Booking a $500 flight with Southwest or Hawaiian: Here's how to double stack and save at least $75
Despite the occasional deal, airfare as a whole is quite expensive right now. At TPG, our goal is to get you on your next trip sooner by sharing the ins and outs of making travel less expensive.
Whether you're planning a trip to Hawaii on Hawaiian Airlines or to Costa Rica on Southwest Airlines, here's a lesser-known way that you can save almost 20% on your next trip.
Let's assume your ticket is $500 on either airline. Just how much can you save?
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Airline gift cards: $50
For $449.99, you can buy a $500 Southwest gift card from Costco or Sam's Club. And for the same price, you can buy a Hawaiian Airlines gift card through Sam's Club.
Both Sam's Club and Costco require subscriptions. A basic annual membership to Sam's Club is $45, while it's $60 at Costco.
These gift cards are easy to buy, and they have instant delivery to your email inbox for immediate use. But they also never expire.
With Southwest, you can use a maximum of three gift cards per ticket. So that would be $1,500 of gift cards for $1,349.97. Using gift cards can easily be done on the checkout page on southwest.com.
With Hawaiian Airlines, you can use up to four gift cards per reservation, and as with Southwest, you can easily pay by gift card during the checkout process.
Costco Executive membership: $9
A Costco Executive membership costs $120 per year, which is an additional $60 to shell out beyond the base membership. With an Executive membership, you receive 2% back on qualifying purchases at Costco, Costco.com and Costco Travel. For frequent Costco shoppers, it can make sense to spend the extra $60 for an Executive membership. Specifically, if you spend $3,000 (or more) in a year at Costco, the additional 2% back will cover the higher membership fee.
With a $449.99 gift card, you would receive $9 back as a Costco Executive member.
The right credit card: Up to $16.65
Since you're buying a gift card directly from Sam's Club or Costco, you could consider either using the Sam’s Club Mastercard or the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi. Both cards have no annual fee, though you have to be a member of either Sam's Club or Costco to sign up. If you're a Plus member with Sam's Club ($100 per year), you earn 3% back on Sam's Club purchases using the Sam's Club Mastercard. That's $13.50 back on your $450 airline gift card.
The information for the Sam’s Club Mastercard has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Meanwhile, the Costco Anywhere Visa earns an underwhelming 2% on Costco purchases. That translates to $9 back on your $450 gift card.
Earning 2% or 3% back on a credit card is decent, especially with the purchase price of the gift cards already discounted, but you may want to consider using a card with a generous earning structure for everyday purchases.
For example, the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card and Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card both earn 2 Capital One miles on every $1 spent. At TPG's valuations, that’s a terrific 3.7% return on all purchases, including those made with Costco and Sam's Club. So by charging $450 to one of these cards, you'd earn 900 Capital One miles, worth $16.65 at our valuations.
Alternatively, you could go with the no-annual-fee Citi® Double Cash Card. If you also have the Citi Premier® Card, you'll earn 2 Citi ThankYou points per dollar spent (which TPG values at 1.8 cents apiece). This means you'd take home rewards equivalent to $16.20, or an additional return of 3.6%.
Bonus: Shopping portal or card discount
While the two options above are surefire ways to save on these purchases, you may find other options that work — even if their terms indicate otherwise.
For example, TPG director of content Nick Ewen has the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®, and he happened to notice the chance to earn 5% back on Sam's Club purchases via Citi Merchant Offers.
The terms specifically exclude gift card purchases, but if you're planning on using a Citi card anyway, there's no harm in trying to snag an extra discount.
In addition, you should always try to go through an online shopping portal, even if you're buying items that are explicitly excluded from earning bonus cash back or additional miles. It's entirely possible that you could wind up with even more savings on these purchases — though you should be prepared to earn nothing.
Bottom line
Many travelers are trying to book an escape this summer, but inflated airfare prices may prevent some from getting away. Before you book your next Southwest or Hawaiian flight, consider purchasing a gift card through Sam's Club or Costco first.
Just keep in mind that by doing so, you may be forfeiting the travel protections on your credit card, especially those that require you to pay the full amount of your airfare on the card for the coverage to apply.
Still, with instant delivery to your email inbox and the possibility of significant savings, airline gift cards are worth knowing about.
Top offers from our partners
How we chose these cards
TPG featured card
Rewards
| 3X | Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels. |
| 2X | Earn 2X Miles at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery in the U.S. and at U.S. supermarkets. |
| 1X | Earn 1X Miles on all other eligible purchases. |
Intro offer
Annual Fee
Recommended Credit
Why We Chose It
Build your loyalty to Delta by applying for the carrier's mid-tier card option, the Delta SkyMiles Platinum card. The annual fee is quickly recouped by the card's travel perks, such as an application credit to Global Entry or TSA Precheck, annual companion certificate and so much more. Plus you can fast-track to elite status simply through card spend.Pros
- Earn bonus Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) and an Medallion Qualifying Dollar (MQD) waiver when you hit specific spending thresholds with your card within a calendar year
- Receive a Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year
- Statement credit for TSA PreCheck/Global Entry fee (up to $100)
- First checked bag free
Cons
- Doesn't make sense if you don't fly Delta
- SkyMiles aren't the most valuable airline currency
- Earn 90,000 bonus miles after you spend $4,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months.
- Receive a Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year upon renewal of your Card. Payment of the government imposed taxes and fees of no more than $80 for roundtrip domestic flights (for itineraries with up to four flight segments) is required. Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. See terms and conditions for details.
- Enjoy your first checked bag free on Delta flights. Plus enjoy Main Cabin 1 Priority Boarding and settle into your seat sooner.
- New: Card Members get 15% off when using miles to book Award Travel on Delta flights through delta.com and the Fly Delta app. Discount not applicable to partner-operated flights or to taxes and fees.
- Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels.
- Earn 2X Miles at restaurants worldwide including takeout and delivery in the U.S., and at U.S. supermarkets.
- Earn 1X Mile on all other eligible purchases.
- Enjoy a per-visit rate of $50 per person for Card Members and up to two guests to enter the Delta Sky Club when traveling on a Delta flight.
- Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® after you apply through any Authorized Enrollment Provider. If approved for Global Entry, at no additional charge, you will receive access to TSA PreCheck.
- Earn up to 20,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) with Status Boost® per year. After you spend $25,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year, you can earn 10,000 MQMs up to two times per year, getting you closer to Medallion® Status. MQMs are used to determine Medallion® Status and are different than miles you earn toward flights.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- $250 Annual Fee.
- Terms Apply.
- See Rates & Fees
Rewards Rate
| 3X | Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels. |
| 2X | Earn 2X Miles at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery in the U.S. and at U.S. supermarkets. |
| 1X | Earn 1X Miles on all other eligible purchases. |
Intro Offer
Earn 90,000 bonus miles after you spend $4,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months.Earn 90,000 Bonus Miles50,000 Bonus MilesAnnual Fee
$250Recommended Credit
Credit ranges are a variation of FICO© Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.670-850Excellent/Good
Why We Chose It
Build your loyalty to Delta by applying for the carrier's mid-tier card option, the Delta SkyMiles Platinum card. The annual fee is quickly recouped by the card's travel perks, such as an application credit to Global Entry or TSA Precheck, annual companion certificate and so much more. Plus you can fast-track to elite status simply through card spend.Pros
- Earn bonus Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) and an Medallion Qualifying Dollar (MQD) waiver when you hit specific spending thresholds with your card within a calendar year
- Receive a Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year
- Statement credit for TSA PreCheck/Global Entry fee (up to $100)
- First checked bag free
Cons
- Doesn't make sense if you don't fly Delta
- SkyMiles aren't the most valuable airline currency
- Earn 90,000 bonus miles after you spend $4,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months.
- Receive a Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year upon renewal of your Card. Payment of the government imposed taxes and fees of no more than $80 for roundtrip domestic flights (for itineraries with up to four flight segments) is required. Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. See terms and conditions for details.
- Enjoy your first checked bag free on Delta flights. Plus enjoy Main Cabin 1 Priority Boarding and settle into your seat sooner.
- New: Card Members get 15% off when using miles to book Award Travel on Delta flights through delta.com and the Fly Delta app. Discount not applicable to partner-operated flights or to taxes and fees.
- Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels.
- Earn 2X Miles at restaurants worldwide including takeout and delivery in the U.S., and at U.S. supermarkets.
- Earn 1X Mile on all other eligible purchases.
- Enjoy a per-visit rate of $50 per person for Card Members and up to two guests to enter the Delta Sky Club when traveling on a Delta flight.
- Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® after you apply through any Authorized Enrollment Provider. If approved for Global Entry, at no additional charge, you will receive access to TSA PreCheck.
- Earn up to 20,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) with Status Boost® per year. After you spend $25,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year, you can earn 10,000 MQMs up to two times per year, getting you closer to Medallion® Status. MQMs are used to determine Medallion® Status and are different than miles you earn toward flights.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- $250 Annual Fee.
- Terms Apply.
- See Rates & Fees