HawaiianMiles is the frequent flyer program of Hawaiian Airlines.
The overall program is fairly average, but there are a few sweet spots you should know such as lie-flat first class to Hawaii, flights within Asia, flights to the U.K, and flights to Australia.
Airlines You Can Fly With HawaiianMiles
Hawaiian Airlines is not apart of a major airline alliance, so you can only book a few airlines besides Hawaiian with their miles.
You can see award prices Hawaiian Airlines on their website by selecting “Show Fare as Miles.” All other partners must be booked by calling 1-877-426-4537.
Hawaiian Airlines
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Japan Airlines
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JetBlue
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Korean Air
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Virgin Atlantic
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Virgin Australia
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Hawaiian Airlines Awards Charts
Hawaiian prices their award flights at several different mileage levels based on when you book, when you want to go, and what route you are flying.
There is no magic time to book, but I found that you can save miles on first class awards by booking closer to your departure date.
Economy class prices were stable throughout the year at 40,000 miles round-trip in our award search from Los Angeles to Honolulu.
The prices listed in award charts below are for one-way flights.
The “Discounted Award Amount” in the award charts below are applicable if you are a Pualani Platinum, Pualani Gold, Premier Club Member, Hawaiian Airlines® World Elite Mastercard® and Hawaiian Airlines® Business Mastercard® cardmember.
Hawaii flies to New York and Boston from Honolulu.
Hawaiian Airlines flies from Honolulu to Auckland, Brisbane, Sydney, Seoul, Tokyo, Sapporo, Osaka, and Fukuoka.
Hawaiian also flies from Kona (KOA) to Tokyo.
Hawaiian Airlines also flies to Pago Pago and Tahiti (Papeete), but these flights are typically only once per week.
HawaiianMiles Partner Award Charts
You can also use HawaiianMiles on five partner airlines. You can only book round-trip awards with no stopovers on Korean Air, Virgin Atlantic, and Virgin Australia.
Japan Airlines allows one-way awards for 50% of the cost of a round-trip flight, and you can also book a stopover in Japan.
You will have to find “saver” level award space on each partner airline with the exception of JetBlue, which is based on the cash price of the ticket.
You can find saver level award space for Japan Airlines on BritishAirways.com, and the rest on their websites.
General Rules
- First Class awards on JAL are not offered.
- For awards wholly within Japan, only one sector per one-way award (for example: Sapporo to Tokyo is allowed but Sapporo to Fukuoka via Tokyo is will be considered two one-way awards)
- For Japan Domestic sectors included in international award tickets, Japan domestic first and Premium Economy Class-J are not available.
- For a One-way Hawaii-Japan Award, a maximum of two (2) flight sectors will be allowed: eg. Honolulu-Tokyo-Fukuoka. Stopover is allowed at the transit point. Stopover is more than 24 hours
- For a Round Trip Hawaii-Japan Award, a maximum of four 4) flight sectors will be allowed: eg. Honolulu-Tokyo-Fukuoka & Fukuoka-Tokyo-Honolulu. In a round trip itinerary, only one stopover is allowed at one transit point (For example, you may stop in Tokyo on the outbound segment but not on the return segment)
- A one-way Hawaii to Asia Region 1 or Region 2 award will include two international sectors, eg: Honolulu-Tokyo-Hong Kong, with a stopover allowed in Tokyo.
- When the itinerary includes Japan domestic sectors and Japan Transocean Air (JTA; airline code “NU”) are not eligible for award tickets
- Japan Air Commuter (JAC), Ryukyu Air Commuter (RAC) and codeshare flights operated by other airlines (such as Fuji Dream Airlines or Amakusa Airlines) are not eligible
- Awards are not available on codeshare flights operated by other airlines
- The following airports in Japan are considered to be the same point or co-terminals
- Tokyo Narita (NRT) and Tokyo Haneda (HND)
- Kansai (KIX) and Osaka Itami (ITM) and Kobe (UKB)
- Awards must be made no later than seven (7) days prior to travel date. In other words, awards must be booked at least seven (7) days before travel.
Hawaiian’s Jetblue award chart is based on the cash price of the JetBlue flight. It is generally a very bad deal, so I would avoid using Hawaiian Miles for JetBlue.
The best use on Korean Airlines is for business class within Asia for 60,000 Miles round-trip. You could fly to Southeast Asia or India.
The big advantage of using Hawaiian Miles on Virgin Atlantic is that Hawaiian does not pass on Virgin Atlantic high fuel surcharges, which saves you $500+.
But you still will be responsible for the U.K.’s very high flight taxes (about $250 for a round-trip Upper Class flight).
Best Ways to Use HawaiianMiles
Below are the best ways to spend HawaiianMiles. We generally focus on business class (or Hawaiian First Class) awards to get the maximum amount of value from the miles.
1. East Coast to Hawaii in First Class
The best deal using HawaiianMiles is from Boston or New York to Honolulu for 40,000 miles one-way for over ten hours in lie-flat business class.
You can also fly to the other islands for the same price with a connection in Honolulu.
Plus, you upgrade an economy class cash ticket to lie-flat first class for only 25,000 miles if you can find the 40,000-mile price for your flight.
If you can’t find saver level award space, the price jumps up to an astronomical 130,000 miles one-way.
But you could upgrade an economy class cash ticket for only 50,000 miles when the flight prices out at 130,000 miles.
2. Intra-Asia Business Class on Korean Air
Hawaiian Airlines charges only 60,000 miles round-trip on Korean Air business class within Asia.
You could maximize an award by flying to Southeast Asia, India, Sri Lanka, or the Maldives, which are 7+ hour flights in lie-flat business class.
Korean Air generally has a very good business class experience, so 60,000 miles can be a very good deal for those long flights.
3. Hawaii to/from Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, and Japan
You can also fly for only 65,000 miles in lie-flat business class from Hawaii to Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, and Japan on Hawaiian Airlines.
You can also upgrade from an economy class cash ticket for only 45,000 miles if you find the 65,000 miles award price online.
Alternatively, you could redeem 60,000 United Miles for these same Hawaiian flights.
4. Virgin Atlantic Flights from the U.S.
You can fly round-trip in Virgin Atlantic’s Upper Class (business class) to the U.K. from the U.S. East Coast and the Caribbean for 125,000 miles and from the U.S. West Coast for 160,000 miles.
The great thing about this redemption is that Hawaiian does not pass on Virgin Atlantic’s very high fuel surcharges, which can save you $500+ on a round-trip flight.
5. Japan Airlines from North America or Europe to Japan
You can redeem 90,000 miles for one-way business class or 60,000 miles one-way for premium economy from North America or Europe to Japan on Japan Airlines.
You can also add a stopover in Tokyo before transiting to another city in Japan.
Other points program charge a lot less points such as ANA (90,000 miles round-trip), American Airlines (120,000 miles round-trip), and United (160,000 miles round-trip).
But it is still a decent use of points if you utilize the stopover in Tokyo and have a good number of HawaiianMiles already in your account.
6. West Coast to Hawaii
You can fly one-way from the West Coast to Hawaii for 20,000 miles in economy class and 40,000 miles in first class.
You can also upgrade from an economy class cash ticket to first class for only 25,000 miles if you see a seat at the 45,000-mile level.
These are the same prices as first class from the East Coast, which is why I am surprised Hawaiian priced them the same considering East Coast flights are twice as long.
Other Ways to Spend Hawaiian Miles
There are a few other ways to spend Hawaiian Miles includes for gift cards, magazines, and newspapers.
Hotels- You can book hotels with Hawaiian Miles through their travel portal. I test the portal and found that you will receive about 0.6 to 0.7 cents per mile in value from booking through the portal (e.g., a $200 hotel will cost around 30,000 Hawaiian Miles).
Avis/Budget Gift Certificate– You can redeem 10,000 miles for a $50 gift certificate at Avis or Budget. This value Hawaiian Miles at 0.5 cents per point, which is a really bad rate.
Gift Cards– You can redeem 5,000 miles for a $25 gift card (0.5 cents per mile) at a few restaurants and grocery stores like 76, Foodland, and 7-Eleven Hawaii. Some gift cards only work in Hawaii, so be sure to read the fine print.
Magazines– You can redeem Miles for Magazines like Barrons, Bloomberg Businessweek, Better Homes & Gardens, and People.
Newspapers– You can also redeem miles for a newspaper subscription. In my area, I could redeem 1,395 miles for a 13-week print + digital subscription to my local paper and 52 weeks of digital access to the Financial Times for 3,300 miles.
A similar subscription for my local paper is $62.74 for the same period, which equals a very high 4.5 cents per mile of value.
Donating to Charities– The last way you can use your Hawaiian Miles is by donating to charities. Hawaiian matches up to 500,000 miles each year for each charity.
The Verdict
Hawaiian Miles is an average frequent flyer program. There are a few good ways to use Hawaiian Miles, but I would not make their program a priority unless I was a Hawaiian Airlines frequent flyer.
One thing I do like is that you can easily upgrade from economy to first class using miles, which is a plus. Most other programs require you to book a certain higher priced fare class to upgrade.
I would love to know where you go with HawaiianMiles. Just send me an email!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I transfer my Hawaiian Miles to someone else?
Yes, you can transfer Hawaiian Miles to someone else.
Points transfers are free to give or receiver if you cardholder of a Hawaiian Airlines® World Elite MasterCard®, Bankoh Hawaiian Airlines Visa® check card and Hawaiian Airlines Visa® credit card-Japan.
If you are not a cardholder, you will have to pay a fairly high fee:
- $25 service fee
- $0.01 per mile transfer fee, and
- A minimum of 2,000 HawaiianMiles must be shared at one time
When do Hawaiian Miles expire?
After 18 months of inactivity. All you need to do is earn or redeem one point to reset the 18-month clock.
