You may want to transfer your Amex points to HawaiianMiles (and then to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan) soon
I'm in the midst of a bit of a points predicament. I'm trying to decide how many of my American Express Membership Rewards points I'm going to transfer to Hawaiian Airlines' HawaiianMiles program — and, by extension, Alaska Airlines' Mileage Plan program — before it's too late.
Here's the situation: Last fall, when the two airlines officially merged, something of a points and miles loophole opened up that allowed Amex members to effectively convert Membership Rewards points into Alaska miles — one of the most valuable loyalty currencies of any U.S. airline.
It's a bit of an end-around process. Hawaiian is a longtime Amex transfer partner. And, as part of the merger last year, the two airlines (run by one parent company) launched a temporary way to move your miles between the HawaiianMiles and Mileage Plan programs at a 1:1 ratio.
Currently, you can transfer your Amex points to Hawaiian, then move your Hawaiian miles to Alaska. It's a fairly attractive option, since Alaska miles go a long way.
However, Amex members may soon lose this Amex-to-Hawaiian-to-Alaska work-around. Here's what to know.
Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines are shifting to 1 loyalty program
Alaska is currently working on firming up the details of a single loyalty program that would serve as the connective tissue between the Alaska and Hawaiian airline brands, much like Flying Blue is the joint loyalty program for sister airlines Air France and KLM.
In an interview with TPG, a spokesperson from Alaska Mileage Plan made it clear that they don't love the idea of the continuation of Amex transfers — or, really, any flexible rewards currency transfers. (Note that Bilt Rewards is a direct transfer partner of Alaska.)
"For us, creating a market opportunity that wasn't intended through, say, a third party, that's not our objective. And when given the opportunity to kind of close that door, we will," Alaska's loyalty chief, Brett Catlin, told me in October 2024.
So, does that mean the Amex work-around is likely on the outs?
"Exactly," Catlin said, adding, "Our intent is not to have a transferable currency where guests can earn across competitor cards, to be totally honest."
As a reminder, Alaska has hinted that a new premium credit card could potentially accompany the rollout of its new loyalty program. And part of the airline's goal is to drive its frequent flyers to its own suite of cards.
Officially, the airline has not yet announced any firm plans to end the HawaiianMiles partnership with Amex. However, other Hawaiian partnerships are winding down in the coming months.
Several HawaiianMiles partnerships are ending in summer 2025
After June 30, HawaiianMiles members will no longer be able to redeem their miles for award flights with the following partners:
- JetBlue
- Japan Airlines
- Virgin Atlantic
- Virgin Australia
- Korean Air
- China Airlines
Additionally, travel must be booked no later than Feb. 28, 2026.
Since HawaiianMiles members can already link their accounts to Alaska Mileage Plan — to book flights using Alaska miles and to tap into reciprocal frequent flyer and elite status (not to mention status-matching) perks — Alaska's partnership with several of the same carriers inherently allows you to still be able to use your Hawaiian miles for these redemptions, as long as you transfer your miles to your Mileage Plan account.
While an end date hasn't been confirmed or disclosed for the Amex and Hawaiian partnership, we wouldn't be surprised if the card program suddenly ends point transfers that same day.
Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines changes are coming
This wind-down of those (and other) HawaiianMiles partnerships comes as the company makes an additional flurry of postmerger moves to join the airlines under one operation. Just this week, TPG reported the carriers would shift terminals at some major hubs to position the airlines closer together. Hawaiian is planning to join Alaska in the Oneworld alliance by 2026.
Next month, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) will launch as a new international gateway for the airline brands, with an inaugural Hawaiian-operated flight from SEA to Tokyo's Narita International Airport (NRT) on May 12.
What do I do with my Amex points?
This brings me back to my own Amex points. I have about 170,000 points, thanks to earnings from both The Platinum Card® from American Express and the American Express® Gold Card.
I don't want to completely deplete my stash with a huge transfer to any one partner. After all, you can get significant mileage out of your points from other partners, such as Virgin Atlantic Flying Club and Air Canada Aeroplan. Heck, JetBlue's new TrueBlue deal with Japan Airlines opened up some potentially attractive sweet spots.
But I know I'll use — and likely get decent value out of — Alaska miles.
Why Alaska miles are valuable
Alaska maintains a distance-based chart for its partners, which means its award pricing isn't subject to the same "dynamic" forces that can lead to eye-popping redemption rates on high-demand flights with other carriers.
For example, you can book a transatlantic flight from the U.S. East Coast to Europe for 22,500 miles, or a lie-flat business-class seat for as few as 45,000 miles, one-way.
I've also gotten significant value on short domestic flights with a hefty cash price. For instance, I recently redeemed 4,500 miles on what would have been an expensive flight in January from North Carolina to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA).
So, transferring a decent chunk of my Membership Rewards points to the Seattle-based carrier seems like a prudent move before this short-lived work-around (perhaps) comes to an end.
The biggest lingering question I'm wrestling with: Just how many points do I transfer?
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