We discussed those up above in Chase and Amex sections.

 

Using Capital One Venture Miles

Capital One Venture Miles are a good option for flying to Hawaii. Your points transfer to Air Canada, Avianca LifeMiles, British Airways, Singapore Airlines, and Turkish Airlines. We discussed all of those above so scroll up to the other sections to read about those options. 

 

 

Co-Branded Cards

If you already have a lot of points with a co-branded card then it may be a good idea to open up a transferable points card that is a transfer partner with that airline. For example, if I have a stash of Delta points I would open up an American Express Membership Rewards earning card to top off my Delta account.  

Southwest Airlines 

Southwest Airlines is a great option for flying to Hawaii on points. The cost in points is tied to the current cash price so it is hard to tell exactly how much it will cost in points. Do a search on the website to get an idea of what the cost would be. I’ve booked roundtrip flights for 22,000 points a person, 34,000 points, and 45,000 points. It fluctuates. If you can fly on a weekday, you will sometimes find cheaper flights. I recommend searching by flexible dates. I also recommend getting the Southwest Companion Pass! Not only will you be able to fly someone free with you for a year+ but you will have a lot of Southwest Rapid Rewards to get your family to Hawaii! Another reason to love Southwest, bags fly free!

 

Alaska Airlines

The Alaska Airlines Visa Signature is an intriguing card. Currently, the bonus is 40,000 points plus one free companion fare (minus taxes) after spending $2,000 in 3 months. The companion fare can only be used with a cash ticket. Essentially you are getting a buy one get one free offer.

You can find tickets on Alaska that start at 17,500 points each way. This offer might be nice for a family. With this bonus, you would have enough for one roundtrip ticket. You would pay cash for one ticket, use the companion fare for another, and use points on the third. You would need to book the cash fare and companion fare together and then your points booking as a separate reservation. In this scenario, you are getting three tickets for the price of one. If your spouse were to get the card as well, you could get six tickets for the price of two! Keep in mind Alaska can have some painfully long flights so search online and make sure it’s an option that would work for you before you sign up for the card. My parents have the Alaska card and use the Companion Fare each year to fly a couple of grandkids to Hawaii with them.

American Airlines

The Barclay AAdvantage Aviator is a nice card if you don’t want to stress about meeting the minimum spend. You’ll get the bonuse after paying the $95 annual fee and making a purchase! I don’t think it gets any easier! A roundtrip flight to Hawaii will cost you 45,000 points if you find saver awards. Basically, you are buying a flight to Hawaii that cost $95. You and your spouse could each get this card and be off on a romantic getaway! If you rather not pay an annual fee, you can get the Citi AA card. The $99 annual fee is waived for the first year.

 

Conclusion

Ok, so I know that was A LOT of info! There are so many options when it comes to getting to Hawaii on points! I wanted to include all these because I know certain things will work great for some people while others will feel more comfortable with a different option.

There is a lot of talk about getting the highest value possible out of your points. While I love a good value as much as anyone, sometimes it isn’t worth the stress, flexibility, etc. The best value for your points is whatever gets you when and where you want to go!