With the card’s future mostly known, my Hawaiian Air World Elite MC 2024 review will likely be the last for this product – at least in its current incarnation. But there’s still time to get and use this card if you don’t yet have it. So, let’s go!
As we all know, Hawaiian Airlines is now a member of the Alaska Air Group. And, over the coming months, Alaska Airlines will work to combine Alaska Air and Hawaiian Air under a single operating certificate, customer service system, and loyalty program. Of course, that also means changes are coming to the Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard – namely, that Bank of America will become the sole issuer of the combined airlines moving forward.
However, what we don’t know is whether or not a Hawaiian Airlines credit card will persist or if both the Alaska Air and Hawaiian products will be replaced with a singular offering. While I’m sure this will have little (if any) impact on this, Alaska Air is making enhanced features of Hauaka’i by Hawaiian exclusive to current Hawaiian Air World Elite MC cardholders. So, that, and the card’s continued availability, is why I’m writing this Hawaiian Air World Elite MC 2024 review. That, and for posterity, I guess.
Hawaiian Air World Elite MC 2024 Review
As of this Hawaiian Air World Elite MC 2024 review, the Hawaiian Airlines World Elite MC carries a $99. That annual fee provides cardholders with the following benefits:
- One-time 50% companion discount for a roundtrip flight between Hawaii and North America
- Two free checked bags for the primary cardholder
- $100 annual companion discount for flights between Hawaii and North America
- 3x miles on Hawaiian Air purchases
- 2x miles on gas, dining, and grocery purchases
- 1x miles on all other purchases
- In-flight purchase credits for Pualani Elites of up to $10 per day with a $100 annual limit
- Discounted award travel on Hawaiian
- No foreign transaction fee
- Transfer miles to friends and family with no fees
Of course, as I mentioned earlier, cardholders who are also members of Huaka’i by Hawaiian Airlines – an enhancement to HawaiianMiles open exclusively to Hawai’i residents – receive an additional benefit. Specifically, you’ll receive a 20% discount on one inter-island roundtrip (or one-way) flight per quarter. However, this new benefit doesn’t kick in until January 8, 2025.
Changing Value Proposition
How you value carrying the card largely depends on how you run your own calculations. Do you go based on how much you can offset the annual fee with credits, discounts, or rebates? Or do you take into account the value of miles earned, too? If you fall into the former group, and especially if you travel within Hawai’i, the value proposition of the card has changed. Why? Well, Huaka’i is why.
Huaka’i by Hawaiian gives each member one free checked bag for any flight they take within the State of Hawai’i, so long as you book through and travel on Hawaiian Airlines. For those of you who travel solo on these flights, that means Huaka’i now covers your checked bag, erasing all of those freebies provided by the card. However, if you frequently travel with someone who checks their own bag, then you just lose 50% of that value. This is especially true as the card’s bag benefit doesn’t stack with the one provided by Huaka’i.
Does This Card Still Make Sense?
This is a loaded questions. As I mentioned before, my Hawaiian Air World Elite MC 2024 review will likely be my last, as the card as it exists today vanishes into the merging loyalty program. However, there’s still a window of opportunity to take advantage of what this card has to offer. And, whether that makes sense to your or not greatly depends on how you look at things.
If you want your cards to earn their worth purely on credits and reimbursements, this card won’t make sense anymore for a Huaka’i member who travels primarily within Hawai’i. However, if you travel between Hawai’i and the continent at least a couple of times per year with a companion or if you travel back and forth around three times a year, then you can still make up the annual fee with the checked bag benefit.
But, to me, the takeaway from my Hawaiian Air World Elite MC 2024 review should be to bank as many HawaiianMiles as you can now. If you don’t already have this card, take advantage of the 70,000-mile sign-up bonus, which is awarded with either a single purchase of any denomination or $2,000 in spend, both within the first 90 days after account opening. If you have a companion who also qualifies, you can both get the card and pool your miles together for free.
Beyond this, the card gets you 2x miles on gas, groceries, and dining. While I wouldn’t use it for dining, as I have cards that earn more, the 2x on gas and groceries can easily add up to quite a few miles. And groceries are a bonus category the Alaska Mileage Plan Visa doesn’t have.
Remember, these miles will eventually turn into Mileage Plan (or whatever the hell they call it) miles, which will give you greater flexibility when redeeming. Of course, there are certain Hawaiian Air sweet spots you should take advantage of now, too.
Hawaiian Air World Elite MC 2024 Review, Final Thoughts
If I haven’t made things abundantly clear, the main takeaway of my Hawaiian Air World Elite MC 2024 review is that you really should open a Hawaiian Air World Elite MC if you don’t already have one. Doubly so if you are eligible for the sign-up bonus. Again, doing so would help you easily boost your HawaiianMiles bank, which you can already transfer 1:1 to Alaska Mileage Plan, while both programs will merge together in the next year or so.
Note: Jeffsetter does not have affiliate relationships with any issuers as of this writing. Card links are generic, publicly available links. Applying through these links does not benefit Jeffsetter in any way.
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