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Earn a 25% bonus when transferring Amex Membership Rewards to Hawaiian Airlines

June 01, 2021
5 min read
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Earn a 25% bonus when transferring Amex Membership Rewards to Hawaiian Airlines
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American Express is back with another incentive to move your points to one of its transfer partners: Amex is offering a 25% bonus when transferring American Express Membership Rewards points to Hawaiian Airlines' HawaiianMiles mileage program. Amex has consistently run this promo once per year in the past — each of which has offered a 25% bonus. You'll get the bonus when you transfer Amex points to Hawaiian by Jun. 30, 2021.

(Screenshot courtesy of American Express)

Normally you can convert Membership Rewards points to HawaiianMiles at a 1:1 ratio in increments of 1,000 points. With the bonus, you get 25% more miles. For example, for every 1,000 Amex points you transfer, you'll receive 1,250 HawaiianMiles.

Related: Best ways to redeem points and miles on Hawaiian Airlines

Does it make sense to transfer Amex points to Hawaiian?

HawaiianMiles aren't the most valuable, but it can sometimes make sense to use them. (Photo by Benji Stawski/The Points Guy)

Hawaiian Airlines doesn't have the strongest award chart, but redeeming miles might make sense if you're getting a 25% transfer bonus. HawaiianMiles moved to a variable award pricing in 2019 and created different charts for West Coast and East Coast departures. In turn, this eliminated some sweet spots.

(Screenshot courtesy of Hawaiian Airlines)

That said, there are a few times when it makes sense to transfer your Amex points to HawaiianMiles. Let's take a closer look.

Related: Fly Hawaiian Airlines (A321neo) in first class from Portland to Maui

Low-cost award tickets from the U.S. mainland to Hawaii

As you can see in the award chart above, the airline has multiple redemption bands. You'll generally find cheaper award prices on low-demand dates — think back-to-school season and the lull between holidays. The cheapest Hawaiian awards from the mainland are discounted West Coast to Hawaii tickets, which start at 17,500 HawaiianMiles, or 14,000 Amex points with the transfer bonus.

That said, I'm not able to find any award prices at this level at the moment. There are, however, many awards at the 20,000-mile level, which is just 16,000 Amex points one-way with the current transfer bonus. This is a great deal for using Amex points to get to Hawaii.

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(Screenshot courtesy of Hawaiian Airlines)

I've found flights from the East Coast — including Boston (BOS) to Honolulu (HNL) — for 30,000 HawaiianMiles one-way, or 24,000 Amex points with the transfer bonus.

(Screenshot courtesy of Hawaiian Airlines)

Related: The best ways to get to Hawaii using points and miles

Flights from Hawaii to Asia and the South Pacific

Hawaiian also operates an international route network from Hawaii to countries in Asia and the South Pacific. This includes Seoul (ICN), Sydney (SYD), Tahiti (PPT) and a handful of cities in Japan, among others. Award prices vary based on your destination and which award band your tickets fall into. You can see the full award chart on Hawaiian's website.

The cheapest tickets are from Hawaii to Pago Pago and Tahiti, which start at just 24,750 miles one-way in economy class if discounted award space is available. Business-class flights on the same routes start at 47,500 miles one-way, which can be an excellent deal if you need to fly one of these routes.

Related: The best ways to get to Tahiti using points and miles

Inter-island award tickets

Further, inter-island flights run as low as 7,500 miles one-way, or 6,000 Amex points with the transfer bonus. This can be great if you're planning to visit multiple islands on your next trip to Hawaii or if you're a local that wants to visit friends and family on another island.

(Screenshot courtesy of Hawaiian Airlines)

Related: Everything you need to know about visiting Hawaii

Bottom line

Transferring Amex points to HawaiianMiles with a 25% bonus can be a good deal if you already have a flight you'd like to book. You'll find the best deals on discounted economy tickets from the mainland U.S. to Hawaii. If you want to try Hawaiian's business class product and find low-cost award space, business class can be a good deal too.

If you recently applied for The Platinum Card® from American Express and are wondering how to get the most value from your welcome offer, read our guide to the best ways to redeem 100,000 Membership Rewards after you spend $6,000 on purchases in your first six months of card membership.

Additional reporting by JT Genter and Brendan Dorsey

Featured image by (Photo by Clint Henderson/The Points Guy)
Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.