Fly to Hawaii for as low as $195
Quick summary
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
Palm trees, black- and white-sand beaches, clear teal waters — Hawaii truly is paradise. Unfortunately, tickets to paradise tend to be pretty pricey for most of the year.
However, from now through March, multiple airlines are offering cheap fares to popular tourist destinations in Hawaii. Tickets from a variety of cities across the U.S. go for as low as $195.
You can find the most heavily discounted fares to Hawaii from West Coast cities like Los Angeles and Seattle, but there are also solid deals from New York City-area airports.
With prices dipping below $200, this bargain offer to Hawaii is not sure to last. In order to snag discounted tickets to the Aloha State, be sure to book your tickets within the next couple of days.
Deal basics
Airlines: Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Airlines and United Airlines.
Routes: Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Las Vegas, New York, Phoenix, San Francisco, Seattle and many other U.S. cities have discounted routes to Honolulu, Lihue, Kahului and Kailua-Kona.
How to book: Search through Google Flights to determine your ideal dates, then book directly with the airline of your choice.
Travel dates: Generally from November 2022 to March 2023, excluding holidays.
Book by: Within the next two days.
Kudos to Scott's Cheap Flights for sourcing this deal. The site's Premium membership — which comes with a 14-day free trial and costs $49 per year — has discounts of up to 90%. The Elite membership flags premium economy, business-class and first-class deals.
Sample flights
For the rest of 2022 and well into the new year, multiple airlines are offering discounted routes to popular Hawaii destinations like Honolulu, Kailua-Kona, Lihue and Kahului from an array of U.S. cities.
Here are some highlights we've bookmarked:
- Hawaiian: Oakland International Airport (OAK) to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL), starting at $195.
- United: Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Kona International Airport (KOA), starting at $237.
- United: Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to KOA, starting at $268 (includes a layover in San Francisco).
- United: Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ) to Lihue Airport (LIH), starting at $355.
- Delta: Denver International Airport (DEN) to Kahului Airport (OGG), starting at $357 (includes a layover in Seattle).
- Hawaiian: John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to HNL, starting at $489.
When booking flights, we recommend using Google Flights first to search for your best available dates and then booking directly on the airline's website. Direct airline bookings are more reliable in the event your flight faces a cancellation, delay or booking change.
For a Feb.1 flight from JFK to Honolulu, Google Flights shows two bargain options. The first is a Delta flight that leaves for Hawaii at 9 a.m. and costs $479; the other is a Hawaiian flight that takes off at 10 a.m. and is $489. Both flights are nonstop.
However, if you opt for the Delta flight, the only available returning flight to New York that would keep the fare low is a Hawaiian one that departs at 4:55 p.m. This flight returns to JFK on Feb. 8, so you'd have a weeklong vacation in Honolulu.
Keep in mind that since these two flights to and from Honolulu are operated by two different carriers who don't have any codeshares, you'd have to book your tickets separately on Delta's and Hawaiian's websites.
Booking tickets on two separate websites seems like it could be a hassle, but the process is relatively seamless. Once you click on the Google Flights link to book your flights, just click on the two websites — Delta and Hawaiian both take you to the checkout page for the individual tickets.
These tickets are for the airlines' basic economy options. Neither Delta nor Hawaiian allows passengers to select seats or make changes to their flights with basic economy.
While basic economy may be restrictive, it offers very low fares. Also, in this case, the flights between JFK and Honolulu are nonstop, so you also don't have to deal with any layovers. The $479 price tag for these two flights is considered to be on the low end, according to Google Flights, so it's still worth acting on.
Maximize your purchase
When booking your tickets, use a card that earns bonus points on airfare purchases like The Platinum Card® from American Express (5 points per dollar on airfare booked directly with the airline or through American Express Travel, on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar), Citi Prestige® Card (5 points per dollar on airfare), Chase Sapphire Reserve (3 points per dollar on airfare), American Express® Gold Card (3 points per dollar on airfare when booked directly with the airline or through Amex Travel) or the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card (2 points per dollar on travel). Check out this post for more on maximizing airfare purchases.
The information for the Citi Prestige Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Bottom line
Even though the fares in this deal are for basic economy — which can be restrictive — many flights are nonstop. Also, the prices are significantly lower than normal. If you want to save even more on airfare, you can book your departing and returning flights through two different airlines to get the best possible price.
All the airlines listed in this bundle are offering such steep discounts during Hawaii's peak tourist season in the winter, and well into 2023. So, if you've been contemplating a trip to the Aloha State, now is the time to act.