HawaiianMiles Award Charts Get a Slight Adjustment as the Merger With Alaska Progresses

As Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines deepen their partnership and continue the merger process, we’ve seen multiple announcements from their loyalty programs: status matches, shared benefits, and even transferring miles between the programs. Now, they’re working to align their award charts.

Today’s announcement adjusts the cost of award flights when using miles on Hawaiian Airlines-operated flights, and there are actually some price reductions here — a rare feat when discussing changes to mileage redemptions.

While there are improvements to the “starting at” price for some tickets, remember that prices can balloon, and the cost of booking an award flight at the last minute when few seats are available can make your eyes water.

Here’s a look at the latest changes.

Alaska Airlines’ Award Price Adjustments for Hawaiian Airlines Flights

With the ongoing merger of Hawaiian and Alaska Airlines, we’ve seen the introduction of shared elite benefits and the ability to use Alaska Airlines miles for Hawaiian Airlines flights.

However, the Alaska Mileage Plan and HawaiianMiles programs had some big discrepancies. Today’s move brings the price for award flights into better alignment, preserving 2 key features:

• A “starting at” price, commonly referred to as “saver” award space, for the best price using miles
• The ability to pay for any seat on the plane using miles, though at inflated prices as seats fill up

The starting prices remained the same or decreased in both Main Cabin and first class, as first reported by The Points Guy. That’s good news. However, the maximum price for some awards has increased to match pricing in the Mileage Plan program.

These changes only apply to flights operated by Hawaiian that were previously operated by Alaska, such as those departing Kahului (OGG) in Maui or San Francisco (SFO).

Comparing Award Rates

It’s worth pointing out that the programs aren’t showing the same prices, even as they work to align award rates. Since you can use miles from either program or transfer miles instantly (and freely) between Alaska and Hawaiian accounts, it’s definitely worth checking the price on both websites.

For example, using Alaska miles shows prices between Maui and San Francisco starting at 17,500 miles per person — or 26,500 miles for the nonstop flight. Booking either route in first class costs 80,000 miles for this mid-week flight in October.

In contrast, HawaiianMiles is charging 30,000 miles for economy flights and 115,000 miles in first class — a significant difference.

Final Thoughts

Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines are drawing closer together, and they’ll eventually share a single rewards program (Mileage Plan) while preserving some individual aspects like flight routes and plane art. As the airlines continue to assimilate, we’ve seen a slight adjustment to award rates when using miles on Hawaiian Airlines flights. Luckily, this wasn’t accompanied by a devaluation.

However, the 2 programs don’t charge exactly the same price on flights, so it’s worth comparing them when it’s time to use your miles. Since you can freely and easily transfer miles between the programs, it makes sense to book through whichever website is offering a better price.