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Capitalize on Alaska-Hawaiian merger: Potential strategies to maximize your miles, elite status and more
Featured image by ERIC THAYER/BLOOMBERG/GETTY IMAGES
Gabrielle Bernardini is the senior points and miles editor at TPG. Joining the team in 2023, she focuses on helping people utilize their credit card rewards to travel for less.
September 20, 2024 • 11 min read
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Quick summary
Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines have finalized their merger, with both brands maintaining separate operations for now but planning to combine loyalty programs by mid-2025.
Currently, members can transfer miles between Alaska Mileage Plan and HawaiianMiles accounts at a 1:1 ratio, expanding award booking options across both airlines and their partners.
Elite status matching is available, allowing frequent flyers to enjoy reciprocal benefits and potentially combine elite qualifying miles for higher status.
Those with transferable rewards points can leverage new transfer opportunities, but should be cautious due to potential program changes and devaluations.
What to consider
The ability to transfer miles between programs at a 1:1 ratio is available now, but the future joint loyalty program's structure and award pricing remain uncertain.
Elite status matching and combined elite qualifying miles are available only before the full integration of the loyalty programs.
Transferring transferable rewards points to these programs should be done with a specific redemption in mind, as future devaluations or changes to transfer partnerships are possible.
What you'll miss from the article
Detailed strategies for maximizing award bookings and elite status benefits during the transition period between the two airlines' loyalty programs.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
Attention, points and miles enthusiasts: You've probably been keeping up with the breaking aviation news regarding Alaska Airlines' acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines. On Tuesday, the merger was finalized, and details were revealed regarding how the two airlines would continue to operate while maintaining their distinct brands.
Details cited in the document outlining the agreement between the airlines stated they will eventually utilize one loyalty program, with further details to come in mid-2025. For now, Alaska Mileage Plan and HawaiianMiles members will retain their current miles and, later this month, be able to transfer their miles between accounts at a 1:1 ratio.
This is huge news for members of both loyalty programs, as you can plan to maximize your miles between the two airlines to book award tickets. Hawaiian Airlines is a transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards. Alaska Airlines is part of the Oneworld alliance. Now there will also be a status match offered by the carriers. This opens up all kinds of intriguing possibilities.
Open a cobranded Alaska Airlines or Hawaiian Airlines credit card
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In August, the Department of Justice decided not to block the merger proposal between the airlines. Before the news was announced that miles would transfer between the loyalty programs at a 1:1 ratio, TPG's managing editor Clint Henderson took a gamble and decided to open not one but twoHawaiian Airlines cobranded credit cards.
With the Hawaiian Airlines® World Elite Mastercard®, you can earn 70,000 bonus HawaiianMiles after spending $2,000 on purchases within the first 90 days. This card includes two free checked bags on eligible flights, a $100 companion discount for round-trip travel between Hawaii and North America on Hawaiian Airlines after each account anniversary, a one-time 50% discount on a companion ticket, discounted award flights and more.
With the Hawaiian Airlines® World Elite Business Mastercard®, you can earn 50,000 bonus HawaiianMiles after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 90 days; plus, earn an additional 20,000 bonus miles if you spend $50,000 to $99,999 — or 40,000 bonus miles if you spend $100,000 or more — in annual purchases.
The information for the Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard and the Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Business 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.
Alaska Airlines also offers two cobranded credit cards, the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card and the Alaska Airlines Visa® Business card.
With the personal Alaska credit card, new applicants can earn 50,000 bonus miles plus buy one ticket, get one for just the taxes and fees ($0 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) after spending $3,000 or more on purchases within the first 90 days from account opening.
The business Alaska card allows new cardholders to earn 60,000 bonus miles and Alaska's companion fare ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) after you make $4,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days of opening your account.
Benefits for both the personal and business cards include a free checked bag, 20% back on inflight purchases and the chance to earn Alaska's companion fare annually. You can earn this fare every year on your account anniversary if you've spent $6,000 or more within the prior anniversary year.
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Should you open an Alaska Airlines or Hawaiian Airlines credit card?
If you want to open a credit card with either airline, it's your personal preference on what you ultimately choose. Both issuers' cards offer different benefits that you may deem more useful, such as the chance to earn Alaska's companion fare annually. However, if you don't foresee yourself regularly flying on either Hawaiian- or Alaska-operated flights, we suggest choosing the credit card with the highest welcome offer, which is currently the Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard.
Since your HawaiianMiles can be transferred to Alaska Mileage Plan (starting at the end of the month) at 1:1, the value of the miles is equal. Plus, with Alaska being part of the Oneworld alliance, you'll be able to book not only Alaska flights but partner award tickets, such as American Airlines flights, using your Hawaiian miles.
But there are a few things to consider. Per the merger announcement, Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines will eventually operate using one joint loyalty program. Your miles from both accounts will then be transferred into this new loyalty program at 1:1. The carriers have not given any further details on whether the airlines will operate using Alaska's current award chart or go a more extreme route and utilize a dynamic pricing method. If the airlines go with the latter, this will devalue the program and your miles. Therefore, we don't necessarily recommend stashing away tons of Hawaiian or Alaska miles unless you are planning to use them in the very near future.
Related: Alaska Airlines Visa Signature credit card review: Earn hard-to-get miles with a valuable welcome offer
Transfer your Amex Membership Rewards points to HawaiianMiles
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Opening a new credit card is not always a feasible strategy for everyone to employ. However, you may already have a transferable rewards card in your pocket that you can use to capitalize on the Hawaiian and Alaska merger.
If you currently earn American Express Membership Rewards points, you'll be able to book not only Hawaiian Airlines flights but also Alaska-operated flights, as well as those of the carrier's Oneworld partners, specifically American Airlines.
Since I currently have The Platinum Card® from American Express, I should be able to transfer my Amex points to Hawaiian Airlines shortly — they transfer at a 1:1 ratio — and then transfer those Hawaiian miles to my Alaska Mileage Plan account.
This transfer strategy could help me save thousands of dollars and tons of points and miles on my upcoming holiday flights. Since Alaska is only a transfer partner of Bilt Rewards, and American Airlines is not a partner of any transferable rewards credit card program, I've had to rely on booking domestic AA flights through partners such as British Airways, Qatar or Iberia.
The three airlines currently operate using Avios as their reward currency. However, award availability for holiday flights has been nonexistent; plus, British Airways Executive Club (once again) devalued American and Alaska award redemptions in July. While Finnair Plus can be used to book domestic American flights — you can transfer Avios between accounts at 1:1 — you have to call to book.
I personally prefer to earn transferable rewards because this gives me flexibility in how I use my points. Here are some of TPG's favorite Amex cards with strong welcome offers:
The Platinum Card® from American Express: Find out your offer and see if you are eligible for as high as 175,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $12,000 on eligible purchases on your new card in your first six months of card membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.
American Express® Gold Card: Find out your offer and see if you are eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards Points after spending $8,000 on purchases within the first six months of card membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.
American Express® Business Gold Card: Find out your offer and see if you're eligible for as high as 200,000 bonus points after spending $15,000 on purchases in the first three months of card membership. Welcome offers vary, and you may not be eligible for an offer.
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So, if you have an Amex card that earns Membership Rewards points, should you transfer your points to HawaiianMiles? While some may roll the dice and transfer a stash of Amex points to Hawaiian Airlines, we recommend doing so cautiously. As always, programs tend to devalue through the years, so you don't want to blindly transfer your life savings of Amex points to Hawaiian Airlines with no redemption in mind and then be stuck with a ton of leftover miles that are potentially devalued once the new loyalty program goes into effect.
However, if you regularly fly on Alaska- or American Airlines-operated flights or are in the process of planning a trip for which you can redeem Alaska miles for the flights, transferring your Amex points to HawaiianMiles may be a good option for you. At this time, Amex has not announced losing HawaiianMiles as a transfer partner, but that could be a change that goes into effect in 2025. Is it worth the gamble? You have to decide.
Earn elite status benefits with Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines
If you're an elite status member with either Alaska Airlines or Hawaiian Airlines, be sure to link your accounts to receive benefits with both airlines. Before the programs integrate into one loyalty program, frequent flyers can match their current status with the other program.
If you have:
You'll be matched to:
Alaska Mileage Plan MVP status
HawaiianMiles Pualani Gold status
Alaska Mileage Plan MVP Gold, MVP Gold 75K or MVP Gold 100K status
HawaiianMiles Pualani Platinum status
HawaiianMiles Pualani Gold status
Alaska Mileage Plan MVP status
HawaiianMiles Pualani Platinum status
Alaska Mileage Plan MVP Gold status
If you don't have status with either airline, linking your accounts allows you to combine your elite qualifying miles to snag elite status with both carriers.
Combined EQM balance:
Status with Alaska Mileage Plan:
Status with HawaiianMiles:
20,000 EQMs
MVP
Pualani Gold
40,000 EQMs
MVP Gold
Pualani Platinum
75,000 EQMs
MVP Gold 75K
Pualani Platinum
100,000 EQMs
MVP Gold 100K
Pualani Platinum
Since Alaska is already part of the Oneworld alliance, your elite status tier with the airline will also correspond to Oneworld status.
The merger between Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines is an exciting new venture in the world of points and miles. For the foreseeable future, miles will transfer between the two programs at a 1:1 ratio, opening up new award flight possibilities.
Whether you want to take a roundabout transfer to snag a great deal on an American Airlines flight through Alaska's Mileage Plan, redeem miles on a Saver award fare with Alaska or status match and earn additional airline perks and benefits, there are strategies you can employ to help capitalize on this joint program.
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
