Purchase Hawaiian Airlines miles, then transfer them to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan to get up to 100% bonus miles
Hawaiian Airlines offers up to 100% bonus miles for those who purchase HawaiianMiles before November 15, 2010. After Alaska Airlines acquired the carrier, we may recommend purchasing points and miles. Is buying miles a wise investment? Here’s everything you need to know about the sale and how to decide if buying miles is right for you.
Related:
Buy bonus points and miles with these promotions
Buy up to 100% HawaiianMiles with this promo and transfer to Alaska Airlines Mileage PlanAARONP/BAUER-GRIFFIN/GC IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES
From now through Nov. 15, you can purchase HawaiianMiles with up to a 100% bonus — effectively cutting the cost per mile in half. The discount is dependent on how many HawaiianMiles you purchase. It may also vary from member to member. The maximum number of miles that you can purchase in a year is unlimited. There is a cap of 100,000 miles for each transaction. TPG’s November 2020 valuations value HawaiianMiles at 1.2 cents per mile. This may not appear to be a good deal. However, thanks to the recent merger between Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines, you can now transfer miles between the carriers’ loyalty programs at a 1:1 ratio.
Daily Newsletter
Reward your inbox with the TPG Daily newsletter
Join over 700,000 readers for breaking news, in-depth guides and exclusive deals from TPG’s experts
- Since Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles are valued at 1.4 cents apiece, according to TPG’s November 2024 valuations, buying miles during Hawaiian’s sale and transferring them to Alaska could provide solid savings. Alaska is part of the Oneworld alliance, opening a variety of partner award opportunities, and it still uses an award chart, which can result in some high-value redemptions.
- Related: Alaska Airlines overhauls Mileage Plan with milestone perks, new status-earning options and upgrade updates
- Is it worth it to buy HawaiianMiles and transfer to Alaska?
ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY
This sale definitely makes buying HawaiianMiles a better value proposition than usual. We recommend purchasing miles when you are planning a specific redemption. Even when miles are on sale, it’s not a good idea to stock up because they can devalue at any moment. The airlines announced that they would eventually run under a single loyalty programme. It could mean a complete overhaul of the current loyalty programs, and possibly a switch to dynamic pricing. This could cause any miles you have stashed to be devalued suddenly.
However, according to the airlines’ statements, we won’t know more about how the new combined loyalty program will work until mid-2025. You have several months left to redeem your Alaska or Hawaiian miles. If you’ve been eyeing one of Alaska’s award chart sweet spots, buying HawaiianMiles at a discount and transferring them to Mileage Plan could be a great way to get you closer to that redemption.
For instance, you could book a nonstop economy ticket from New York to London on American Airlines for travel in March 2025 for only 22,500 Alaska miles plus $19 in taxes and fees.
ALASKA AIRLINES
But don’t forget that HawaiianMiles are valuable in their own right. If you’re dreaming of a tropical getaway this winter, you can find nonstop award availability from Los Angeles to Honolulu in March for only 40,000 miles and $6 in taxes and fees for a lie-flat first-class seat — and it may be worth buying the miles you need to get there.
HAWAIIAN AIRLINES
Related: Save money: How you can book flights to Hawaii using points and miles
Bottom line
The Alaska Airlines-Hawaiian Airlines merger has created a lot of uncertainty for loyalists of both programs as we head into 2025 — but it’s also created some valuable opportunities. TPG staffers have even applied for two Hawaiian Airlines credit card in order to use the welcome bonuses towards Alaska redemptions. You can also transfer American Express Membership Reward points to HawaiianMiles or Bilt Points into Alaska miles at a 1:1 rate, which gives you more opportunities to earn miles.
