Save money: How you can book flights to Hawaii using points and miles

Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with the latest information.

From the bustling city of Honolulu to the long, winding Hana Highway, Hawaii has something for every traveler. Each Hawaiian island has a unique flair, pristine beaches and stunning natural beauty. Despite Hawaii’s reputation as a pricey tourist destination, there is a way to get to these dreamy islands without breaking the bank — you can use points and miles.

Limited-time offer: Earn 100,000 bonus points with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card after spending $5,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening (see rates and fees).

So, if you’re planning a trip to the Aloha State, keep reading to find the best ways to get to Hawaii using your points and miles. While we focused this article on finding flights to Honolulu, keep in mind that pricing may differ for some Hawaiian islands while other award redemptions may remain the same.

Related: How to search flight award availability for the major airlines

How to book flights to Hawaii using points and miles

Like most travelers, you’re probably interested in visiting several Hawaiian islands outside of Oahu, such as Kauai and Maui. While some major U.S. cities offer direct flights to the smaller islands — you can search prices on Google Flights — we recommend landing at Hawaii’s main and largest airport, Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) in Honolulu. From there, you can take short-haul flights between the other Hawaiian islands.

Since the long-haul portion of your flight to Hawaii will probably cost you the most money, this may be the best place to use your points and miles. So, how do you earn points and miles?

Maximizing travel rewards credit cards

If you are new to using points and miles, we recommend signing up for a travel rewards credit card. These cards can offer a lucrative welcome bonus for new cardholders.

For example, the Chase Sapphire Preferred offers 100,000 bonus Chase Ultimate Rewards points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. With those points, you can opt to book flights via the Chase Travel℠ portal or transfer your Ultimate Rewards points, mostly at a 1:1 ratio, to partner airline or hotel loyalty programs, such as Southwest Rapid Rewards, JetBlue TrueBlue, World of Hyatt and Marriott Bonvoy.

TPG typically recommends transferring your points to a partner over booking through the Chase Travel portal to help maximize your points. Though award redemption rates are subject to change, here are some popular routes to Hawaii that can save you money.

Book flights to Hawaii with Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles

Unsurprisingly, one way to get to Hawaii on points and miles is with HawaiianMiles. For example, you could fly nonstop from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to HNL for 20,000 miles each way in economy or only 40,000 miles in a lie-flat seat.

Earning HawaiianMiles

Hawaiian Airlines has one major transfer partner: American Express Membership Rewards. Amex points transfer to HawaiianMiles at a 1:1 ratio. You might consider getting one of our favorite Amex cards, like the American Express® Gold Card, which earns bonus Amex points on flights, groceries, dining and more.

Note that Amex will reportedly be ending its partnership with Hawaiian Airlines this year.

You can also earn HawaiianMiles with the Hawaiian Airlines® World Elite Mastercard®, which is offering 60,000 bonus miles after you spend $2,000 on purchases in the first 90 days.

The information for the Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

And now that Alaska Airlines has acquired Hawaiian Airlines, you can transfer Alaska Mileage Plan miles to your Hawaiian account. Since Mileage Plan is a 1:1 transfer partner of Bilt Rewards, you can effectively transfer Bilt Points to HawaiianMiles.

Related: A gamble on Alaska miles — why I applied for 2 Hawaiian Airlines cards on the same day

Book flights to Hawaii with Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards

Although TPG values Southwest Rapid Rewards points at 1.4 cents each as of April 2025, you may get more or less value from your points thanks to the program’s new variable award pricing. To find the best redemption rates that satisfy your budget, check out Southwest’s Low Fare Calendar.

For example, we found a round-trip Wanna Get Away fare from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to HNL in November for 21,500 Rapid Rewards points plus $11.20 in taxes and fees.

Earning Rapid Rewards points

Southwest Rapid Rewards points are relatively easy to earn. There are currently five Southwest credit cards that offer welcome bonuses, which you can use to book your flights to Hawaii. If you’re not a frequent Southwest flyer, it may be more beneficial to open a travel credit card with Chase and transfer your Ultimate Rewards points to your Southwest account.

Additionally, if you earn the ever-coveted Southwest Companion Pass, your guest will fly for free (aside from taxes and fees). Basically, you’ll get two round-trip tickets to Hawaii for the price of one.

Related: Easy ways to earn Southwest Rapid Rewards points

Book flights to Hawaii with Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles

Are you based at a Star Alliance hub? Consider using Turkish Airlines’ Miles&Smiles program to score an excellent deal on your next trip to Hawaii.

Turkish Airlines’ partner, United Airlines, operates nonstop flights to Hawaii from all its continental U.S. hubs, including Dulles International Airport (IAD) near Washington, D.C.; George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in Houston; O’Hare International Airport (ORD) in Chicago; Denver International Airport (DEN); Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR); John Wayne Airport (SNA) in Orange County, California; LAX; and SFO.

In the past, we’ve seen nonstop United flights from DEN to HNL for as low as 10,000 Turkish Airlines miles each way. If you booked this flight through United’s website, the same flight would cost 25,000 miles.

Though you can book Turkish Airlines partner award tickets online, the website doesn’t always show all available flights. Therefore, I recommend using another Star Alliance search tool to find award space first. Call the airline to book your desired ticket if you don’t see it on the Turkish Airlines website.

Earning Turkish Airlines miles

You can earn Turkish Airlines miles by spending on cards that earn Bilt Rewards points, Citi ThankYou Rewards points or Capital One miles. These currencies transfer to Turkish Airlines at a 1:1 ratio.

According to TPG test transfers, Capital One miles and Bilt Rewards points transfer to Turkish almost instantly, while Citi points may take up to a day.

If you want to earn Capital One miles to transfer to Turkish, consider opening the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card. This card earns 2 miles per dollar spent on all purchases, and you can earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening, plus receive a $250 Capital One Travel credit to use in your first cardholder year.

Thankfully, Turkish Airlines lets you hold award seats for two days if you book more than seven days in advance. Call the airline before transferring points to ensure the agent can confirm that award seats are available. Then, ask the agent to put the award on hold and immediately transfer your Bilt, Capital One or Citi rewards. Once the miles are in your account, you can call Turkish Airlines to confirm your flights.

Related: Turkish Airlines publishes new (devalued) award charts

Book flights to Hawaii with British Airways Club

British Airways Club, which uses Avios as its currency, provides decent value for domestic award tickets on American Airlines and Alaska Airlines, and flights to Hawaii are no exception.

The Oneworld duo flies to Hawaii from a handful of their U.S. hubs, including Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX), Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), LAX and SFO. Although American Airlines AAdvantage miles and Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles are increasingly hard to earn, booking these flights through British Airways with Avios provides another avenue.

You can fly nonstop to Hawaii for as low as 20,000 Avios each way in economy from the West Coast, thanks to British Airways’ distance-based award chart. However, you’ll pay more for Midwest or East Coast flights. British Airways prices by segment, so connecting itineraries cost more, too.

Here’s a flight we found from PHX to HNL for 20,000 Avios each way.

Earning British Airways Avios

There are plenty of ways to earn British Airways Avios. If you open the British Airways Visa Signature® Card (see rates and fees), you can earn 85,000 Avios after spending $5,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening. Avios also transfer at a 1:1 ratio from American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One, Chase Ultimate Rewards and Wells Fargo Rewards. This gives you a variety of ways to boost your Avios balance.

Related: Why transferable points and miles are worth more than other rewards

Book flights to Hawaii with Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan

Alternatively, you can book the same carriers (Alaska and American) through Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan. In March 2024, Alaska adopted a distance-based award chart. Here’s how much flying one-way from the mainland to Hawaii will cost with Alaska miles:

Earning Alaska Airlines miles

Though Alaska miles are among the most valuable airline miles, and all flights are bookable on Alaska’s website, they are among the hardest miles to earn. The only major program with a transferable rewards currency Alaska partners with is Bilt Rewards; Bilt points transfer to Mileage Plan at a 1:1 ratio. However, thanks to last year’s Alaska-Hawaiian merger, you can now transfer HawaiianMiles — and, by extension, Amex points — to Mileage Plan. However, Amex will reportedly end its partnership with HawaiianMiles this summer.

Also, if you have a lot of Marriott Bonvoy points, you can transfer them at a 3:1 ratio. Plus, you’ll receive a 5,000-mile bonus for 60,000-point transfers.

You may also consider opening an Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card, which offers 60,000 bonus miles plus Alaska’s Companion Fare ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) after making $3,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days from opening your account. Plus, after account opening, you’ll receive a 30% flight discount code for a future qualifying flight.

Related: Things to know about the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan program

Book flights to Hawaii with Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer

Though we touched on booking United Airlines flights with Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles, you can also book United tickets with KrisFlyer miles through partner Singapore Airlines. While the pricing isn’t as good, especially after the KrisFlyer program was devalued, it’s still worth noting.

United award fares from the continental U.S. to Hawaii generally start at 19,500 miles each way in economy or 39,000 miles each way in first class.

Here’s how much an Alaska ticket from the West Coast to Hawaii will set you back:

• Economy: 13,500 miles
• Business class: 50,500 miles

Though you can book United awards on Singapore Airlines’ website, you must call to book Alaska award tickets. To speed up the process, find Alaska award space on Alaska Airlines’ website first, then call Singapore Airlines with your dates and flight numbers in hand.

Earning Singapore KrisFlyer miles

Singapore Airlines miles are some of the easiest miles to earn. KrisFlyer is a 1:1 transfer partner of four transferable points programs: American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards and Citi ThankYou Rewards. You can also transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to KrisFlyer at a 3:1 ratio and receive a 5,000-mile bonus for every 60,000 points you transfer.

Related: When does it make sense to transfer Marriott points to airlines?

Book flights to Hawaii with American Airlines AAdvantage

You can redeem American Airlines AAdvantage miles for award flights to Hawaii on both American and Alaska, as well as other partner airlines. Economy prices are fair, but it’s not the cheapest way to get to paradise, especially in business class.

The program has dynamic pricing for all American-operated awards, but you can expect to pay the following on most dates with award space:

• Economy: 22,500 miles one-way
• First class: 55,000 miles one-way (62,500 miles if the plane has lie-flat seats)

The good news is that these prices are pretty consistent no matter where you fly from in the mainland U.S. (whether you’re coming from the West Coast or all the way from New York City).

Earning American Airlines miles

Since AAdvantage dropped its partnership with Bilt last year, the program’s only remaining transfer partner is Marriott Bonvoy; points transfer to AAdvantage at a 3:1 ratio.

You can also earn AAdvantage miles directly when you open an American Airlines credit card.

One of the best is the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® (see rates and fees). This card offers 70,000 bonus miles after you spend $7,000 in the first three months from account opening.

Book flights to Hawaii with United Airlines MileagePlus

United MileagePlus economy award tickets from the U.S. mainland to Hawaii usually cost around 25,000 miles one-way, while first-class tickets start at around 90,000 miles. Here’s an example flight from Chicago to Honolulu:

United Airlines awards are easy to find thanks to the program’s user-friendly website and calendar search feature.

If you have a United cobranded credit card or Premier elite status, you’ll have access to a more extensive inventory of award seats. To find the most up-to-date pricing, go to United’s website and search for a ticket.

Earning United Airlines miles

Several credit cards can help you earn MileagePlus miles quickly, including:

• United℠ Explorer Card (see rates and fees): Earn 80,000 bonus miles after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
• United Quest℠ Card (see rates and fees): Earn 90,000 bonus miles and 500 Premier qualifying points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
• United Club℠ Card (see rates and fees): Earn 95,000 miles after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.

You can also instantly transfer Bilt Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards points to United at a ratio of 1:1. If you’re just starting with points and miles, you may want to consider the Chase Sapphire Preferred.

Book flights to Hawaii with Delta Air Lines SkyMiles

Since Delta Air Lines doesn’t publish an award chart, you must search specific dates to see the price, which can change daily. That said, you can still find excellent deals on some dates — and the site’s calendar tool makes it easier to spot deals.

For instance, there are flights from LAX to HNL for 13,000 miles one-way on many dates this fall. This price would drop to just 11,050 SkyMiles if you had the 15% discount included with most Delta cobranded credit cards.

Related: Things you need to know about Delta SkyMiles

Earning Delta SkyMiles

To earn Delta SkyMiles quickly, you can open a Delta credit card and utilize its lucrative welcome bonus. The Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card offers 50,000 bonus miles after you spend $2,000 on purchases in the first six months of card membership.

If you’re looking for a general travel card not tied to one particular airline, consider The Platinum Card® from American Express, which offers 80,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $8,000 on purchases on the card in your first six months of card membership. You can transfer Membership Rewards points to Delta at a 1:1 ratio.

Related: My first redemption: How I used Chase Ultimate Rewards points to vacation in Hawaii

Bottom line

It’s no secret that flights are usually the biggest expense when booking travel. However, you don’t have to spend a small fortune to visit the beautiful islands of Hawaii. No matter which airline you prefer or which currency you collect, there are plenty of options for booking your flights with points and miles. Before you transfer rewards to your airline of choice, check out our list of credit card transfer bonuses.

After booking your flights, you’ll need a place to stay. For inspiration, see our roundups of the best hotels and resorts in Hawaii and the best hotels on Oahu.