I Applied for Both Hawaiian Airlines Credit Cards — Here’s Why

Updated: October 11, 2025, 6:06am CDT

Edited by:

Jump to Section

Table of Contents

Welcome Offers on Hawaiian Airlines Credit Cards
Why Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Miles Are So Valuable
How I’m Redeeming Alaska Miles for Maximum Value
Final Thoughts

We may be compensated when you click on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened from one or more of our advertising partners. Terms apply to the offers below. See our Advertising Policy for more about our partners, how we make money, and our rating methodology. Opinions and recommendations are ours alone.

With some extra expenses on the horizon, I applied for 2 Barclays-issued credit cards: the Hawaiian Airlines^® World Elite Mastercard^® and the Hawaiian Airlines^® Business Mastercard^®.

After last year’s Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines merger, miles can be transferred interchangeably between the 2 loyalty programs. However, this news means that the current Hawaiian Airlines credit cards will eventually be phased out — so I wanted to apply for both cards before they’re no longer available.

In addition, earning the welcome bonus offers on each gave me slightly over 115,000 Hawaiian Airlines miles, which I can instantly convert to Alaska Airlines miles.

I chose these cards to bulk up my Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles balance — and here’s my plan for redeeming these welcome bonus offers for business class flights.

Welcome Offers on Hawaiian Airlines Credit Cards

Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines have merged but continue to operate under separate brands, though they plan to combine their frequent flyer programs by the end of 2025. Additionally, the Hawaiian Airlines World Elite and Business cards will eventually be discontinued, with existing cardholders transitioned to Alaska’s co-branded credit cards.

The welcome offers for the Barclays Hawaiian Airlines credit cards are subject to change at any time. When I applied for the Hawaiian Airlines World Elite card, the welcome offer included 60,000 HawaiianMiles after spending $2,000 on purchases within the first 90 days. The card carries a $99 annual fee.

Update:

In October 2025, the HawaiianMiles program was discontinued and absorbed into Alaska Airlines’ Atmos Rewards program. The Hawaiian credit cards now earn Atmos Rewards points.

Around the same time, I applied for the Hawaiian Airlines Business card with a welcome offer of 50,000 HawaiianMiles after spending $4,000 on purchases and paying the $99 annual fee in full within the first 90 days.

Hot Tip:

After meeting the spending requirements of $6,000 in eligible purchases within the first 90 days, I earned slightly over 115,000 Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles.

Why Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Miles Are So Valuable

Upon linking your 2 accounts, you can transfer miles 1:1 between Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines.

The Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan loyalty program is a favorite here at Upgraded Points, and for good reason. The program is a member of Oneworld and has plenty of non-alliance partners, including Korean Airlines and Starlux Airlines.

Although the program has significantly changed in the last 2 years, it’s still incredibly valuable. Last year, Mileage Plan introduced new rates with 3 award charts that combine zones and distance. Award pricing is listed with starting prices, which you’ll pay if there’s saver-level award availability.

Alaska Airlines Asia Partner Award Chart — The partner award chart for nonstop Asia flights. Image Credit: Alaska Airlines

The new award charts also factor in the total distance flown. In other words, the more distance you travel, the more miles you’ll pay for an award redemption.

For these reasons, we value Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan at 1.6 cents apiece, the highest of any airline loyalty program, but Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles are estimated to be worth much less, at 0.9 cents apiece.

That said, Alaska Airlines miles can be worth much more if redeemed for long-haul premium cabin travel on Alaska’s numerous partner airlines, as illustrated below.

Hot Tip:

The Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles loyalty program is also a 1:1 transfer partner of American Express. However, the ability to transfer American Express Membership Rewards points to Hawaiian ends on June 30, 2025. It may be a good time to transfer your Amex points to Alaska via Hawaiian while this loophole still exists.

How I’m Redeeming Alaska Miles for Maximum Value

Although HawaiianMiles can be useful, I find Alaska miles infinitely more valuable. As soon as I received the 2 HawaiianMiles welcome bonuses, I quickly transferred them to the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan program.

Even before applying for the 2 cards, I had a specific redemption in mind: Starlux Airlines business class to Asia.

Using Seats.aero, I quickly found Starlux Airlines award availability using Alaska Airlines miles. I headed to the Alaska Airlines website to see if there was any award space. Fortunately, it was.

This route between Ontario International Airport (ONT) and Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) can be booked for 75,000 Mileage Plan miles and $19 in taxes and fees at the saver level.

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan ONT TPE on Starlux — A partner business class flight for 75,000 Alaska miles. Image Credit: Alaska Airlines

I compared the points price to the cash price for the same seat. The one-way Starlux Airlines business class flight could be booked for $3,470. At that price, I got slightly more than 4.6 cents per point for my business class redemption, a fantastic use of Alaska miles.

Google Flights ONT TPE Starlux Business class — Starlux Airlines business class can be expensive. Image Credit: Google Flights

Add a Stopover to Alaska Mileage Redemptions

Another major perk of Alaska Mileage Plan is that you can book stopovers, including on one-way award redemptions. By utilizing stopovers, you can essentially visit 2 destinations for the price of 1.

However, the business class flight I chose was just below the 7,000-mile distance band, making it bookable for 75,000 Alaska miles. Unfortunately, adding any stopover would have increased the total distance enough to push it into the next band and require more miles, so I chose not to do so for this redemption.

Fortunately, I still have 50,000 Alaska Airlines miles left for my next award redemption. Although I still need to purchase a return ticket to the U.S., I will opt to save my Alaska miles for a different redemption in the future.

Final Thoughts

With over 115,000 HawaiianMiles in my account, I put them to good use by transferring them to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan. I used Alaska Airlines miles to book a one-way business class award from the U.S. to Taipei on one of the world’s premier airlines: Starlux Airlines. I still have over 50,000 miles left over for another potential redemption.