Heads up! As promised, the Alaska-Hawaiian mileage transfers are now live, as is the ability to book with either airline through both of their respective websites. The ability to transfer miles between the two opens up a world of opportunity for the points and miles community, especially since Alaska Air is already a oneworld member.
When Alaska Air Group closed on its purchase of Hawaiian Airlines, it announced that certain frequent flyer benefits would commence either before the end of September or within the next few weeks. Well, they lived up to their timeline as Alaska-Hawaiian mileage transfers are now live. Also live is the ability to book flights on Alaska Airlines via Hawaiian Air’s website, and vice-a-versa. But, I know what you all want to know more about, so let’s get into it.
Alaska-Hawaiian Mileage Transfers are Now Live
By now, I’m sure virtually everyone knows that Alaska-Hawaiian mileage transfers are now live. I’m not sure exactly when it became available, but chatter did begin last Thursday. At any rate, transfers are being handled by points/miles purchasing/trading platform points.com.
To transfer points, you’ll need to sign in to both your Alaska Mileage Plan and HawaiianMiles accounts at the link above. Once you do, you’ll be able to transfer points between the two programs at a 1:1 ratio. Of course, there is a minimum requirement of 50 miles, while there appears to be a maximum limit of 500,000 miles per transfer. That said, there are no limits to the number of transfers you can make, so this should be a non-issue.
Transfers can take up to 72 hours to process, though many are reporting it occurring much quicker than that. It’s also worth noting that miles obtain by transfer American Express Membership Rewards points to HawaiianMiles can transfer into Alaska Mileage Plan, which is fantastic news! That said, some are reporting that transfers from Amex to HawaiianMiles aren’t processing. Whether it’s a glitch or a permanent change, we have to wait and see.
Transfer to Alaska for Partner Awards
Since Alaska-Hawaiian mileage transfers are now live, HawaiianMiles members have access to much better partner award rates than they’re used to. As I covered before, even though Alaska Air recently increased its distance-based partner award prices, they’re still cheaper.
Honolulu – Tokyo Haneda
- JAL Main Cabin
- Alaska: 30,000 miles
- Hawaiian: 40,000 miles
- JAL Premium Economy
- Alaska: 40,000 miles
- Hawaiian: 50,000 miles
- JAL Business Class
- Alaska: 60,000 miles
- Hawaiian: 75,000 miles
Honolulu – London Heathrow
For this one, Alaska will put you on a oneworld partner such as American or British Airways, while Hawaiian will put you on Virgin Atlantic
- Main Cabin
- Alaska: 42,500 miles
- Hawaiian: 80,000 miles
- Premium Economy
- Alaska: 55,000 miles
- Hawaiian: 130,000 miles
- Business Class
- Alaska: 85,000 miles
- Hawaiian:160,000 miles
It’s wild that people actually pay the award prices Hawaiian charges. But, now, there are NO excuses. You better be transferring miles to take advantage of sweet spots.
Likewise, Alaska Mileage Plan members can now transfers miles to Hawaiian to hop around the islands. However, if you have Chase Ultimate Rewards points, redeeming via Southwest Rapid Rewards is still the cheaper option by far.
Not looking to travel that far? Ok, here’s what domestic main cabin awards look like.
- West Coast
- Alaska: from 15,000 miles
- Hawaiian: from 20,000 miles (17,500 if you’re a HAWEMC cardholder)
- Texas
- Alaska: from 15,000 miles
- Hawaiian: 25,000 miles (21,875 if you’re a HAWEMC cardholder)
- Business Class
- Alaska: from 15,000 miles
- Hawaiian: 30,000 miles (26,250 if you’re a HAWEMC cardholder)
Your mileage may vary greatly with these, as both airlines have MANY pricing tiers for these awards, but if you can snag the lowest cost option from Alaska? That’s significant savings – especially for anything that isn’t West Coast flying.
Booking
As I mentioned earlier, booking flights on Hawaiian Airlines is now available on Alaska’s website, while you can also (kind of) book Hawaiian flights on Alaska’s website. I say kind of because not all flights are available quite yet. Moreover, it seems like only flights from around November are showing up, too.
Alaska-Hawaiian Mileage Transfers are Now Live, Final Thoughts
There you have it. Alaska-Hawaiian mileage transfers are now live, finally unlocking a whole new world of award redemption opportunities for HawaiianMiles members. Best of all, there are all-new sweet spots to enjoy, which will really help you get more out of your miles. So, now that you have all of these new options available, which one(s) interest you the most?