HawaiianMiles Program Review

HawaiianMiles is the frequent flyer currency of Hawaiian Airlines.

Miles accumulated in the HawaiianMiles program will allow you to redeem them for free tickets and upgrades to first class on both Hawaiian Airlines and their codeshare partners. They can also be used for free or discounted car rentals, hotel stays, merchandise, or other products and services through Hawaiian Airlines partners.

Sign up for the HawaiianMiles Program here to start earning in the program right away!

Hawaiian Airlines

Before we dig into the HawaiianMiles frequent flyer program, here is a brief overview of Hawaiian Airlines.

Hawaiian Airlines is Hawaii’s largest and primary airline with its main hub at the Honolulu International Airport (HNL) on Oahu and a secondary hub at the Kahului International Airport (OGG) on Maui. Hawaiian Airlines operates flights to Asia, Hawaii, New Zealand, Australia, and the United States Mainland.

Hawaiian Airlines offers non-stop service to the following U.S. Cities (primarily servicing the West Coast, with the exception of New York):

• Austin, TX
• Boston, MA
• Las Vegas, NV
• Los Angeles, CA
• New York City
• Oakland, CA
• Ontario, CA
• Orlando, FL
• Phoenix, AZ
• Portland, OR
• Sacramento, CA
• San Diego, CA
• San Francisco, CA
• San Jose, CA
• Seattle, WA

Hawaiian Airlines offers non-stop service to the following International Locations:

• Australia – Sydney, Brisbane
• American Samoa – Pago Pago
• China – Beijing
• Japan – Tokyo-Haneda/Tokyo-Narita, Osaka-Kansai, Sapporo-Chitose
• Korea – Seoul-Incheon
• New Zealand – Auckland
• Tahiti – Papeete

Hawaiian Airlines Partners

Hawaiian Airlines is not part of the three major airline alliances (Oneworld, SkyTeam or Star Alliance) but does have several codeshare partners including:

• China Airlines
• Japan Airlines
• jetBlue
• Korean Air
• Virgin Atlantic
• Virgin Australia

Check out the Hawaiian Airlines partner award chart to understand mileage requirements when using HawaiianMiles for free flights on partner programs. It is interesting to note the variety of programs and how different they are – some are based on the price of the ticket (jetBlue), some are zone-based (ANA and Korea) and some are distance-based (Virgin America). So you will want to understand these models before trying to use your frequent flyer miles for a Hawaiian Airlines flight.

Hawaiian Airlines Elite Status with HawaiianMiles

Hawaiian Airlines offers three levels of membership: Basic, Pualani Gold, and Pualani Platinum.

Once you have joined, you can reach elite status in one of two ways—either flight miles earned or flight segments. Qualifying flight miles or flight segments must be earned on a revenue fare that earns HawaiianMiles when traveling on a Hawaiian Airlines scheduled flight. You cannot earn elite status on Hawaiian Airlines by flying on codeshare partners, only via flights on actual Hawaiian Airlines aircraft.

An important note about Qualification for Pualani Status:

“Elite membership is based on flight segments and flight miles earned during the calendar year (Jan 1 – Dec 31). Members that qualify will receive full benefits for the remainder of the current year and the following year. Flight segments and flight mileage are earned based on flights scheduled and operated by Hawaiian Airlines. Segments and miles earned on charter flights, partner airlines, HawaiianMiles partners, bonus miles, or miles earned through the HA MasterCard or HA Visa Card do not count towards Pualani Elite status. HawaiianMiles are not awarded for travel on Flight Awards and therefore, these segments and miles are not Elite-qualifying.”

HawaiianMiles Membership Level Benefits

Upon signing up for HawaiianMiles, you will receive the basic level membership, which really just gives you access to the program and the ability to earn miles.

There are really three levels of “status” you can have with Hawaiian Airlines. Two have to be earned (Pualani Gold and Platinum) and one can be bought (Premier Club).

Let’s first focus on the “earned” status levels: Pualani Gold and Pualani Platinum.

Pualani Gold Benefits

The following are the benefits you will receive when you reach the Pualani Gold level (naturally, a Pualani Platinum member will also receive these benefits, plus more)

• No blackout dates for mileage rewards
• More seats available for selection at the time of booking reservations
• Discounted E-Awards when booking online at HawaiianAirlines.com
• Priority routing & handling when calling Exclusive Reservations Line
• Fare-Hold Reservations – (1-2 day hold complimentary – Neighbor Island, North American & International flights)
• Premier Club / First Class Check-In Line in Honolulu & Neighbor Island Airport (member + 2 guests)
• Premier Club Access – Honolulu, Hilo, Kona, Kahului, Lihue
• Priority Security Lines – Honolulu, New York, Oakland, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, and Seattle Members must present Elite Membership Card and boarding Pass to TSA agent
• Priority Baggage Handling
• 2 bags checked free
• 50% Bonus Frequent Flyer Miles
• Zone 2 Priority Pre-Boarding, with 2 guests
• Discounted upgrades with Online Check-in 24 hours prior to Departure for North American flights on Hawaiian Airlines
• One complimentary “Unlimited TV & More” entertainment pack on Our A330 Planes when you fly on Our North America routes This pack Features a Variety of Classic movies, TV Shows, music, and games.
• Neighbor Island Same Day Standby for an earlier Flight with no Fee.
• Complimentary upgrade to Extra Comfort/Preferred Seat based on availability

Pualani Platinum Benefits

When you reach the Pualani Platinum Level you will receive the following additional benefits:

• Neighbor Island Economy Class SEAT guaranteed up until 72 hours prior to Departure when a Revenue E-Ticket Booking
• Your First 3 Bags Checked Free
• 100% Frequent Flyer Bonus on purchased tickets
• Zone 1 Priority Pre-Boarding
• Complimentary Upgrades

Pualani Platinum Status offers some very nice benefits and is relatively easy to earn for anyone flying to Hawaii on a fairly regular basis – 8 round trips from LAX to HNL or just 4 round trips from JFK to HNL will do it! (Wouldn’t it be nice to be one of these people…..)

Hawaiian Airlines Premier Club Membership

While it is not an “elite status” level, the Hawaiian Airlines Premier Club Membership does provide some nice benefits that are typically reserved for elite members of their frequent flyer program. That said, you cannot “earn” a Premier Club membership via flying, you have to buy it. Although you can use your miles to “buy” the membership, I guess in some ways, you can earn it from flying.

Hawaiian Airlines Premier Clubs are the lounges of Hawaiian Airlines. There are no clubs in the mainland U.S., just in the Hawaiian Airports and international locations (operated by partner airlines). Find a list of Premier Clubs here. Based on their locations, they are really geared toward people originating out of Hawaii.

The price for new membership is $299 or 40,000 HawaiianMiles. Renewal membership is $249 or 35,000 HawaiianMiles.

Premier Club Benefits Include:

• Priority routing and handing when calling Hawaiian Airlines Reservations; just enter your HawaiianMiles account number
• Express check-in lines at Hawaiian Airlines ticket counters
• Free baggage allowance: First two (2) checked bags
• Priority Security Lines when you present your Premier Club card to the TSA agent in Honolulu, New York, Oakland, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose and Seattle
• Premier Club access in Honolulu, Hilo, Kahului, Kona, and Lihue
• Priority Pre-Boarding on the flight before general boarding
• One complimentary Inflight Entertainment “Unlimited TV & More Pack” on our A330 planes when flying on our North American routes

How to Earn HawaiianMiles

The most obvious way to earn HawaiianMiles is via flying on Hawaiian Airlines. You will earn 1 mile per mile flown. Here are some examples of miles earned for various flights. You can see that you won’t earn many miles for inter-island flights, but you can earn quite a few when flying to/from the mainland U.S.

Here is a table that shows miles earned on one-way flights from Honolulu to the mainland U.S.

Hawaiian Airlines Transfer Partners

The fastest way to earn HawaiianMiles is to leverage the Hawaiian Airlines transfer partners. These transfer partners include credit card companies, hotels, rental car companies, and shopping and dining partners.

HawaiianMiles – Travel Partners

Hawaiian Airlines has a bunch of travel partners that allow more ways for you to earn HawaiianMiles when you travel. You will find every major hotel chain (Marriott, Hilton, etc..) and car rental company (Hertz, Avis, National, etc…) as well as a handful of others. Find a complete list of travel partners here.

Additional ways to earn HawaiianMiles include:

• If you have to get a passport, they have partnered with Visa Central to earn miles from that process as well.
• Earn miles when shopping on the Hawaiian Partner Portal
• Earn miles when buying from a Hawaiian Airlines Merchant Partner – This can include buying anything from flowers, groceries at Foodland, activities, etc. Find a complete list of partners here.
• Earn miles by Sharing your opinion

HawaiianMiles Credit Cards

Of all the ways to earn HawaiianMiles, credit cards and sign-up bonuses will get you the maximum number of miles in the shortest amount of time. You can earn miles from either a Co-Branded Hawaiian Airlines credit card or with a credit card program that transfers to HawaiianMiles.

Hawaiian Airlines Co-Branded Cards

When you earn points through a Hawaiian Airlines Co-Branded credit card, they automatically post to your HawaiianMiles account each month – no transfer required.

• Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard – typically has a 35,000 mile sign-up bonus and the ability to earn double (2x) miles on Hawaiian Airline purchases and 1x miles on all other purchases.
• Hawaiian Airlines Business Mastercard – has a similar signup bonus with the ability to rack up additional bonuses with a high amount of business spend.

Credit Card Programs that transfer to HawaiianMiles

The following credit card programs allow you to transfer your points into the HawaiianMiles program.

American Express Membership Rewards

Membership Rewards Points transfer to HawaiianMiles at a ratio of 1:1

American Express Personal Cards that transfer to HawaiianMiles

1. Platinum Card from American Express
2. Gold Card from American Express
3. Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express
4. Mercedes-Benz Credit Card from American Express
5. Amex Everyday Credit Card
6. Amex EveryDay Preferred Credit Card
7. Blue from American Express
8. American Express Green Card

American Express Business Cards that transfer to HawaiianMiles

1. Business Platinum Card from American Express
2. Business Green Rewards Card from American Express
3. Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express
4. Blue for Business Credit Card from American Express

American Express – Marriott Cards (Marriott Bonvoy Points)

Marriott has a great program for transferring points earned in the Marriott Bonvoy program to over 30 airlines, one of which is Hawaiian Airlines. To sweeten the deal, they offer an additional 5,000-mile bonus for every 60,000 Bonvoy points you transfer, so 60,000 Marriott points will equal 25,000 HawaiianMiles.

Marriott Co-Branded Credit Cards are available as both personal and business cards and allow you to earn Bonvoy points on every purchase you make.

The following cards will allow you to earn Marriott Bonvoy points that can be transferred to HawaiianMiles:

1. Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card from Chase
2. Marriott Bonvoy Bold Credit Card from Chase
3. Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card
4. Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card

Diners Club

The following cards earn Diners Club “Club Rewards” with HawaiianMiles Transfer Option

1. Diners Club Card Premier
2. Diners Club Card Elite

How to Redeem HawaiianMiles

HawaiianMiles can be used for free flights on both Hawaiian Airlines and their partner airlines.

Using HawaiianMiles for flights on Hawaiian Airlines

The HawaiianMiles award chart offers both saver and flex awards, starting from as little as 15,000 miles, for inter-island roundtrip flights and 40,000 for roundtrip flights to mainland U.S. International flights vary depending on if you are originating from Mainland U.S. or Hawaii

The rewards categories are:

• Super Saver – The lowest mileage Coach flight award.
• Coach Saver – Available when Super Saver awards are not. Coach Saver awards may be purchased online only.
• Coach Flex – Can be redeemed for travel on Hawaiian Airlines with twice the miles of a Super Saver award when both Super Saver and Saver awards are not available.
• First/Business Saver – The lower mileage First/Business flight award.
• First/Business Flex – Can be redeemed for travel on Hawaiian Airlines with twice the miles of a First/Business Saver award when a First/Business Saver award is not available.
• Upgrades – Must be processed through Reservations, all award upgrades must be ticketed 26 hours prior to the flight departure.

Refer to the Hawaiian Airlines Award Chart here for all the mileage requirements including, inter-island, flights to the mainland, and international flights.

If you aren’t using miles for your flight make sure to read our guide to Hawaiian Airlines Deals and Promo Codes.

Using HawaiianMiles for flights on Partner Airlines

You can also use your HawaiianMiles to book free round-trip flights on partner airlines. The amount of miles varies from airline to airline, depending on your route. Please go here to find the partner airline award charts. Partner airlines that allow booking with HawaiianMiles include:

1. All Nippon Airways
2. jetBlue
3. Korean Air
4. Virgin American
5. Virgin Australia
6. Virgin Atlantic