Toni is a points and miles enthusiast who has been leveraging loyalty programs to travel around the world (for nearly free) with her husband and their four young children. She’s passionate about sharing travel tips so that others can not only feel in.
Toni Perkins-Southam Lead EditorToni is a points and miles enthusiast who has been leveraging loyalty programs to travel around the world (for nearly free) with her husband and their four young children. She’s passionate about sharing travel tips so that others can not only feel in.
Written By Toni Perkins-Southam Lead EditorToni is a points and miles enthusiast who has been leveraging loyalty programs to travel around the world (for nearly free) with her husband and their four young children. She’s passionate about sharing travel tips so that others can not only feel in.
Toni Perkins-Southam Lead EditorToni is a points and miles enthusiast who has been leveraging loyalty programs to travel around the world (for nearly free) with her husband and their four young children. She’s passionate about sharing travel tips so that others can not only feel in.
Lead Editor Caroline Lupini Managing Editor, Credit Cards & Travel RewardsCaroline Lupini has been traveling the world with the help of credit card rewards since 2011. She has visited over 110 countries and is able to utilize her knowledge of credit cards and to make travel both less expensive and more luxurious. Caroline.
Caroline Lupini Managing Editor, Credit Cards & Travel RewardsCaroline Lupini has been traveling the world with the help of credit card rewards since 2011. She has visited over 110 countries and is able to utilize her knowledge of credit cards and to make travel both less expensive and more luxurious. Caroline.
Caroline Lupini Managing Editor, Credit Cards & Travel RewardsCaroline Lupini has been traveling the world with the help of credit card rewards since 2011. She has visited over 110 countries and is able to utilize her knowledge of credit cards and to make travel both less expensive and more luxurious. Caroline.
Caroline Lupini Managing Editor, Credit Cards & Travel RewardsCaroline Lupini has been traveling the world with the help of credit card rewards since 2011. She has visited over 110 countries and is able to utilize her knowledge of credit cards and to make travel both less expensive and more luxurious. Caroline.
| Managing Editor, Credit Cards & Travel Rewards
Updated: Mar 26, 2024, 5:02pm
Editorial Note: We earn a commission from partner links on Forbes Advisor. Commissions do not affect our editors' opinions or evaluations.
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Hawaiian Airlines is a U.S.-based airline, but don’t let its name fool you. The airline offers flights that span the globe, including destinations in North America, the South Pacific, Asia and, naturally, the major islands of Hawaii.
The loyalty program of Hawaiian Airlines is HawaiianMiles. Members earn HawaiianMiles and redeem them for award travel and more. There are pros and cons you should be aware of so you can maximize your earnings and redemptions when the time comes.
Hawaiian Airlines’ humble beginning dates back to 1929. At first, the airline only offered $5 sightseeing tours in a tiny monoplane. But later, two eight-passenger aircraft were added to the fleet, and the airline began flying between the Hawaiian Islands.
The following years were a time of growth for the airline, and the world watched it set new records in aviation firsts. In 1979, for example, an all-female crew made history when they operated a certified scheduled U.S. air carrier flight—the first time a crew of only women had done such a thing.
Today, Hawaiian Airlines is a flourishing enterprise that flies approximately 260 flights per day and serves millions of customers each year.
To earn HawaiianMiles, you’ll need a free loyalty account. Joining only requires some basic information (name, address, birthday and phone number) and takes just a minute or two to complete.
Once you have finished registration, you’ll receive your loyalty number and you can begin earning HawaiianMiles immediately.
HawaiianMiles, like most loyalty program miles, can be earned through activities other than actually flying with the airline. With Hawaiian Airlines, those activities range from flying to spending with a co-branded credit card and more.
Each flight you take with Hawaiian Airlines opens up the opportunity to earn HawaiianMiles. How many you earn will depend on a few factors—namely, the distance flown, cabin class and level of elite status you’ve achieved in the loyalty program.
Holding elite status with Hawaiian Airlines will allow you to earn even more miles each time you fly. Hawaiian Airlines offers two tiers of elite status: Pualani Gold and Pualani Platinum. There’s also a paid membership that comes with certain elite benefits: Premier Club.
Each elite status tier earns bonus miles for flights at the following rates:
Reaching elite status with Hawaiian Airlines not only lets you earn bonus miles when flying, but also provides exclusive perks and benefits that can make your experience more enjoyable and potentially save you loads of money. But first, you’ll need to qualify.
Here are the elite status tiers, requirements for each and best perks:
Pualani Gold: Fly 30 segments or earn 20,000 miles
Pualani Platinum: Fly 60 segments or earn 40,000 miles
Premier Club: $299 or 40,000 HawaiianMiles for new memberships; $249 or 35,000 HawaiianMiles to renew each year
When it comes to qualifying segments and miles for status, only flights scheduled and operated by Hawaiian Airlines are eligible. That means that activities like flying with partner airlines or using a co-branded HawaiianMiles credit card will not count toward elite status requirements.
For such a large entity, it may come as a surprise that Hawaiian Airlines is not a part of any major airline alliance. This doesn’t mean Hawaiian Airlines has no partners, however. In fact, Hawaiian Airlines has codeshare agreements with several major airlines.
Additionally, Hawaiian Airlines markets with the following airlines:
How many HawaiianMiles you earn depends on which partners you fly with. Each partner airline has its own earning rate and stipulations.
Let’s take a look at JetBlue to get an idea of the earning potential.
A JetBlue flight credited to your HawaiianMiles account will earn at the above rates. This means that if you fly in JetBlue’s premium cabin, Mint, in one of the booking classes included, you will earn 125% bonus miles. For a flight that is 500 miles in distance, you would earn 625 bonus miles for a total of 1,125 HawaiianMiles.
Grabbing a co-branded Hawaiian Airlines credit card is one of the best ways to quickly load up on HawaiianMiles. There are two credit cards that earn HawaiianMiles—one business option and one personal card. Both are issued by Barclays:
Hawaiian Airlines’ co-branded credit cards are not the only option for earning HawaiianMiles through spending. Using a flexible-currency credit card can allow you to earn points and then convert them to HawaiianMiles.
American Express Membership Rewards points transfer to HawaiianMiles at a rate of 1:1.
Amex has loads of cards that earn Membership Rewards points and allows transfers to Hawaiian Airlines, including:
Marriott Bonvoy, while not a credit card program, allows its Bonvoy points to be converted to airline miles for loads of loyalty programs—Hawaiian Airlines being one of them. You’ll get 1 HawaiianMile for every 3 Marriott Bonvoy points transferred.
Here are some the best Marriott Bonvoy credit cards that allow you to convert your points to HawaiianMiles:
The Hawaiian Airlines Marketplace is a one-stop shop for earning bonus miles on purchases from Hawaii-based companies—and some partners in the U.S. mainland, too—and includes activities like dining and shopping. You can find the entire list of merchants on the Hawaiian Airlines app.
To be eligible to earn bonus HawaiianMiles, you’ll need to use your co-branded Hawaiian Airlines credit card to pay at an eligible partner.
Buying HawaiianMiles is a simple way to stock up, but the odds are that it will not result in a particularly optimal value. Generally speaking, only consider purchasing miles when you need to top off your account for an award flight redemption.
HawaiianMiles members can purchase a maximum of 30,000 HawaiianMiles in 500-mile increments. Unlike purchasing miles with other frequent flyer programs, Hawaiian Airlines processes its own transactions. This allows members who hold a co-branded Hawaiian Airlines credit card to earn bonus miles on a purchase of miles.
To buy HawaiianMiles, you’ll need to call Hawaiian Airlines.
Rental Cars
If you need to rent a car, make sure to check out Hawaiian Airlines’ partner rental companies to see what kind of deals are available. Currently, HawaiianMiles members can earn 250 bonus miles for each car rental at the following agencies:
If you hold elite status with Hawaiian Airlines, you can earn even more. Pualani Gold elites get 500 bonus miles while Pualani Platinums can earn 750.
Just like earning miles, you’ll find there are several ways to redeem your HawaiianMiles beyond flying, and some options result in better value than others.
Airlines including United, American Airlines and Delta have switched to a dynamic pricing model from traditional award charts. Hawaiian Airlines is one of the few that still publishes an award chart, and it’s simple to use.
Hawaiian’s award chart is organized into a region-based map. Those regions have set price points that vary according to season—busier seasons mean a redemption will cost more miles compared to slower seasons (Discounted Award Amount), which cost fewer. Rates are further divided by flight class—a flight in economy will cost fewer miles than a seat in first class.
The following is an example from the HawaiianMiles award chart with flights from Hawaii to the West Coast of North America. Discounted Award Amounts start at 17,500 HawaiianMiles and jump up from there.
HawaiianMiles can be redeemed for flights on partner airlines. Each partner has its own redemption rates, so you’ll need to check the award chart for the airline you are interested in using your miles for. Note that when redeeming your HawaiianMiles for flights on partner airlines, you can only do so for roundtrip flights, not for one-way or multi-city travel.
While each partner has unique redemptions, there is one point of continuity among each—all award charts will have you pay less for economy class and the rates will go up as you upgrade cabins. For example, the following chart is for partner Virgin Atlantic. Economy class is the cheapest option and prices jump significantly from there.
Infant Fees
Hawaiian Airlines’ child fee policies are relatively generous compared to some airlines. Children under 2 years old flying as a lap infant will not pay any additional fees when flying throughout Hawaii (neighboring islands) and the rest of North America. For international flights, 10% of the adult fare plus taxes and fees will need to be paid.
For children under the age of 2 flying in their own seat, you can expect to pay the following fees:
