Why pay to fly to Hawaii when you can go for next to nothing … nearly free?
There are 2 Hawaiian Airlines credit cards offering generous 35k mile bonuses on each card, a personal and business card issued jointly by the Bank of Hawaii and Barclay.
If you’re not active in collecting miles or points via credit cards, read this post first on what you need to be considering before opening up new credit cards, as well as our top 6 credit card picks for all travelers.
After reading the descriptions of the cards (listed below), the main benefits are clear: Huge bonuses for signing up, companion fare discounts of 50%, and no FTFs. Listed below is the Hawaiian Airlines list of partners where you can transfer your miles to or where you can earn Hawaiian miles from, or where you can redeem your miles for travel perks:
- ANA
- American Airlines
- China Airlines
- Korean Airlines
- JetBlue
- Virgin America
- Virgin Atlantic
- Virgin Australia
- Alamo
- Avis
- Budget
- National
- Hilton
Assuming you’ve accrued enough points, you could book your flights + hotel + car rental for your Hawaii vacation.
Based on my searches, one way flights from JFK to Honolulu can be book for as low as 20,000 miles for coach and 80,000 miles for First Class. Flights from the West Coast can be found for as low as 15,000 miles.
If you want to be truly aggressive about this, you and your significant other can each apply for both credit cards below (no you do not need a business to apply for a business credit card) and earn a minimum of 142,000 Hawaiian Airlines miles between the two of you. You may even have miles leftover after your trip and those are transferable to multiple airlines as mention above.
Annual fee for either card is $89. If you accrue and use your points within the first year, you can cancel or downgrade your card(s) to avoid paying that fee more than once, but a cost well worth what you’ll be earning, sending you on your way to Hawaii for a song and a dance.
- After signing up for either of the card below, spend some time doing research on keeping kosher in Hawaii.
- Check out our favorite line of luggage that folds when not in use
To apply for either card, see below.
The Hawaiian Airlines® World Elite MasterCard®
- Earn 35,000 bonus miles when you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 90 days*
- Enjoy a complimentary 1st checked bag for the primary cardmember when you use your card to purchase eligible tickets directly from Hawaiian Airlines
- Receive a one-time 50% off a companion discount on roundtrip coach travel between Hawaii and North America on Hawaiian Airlines
- Earn 2X miles on direct purchases from Hawaiian Airlines and 1X miles on all other purchases
- No foreign transaction fees on purchases
- Get $100 off a companion ticket for roundtrip coach travel between Hawaii and North America on Hawaiian Airlines at each account anniversary
- Earn 5,000 annual bonus miles after $10,000 in annual spend
- See Terms and Conditions for details
The Hawaiian Airlines® Business MasterCard®
- Earn 35,000 bonus miles after your first purchase*
- Receive a one-time 50% off a companion discount on roundtrip coach travel between Hawaii and North America on Hawaiian Airlines
- Earn up to 40,000 annual bonus miles — 20k miles with $50-$99k annual spend or 40k miles with $100k or more annual spend
- Earn 2X miles on direct purchases from Hawaiian Airlines and 1X miles on all other purchases
- No foreign transaction fees on purchases
- Complimentary employee cards help you earn rewards faster and control business spending
- Easier expense tracking with a consolidated statement showing all expenses
- See Terms and Conditions for details
Note: as with all credit card signups, it’s important to know how this will effect your credit and if you have the purchasing power to hit the minimum spend for the products mentioned here. YeahThatsKosher encourages everyone to be responsible with their credit.
I can get used to this view…
