The Best Ways to Fly to Hawaii With Points and Miles

BY 

Jarrod West

- UPDATED: May 13, 2021   |    52

1. Travel

52

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If there’s 1 destination we hear people rave about over and over again, it’s Hawaii. That’s no surprise, though. People spend years dreaming of a beach vacation on one of the Hawaiian Islands where they can relax by the water, enjoy some great food and drinks, and just get away from it all.

However, if you’ve seen the prices of cash tickets to Hawaii, you probably understand why people have to save up for this adventure. Fortunately, there are several ways you can use miles and points to book your flights and save a ton of money.

Here, we’ll dive into the different economy and domestic first class award booking options you have. For those who want a lie-flat seat that you would find in an international business class cabin layout, we’ll talk about those options, too.

Best Programs to Book Award Flights to Hawaii

Before we dig into each of the best options, it’s important to note that planning ahead when booking award flights to Hawaii can make your life much easier. Unsurprisingly, award space is not always readily available because so many people pay for cash tickets.

If there’s 1 thing that will make it even easier to book an award to Hawaii, though, it is schedule flexibility. As with all award bookings, being open to traveling on different dates or even different months can unlock some amazing opportunities.

Korean Air SKYPASS

The Korean Air SKYPASS program has competitive economy class and business class redemption rates on its SkyTeam partner Delta. While Chase Ultimate Rewards points no longer transfer to Korean, there are still several ways to earn SKYPASS miles.

Book Awards With Korean Air SKYPASS (Online/Phone Booking)

Korean Air SKYPASS uses a region-based award chart for SkyTeam partner award bookings. Unlike many airlines, Korean Air considers all of the U.S. as a single region — including Hawaii. As a result, the redemption rates are quite reasonable on Delta, and much better than Delta’s own SkyMiles program.

You can search for award space on Korean Air’s website and book from there. Just make sure you select SkyTeam Award after selecting Redeem Miles, otherwise, you won’t see the necessary city pairings.

If you don’t see award space when you run a search, double-check on Air France’s site as it is generally the best place to search SkyTeam partners. You can call Korean Air to book if you find space on Air France.

It’s easy to book award flight award flights with Korean Air using these steps:

1. Search for flights on the Air France or Delta website.
2. Confirm the same availability on Korean Air.
3. Book the flight online or call Korean Air at 800-438-5000.
4. Pay the taxes and fees.

Additionally, it’s important to remember that Korean Air SKYPASS only allows round-trip bookings for SkyTeam awards… so if you only need a one-way award, this won’t be the program for you.

Now let’s take a look at the round-trip SkyTeam award ticket mileage requirements when booking with Korean Air SKYPASS.

Unlike using Korean Air SKYPASS to book award tickets on Delta to London, you won’t get hit with high fuel surcharges. In fact, you’ll only be responsible for $11.20 out of pocket.

Need help booking? Take a look at our step-by-step guide on booking Delta One with Korean Air SKYPASS miles and you’ll be ready to book before you know it.

Korean Air also partners with Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines, which gives you 2 other great options to fly to Hawaii. The mileage requirement for these partners is a bit different than what is required for Delta flights, though.

The redemption rates above (round-trip) aren’t quite as good, but the ability to redeem Korean Air SKYPASS miles for flights on Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines provides you with more nonstop routes from the continental 49 states (see below for details).

Unlike with Delta award flights, you will have to call Korean Air to book as its online search function only allows you to search for award space on SkyTeam partners. You can also use American Airlines‘ online search to find award space on Alaska Airlines.

Hot Tip: Check out some of the other fun ways you can redeem Korean Air SKYPASS miles for award flights.

Nonstop Routes to Hawaii Bookable With Korean Air SKYPASS Miles

Thanks to these 3 airline partners, there are tons of nonstop routes to several Hawaiian airports that can be booked with Korean Air SKYPASS miles. First, let’s take a look at nonstop routes to Hawaii’s largest airport, Honolulu (HNL).

Earn More Korean Air SKYPASS Miles

Korean Air used to partner with Chase Ultimate Rewards, but unfortunately, that’s no longer an option!

However, you can earn Marriott points and transfer those to Korean at a transfer rate of 3:1. Plus, for every 60,000 Marriott points that you transfer, you’ll receive an extra 5,000 Korean miles bonus.

Recommended Marriott Cards

Hot Tip: Check out some of our favorite ways to earn Korean Air SKYPASS miles to ensure you have enough for your Hawaiian vacation.

Air France/KLM Flying Blue

Our second SkyTeam option for booking award flights to Hawaii is the Air France/KLM Flying Blue program. The redemption rates with Flying Blue aren’t quite as good as what Korean Air SKYPASS provides, but there’s an important reason they might be the best option for you, which we’ll discuss here.

Book Awards With Air France/KLM Flying Blue (Online/Phone Booking)

Like Korean Air SKYPASS, Air France/KLM Flying Blue can book award flights on SkyTeam partner Delta but also with its partner Alaska Airlines.

Unlike Korean Air though, Flying Blue does not have different redemption rates for these airlines. Take a look at the table below to see the round-trip economy class and business class redemption rates to Hawaii.

As you can see, Flying Blue requires 5,000 more miles to fly Delta than Korean Air SKYPASS in economy, but it has the same redemption rate for business.

It’s easy to search for award space on Delta by using Air France’s online search. Once you find space, you can quickly complete the booking process online.

To book an award flight with Air France/KLM, follow these steps:

1. Search for availability on the Air France/KLM or Delta website.
2. Select the flight you want to book.
3. Confirm your ticket selection and pay the taxes and fees.

If you need to transfer points and are worried someone else might book the award space while you wait for your Flying Blue miles to post, you can call to put an award ticket on hold.

Booking award tickets on Alaska Airlines is a little different. You won’t be able to find award space with Air France’s online search, so you’ll either need to call and ask an agent to search or use American Airlines’ site to search online. If you choose the latter, you then need to call Air France to complete the booking.

The biggest advantage Air France/KLM Flying Blue has over Korean Air SKYPASS is the ability to book one-way award tickets at half the mileage cost.

If you can find award space on Delta or Alaska Airlines on the outbound flight but not on the dates you need to return, you could book a one-way award with Flying Blue and a one-way award on United Airlines or American Airlines with another program.

Hot Tip: The fun doesn’t stop with Hawaii. Check out some of the other amazing ways you can use Air France/KLM Flying Blue miles to see the world.

Nonstop Routes to Hawaii Bookable With Air France/KLM Flying Blue Miles

As a partner of both Delta and Alaska Airlines, Air France/KLM Flying Blue can help you book any of these nonstop routes between the continental U.S. You can even connect from your home airport to 1 that flies directly to Hawaii at no extra cost.

Earn More Flying Blue Miles

We already talked about Air France/KLM Flying Blue’s ability to book one-way award tickets, which is a nice advantage over Korean Air SKYPASS. However, there is another big advantage that relates to earning Flying Blue miles.

Air France/KLM partners with one of our favorite points programs, American Express Membership Rewards. There are plenty of credit card choices with Amex, and many have some great bonus categories to help you earn more points faster. Throw in a 1:1 transfer ratio and quick transfer time, and this is another great option to get your hands on more Flying Blue miles.

Recommended American Express Cards (Personal)

If you’re a business owner, we would recommend taking a look at the numerous American Express business cards that earn Amex points, as well as come with numerous travel benefits.

You can also earn Citi ThankYou Points or Chase Ultimate Reward points and transfer them to your Air France/KLM Flying Blue account at a 1:1 ratio. You also have the option of using Capital One miles at a 2:1.5 rate or Marriott points at a 3:1 rate.

Hot Tip: Take a look at some of the other great ways you can earn more Air France/KLM Flying Blue miles for award flights.

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer

With Singapore Airlines’ KrisFlyer program, we have our best Star Alliance partner option for booking award flights to Hawaii on United Airlines. Sure, you could use United MileagePlus to book… but why would you, when you could save 10,000-20,000 points and utilize more transfer partners?

Book Awards With Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer (Online/Phone Booking)

Until recently, if you wanted to book an award flight with a partner of Singapore Airlines, you were required to call to book. For those who wanted to fly to Hawaii on United Airlines, you had to search for space online via Air Canada’s Aeroplan program and then provide the flight numbers and dates to an agent with Singapore Airlines.

Well, now you have a much better option as Singapore Airlines allows you to search for and book award flights with Star Alliance partners online. Considering this is the best option for booking United flights to Hawaii, this is a welcome development.

Here are the steps you’ll want to take to book your Singapore Airlines ticket:

1. Search for availability on the United website.
2. Head to the Singapore website to book or call 800-742-3333.
3. Select the flight you’d like to book or give the flight details to the phone agent.
4. Pay for your ticket including the taxes and fees.

Let’s take a look at how many KrisFlyer miles you will need to book round-trip award flights on United:

If you booked these same flights with United MileagePlus miles, you would need 45,000 miles for economy class and 80,000 miles for business class. Not only is using Singapore KrisFlyer miles a better deal, but they’re much easier to earn (see below).

Hot Tip: Looking for more awesome ways to use the Singapore KrisFlyer program? Check out some of the other great ways to use KrisFlyer miles.

Nonstop Routes to Hawaii Bookable With Singapore KrisFlyer Miles

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer doesn’t have multiple partners, which means your nonstop options are more limited than when using Korean Air SKYPASS or Air France/KLM Flying Blue. That being said, the nonstop routes operated by United Airlines are convenient for people across the U.S.

Using Singapore KrisFlyer Miles with Alaska

We’ve focused on nonstop routes to Hawaii, but we’ve added a bonus option that has both nonstop routes and those with 1 connection. We’ve already talked about booking flights on United Airlines with Singapore KrisFlyer miles, but you can actually use KrisFlyer miles to book award tickets on Alaska Airlines as well.

Book Awards Tickets on Alaska Airlines with Singapore KrisFlyer (Phone Booking)

While Alaska Airlines isn’t a member of Star Alliance, it has an individual partnership with Singapore Airlines that can get you to Hawaii for even fewer miles and points. The award chart for flights on Alaska Airlines divides the U.S. into 5 zones.

From Zone 1, you can book a nonstop economy class flight from California, Oregon, or Washington for only 24,000 KrisFlyer miles round-trip. This is one of the cheapest round-trip awards to Hawaii, and you can even book a one-way award for half the cost at 12,000 miles.

If you aren’t on the West Coast, you’ll need a connecting flight on Alaska Airlines, so the options are a bit more limited. However, if your home airport is served by Alaska Airlines, you could get a great deal.

Zone 2 is a particularly good deal if you’re okay with a connection since it only costs 23,000 KrisFlyer miles round-trip. It might seem odd, but if you have a connecting flight from one of the states in Zone 2, you can book the cheapest possible award to Hawaii.

These are the states in Zone 2:

Finally, you can also book round-trip economy awards from Zone 3 and Zone 5 for 25,000 KrisFlyer miles. Zone 5 includes nonstop flights from Ted Stevens Anchorage International(ANC), while Zone 3 awards will include a connection.

Zone 3 includes:

The remaining states are part of Zone 4; Singapore KrisFlyer’s award chart for flights on Alaska Airlines does not allow for award bookings to Hawaii from Zone 4.

Singapore Airlines’ online search does not include flights on Alaska Airlines, so you will have to call to book this award.

Here are the steps you’ll want to take to book your ticket:

1. Search for availability on the Alaska website.
2. Once you’ve located the flight you want to book, call the Singapore Airlines customer service team at 800-742-3333.
3. Give the flight details to the phone agent, including the flight number, date, and flight times.
4. Let the agent know you are paying for the flight with your miles and provide them with your loyalty number.
5. Pay for any applicable taxes and fees and finalize your booking.

Earn More Singapore KrisFlyer Miles

Like Air France/KLM Flying Blue, Singapore Airlines’ KrisFlyer program partners with all 5 transferable points programs. So when it comes to earning the necessary points for a trip to Hawaii, this is by far the easiest of the Star Alliance programs to use.

Amex Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Citi ThankYou Points all transfer at a 1:1 ratio, while Capital One transfers at a 2:1.5 rate, and Marriott transfers at a 3:1 rate.

The time it takes for transfers to process varies depending on the points you choose to transfer. Ultimate Rewards points often transfer within 24 hours, Membership Rewards points within a day or 2, and ThankYou Points within 2 days.

In conjunction with the competitive redemption rates to Hawaii, Singapore KrisFlyer is the go-to program for booking award flights on United Airlines.

Hot Tip: If you think you might book your next trip to Hawaii with Singapore KrisFlyer miles, check out some of our favorite ways to earn more KrisFlyer miles.

British Airways Executive Club (From the West Coast)

You might have noticed that we haven’t discussed how you can fly American Airlines to Hawaii. Well, British Airways Executive Club gives you just that option. Not only that, but you can also use British Airways Avios to book award flights on Alaska Airlines.

Book Awards With British Airways Executive Club (Online/Phone Booking)

Unlike the other options we have discussed, British Airways Executive Club uses a distance-based award chart, so the total number of Avios required to book an award flight will be determined by the distance you fly. As a result, nonstop flights are ideal if you want to maximize your points.

With this in mind, British Airways’ award chart provides a great option to book nonstop economy class award tickets from the West Coast to Hawaii on both American Airlines and Alaska Airlines.

From many major West Coast airports, you can book a nonstop economy class award for 26,000 British Airways Avios round-trip. American Airlines would charge you 45,000 AAdvantage miles, and Alaska Airlines would charge you 40,000 Mileage Plan miles for the same flights!

If you want to search for award space on flights operated by American Airlines, you can search and book on the British Airways site. To book a flight on Alaska Airlines, you’ll need to search on American Airlines’ site then call British Airways. The phone agent will need your dates of travel and flight numbers to search the exact flights you found on American Airlines.

Here is how you can book a ticket with British Airways:

1. Search for availability on the British Airways or American Airlines website.
2. Select the flight you want to book or call British Airways to book at 800-247-9297.
3. Pay for the ticket along with any applicable taxes and fees.

Hot Tip: Want some more British Airways sweet spot redemptions? Check out some of our favorite ways to redeem Avios for award flights.

Nonstop Routes to Hawaii Bookable With British Airways Executive Club

With a distance-based award chart, it’s particularly important to find award flights that are nonstop so you don’t have to use more miles and points.

Fortunately, there are some great nonstop options from the West Coast to Hawaii, so you can take advantage of this sweet spot in the British Airways Executive Club program.

Here are the nonstop routes you can fly on Alaska Airlines:

Additionally, there are also 2 nonstop routes from the West Coast on American Airlines. You can depart from either Los Angeles International (LAX) or Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX) to one of 4 Hawaiian airports.

Earn More British Airways Avios

There are several options for earning British Airways Avios. You can transfer points from American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, or Marriott points.

Amex Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer to British Airways at a 1:1 ratio, and transfer almost instantly. Marriott, on the other hand, transfers at a 3:1 rate and transfers take up to 5 days.

Additionally, British Airways also has a co-branded credit card issued by Chase that earns Avios directly

Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles

Using the Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles program for United flights is a massive hidden gem that many are unaware of. Using Turkish miles, you can fly with United, from anywhere in the U.S., for just 7,500 miles in economy one way, or 12,500 miles in business class.

You read that right.

A round-trip flight from anywhere in the U.S. to Hawaii for just 15,000 miles round-trip in economy or 25,000 round-trip in business. This is an outstanding value!

Book Awards With Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles (Phone/Email Booking)

Here is the catch, to book an award, you used to need to call a Turkish Airlines phone agent and have the award put on hold, and then visit a Turkish ticketing office to complete the booking — who has time to do that?

Fortunately, there is another way, and that is via email. To do this, you will need to email the Turkish Ticket Sales Office with the exact flight details of what you want to book (including the flight numbers, flight times, etc.). You can find all of this information by performing award searches on United.com, and remember that the award flight has to be available at the Saver level in order to book.

Once you’ve emailed the ticket office with your flight deals and Miles&Smiles account information, you simply have to sit and wait. This part can be a bit nerve-wracking as the availability could go away while you’re waiting, but there is simply no way around it.

Once a Turkish agent emails back and confirms the flight availability, you are ready to book. At this point, unless you already have a large stash of Turkish miles, you will need to transfer some over from Citi or Marriott. Once the points arrive in your account, you can email the agent back and have them complete the booking.

Here is a recap of how to book a ticket with Turkish Airlines:

1. Search for availability on the United website.
2. Once you find the flight you want to book, email the Turkish ticket sales office and provide the exact flight details of what you’d like to book, along with your Miles&Smiles account information.
3. When the Turkish representative emails back confirming the availability, you can transfer the necessary miles to your Turkish account.
4. Complete your booking and pay any taxes and fees.

Nonstop Routes to Hawaii Bookable with Turkish Miles

With your Turkish Miles, you can book nonstop flights out of any of the cities that United flies nonstop to Hawaii.

Earn More Turkish Airlines Miles

Turkish does not have nearly as many transferable currency options available as some of the other options on this list. But you can use both Citi ThankYou Points and Marriott points to help make bookings possible.

Citi ThankYou Points will transfer to your Turkish account at a 1:1 rate in 1-2 days, and Marriott will transfer at a 3:1 rate in around 2 days.

Hot Tip: Check out some other ways that you can get excellent value out of Turkish miles.

How to Find Lie-Flat Business Class Seats

If you want to fly to Hawaii in style, a lie-flat business class seat is the way to go. However, finding flights that have an international business class cabin layout isn’t always easy, so we’re going to simplify that process.

United Airlines Boeing 777, 767, and 757

If you use miles to fly Hawaii on United Airlines, several aircraft types provide a lie-flat business class seat, including the Boeing 777, 767, and 757. The image above is from one of United’s Boeing 777s with lie-flat seats. In fact, all 777 and 767 aircraft have lie-flat business class seats.

If your flight on United is on a 757, make sure you check the seat map before booking. While a domestic first class recliner is certainly more comfortable than an economy class seat, a lie-flat seat is even better. United operates its 757 planes with both cabin layouts, so it’s important to know what you are booking before transferring points.

Fortunately, United Airlines offers quite a few flights with lie-flat business class seats. While business class award space to Hawaii is tough regardless of airline, United gives you a bit better chance.

Currently, you can find lie-flat seats on the following routes to Honolulu (HNL):

Delta Air Lines Airbus A330 and Boeing 767

Delta operates several aircraft on its routes to Hawaii, but only 2 aircraft types offer lie-flat business class seats: the Airbus A330 and the Boeing 767. Its A330 has a reverse herringbone business class cabin layout that is one of the best ways to fly to Hawaii.

Unfortunately, you need to be careful if the flight you want to book is on a 767 as some of these aircraft do not have lie-flat seats. Fortunately, there is an easy way to tell without even looking at the seat map. If you see a bed symbol when you expand the details of a flight option, this means you will have a lie-flat seat in business class.

Delta provides lie-flat business class seats on 3 routes to Daniel K. Inouye International-Honolulu (HNL) at this time:

• Hartsfield International-Atlanta (ATL)
• Los Angeles International (LAX)
• Minneapolis-Saint Paul International (MSP) — seasonal route

Hot Tip: For more information on Delta, check out our in-depth review!

American Airlines Airbus A330, Boeing 777 and 767

American Airlines has lie-flat business class seats on all of its Airbus A330, Boeing 777, and Boeing 767 aircraft. Unlike with Delta, you won’t have to figure out whether its 767s have lie-flat seats or recliners.

When booking flights on American Airlines with British Airways, you won’t see a seat map in the search results, but you can quickly check the aircraft type. If you see any aircraft other than an A330, 777, or 767, you’ll know that the business class cabin does not have lie-flat seats.

At this time, the only routes that American Airlines operates with lie-flat business class seats are from:

• Chicago O’Hare (ORD) to Daniel K. Inouye International-Honolulu (HNL)
• Dallas/Ft. Worth International (DFW) to Daniel K. Inouye International-Honolulu (HNL), Kona International (KOA), and Kahului (OGG)
• Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX) to Daniel K. Inouye International-Honolulu (HNL)

Using British Airways Avios won’t be a great way to book this flight, but you can use 63,000 Japan Airlines Mileage Bank miles or 80,000 American AAdvantage miles for a round-trip business class award.

Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A330

Some of Hawaiian Airlines’ Airbus A330s have lie-flat business class seats that have received great reviews. Obviously, if you find award space, you’ll want to know if you’ll have the opportunity to experience these seats.

Fortunately, Hawaiian Airlines makes it very easy to find out if you’ll have lie-flat seats in business class. While you may be calling Korean Air SKYPASS to book, you can use Hawaiian Airlines’ site to see which flights have lie-flat seats.

You don’t even have to run an award search. Just search for a cash ticket, and under the First Class column you’ll see a note that says Lie-Flat Seats. If it doesn’t have this note, the flight doesn’t offer lie-flat seats.

While finding Saver-level business class award space on Hawaiian Airlines can be very tough, there are lots of routes with lie-flat seats if you can find the space.

Final Thoughts

No matter which transferable currency you’re hoping to use, you can easily book award flights to Hawaii. In fact, compared to other destinations, it requires significantly fewer points to do so, which makes it easier to bring a loved one or a friend.

If you’re hoping to book a business class award to Hawaii, we suggest using 25,000 Turkish Miles&Smiles miles to fly with United, or 15,000 miles in economy class (if you can find Saver availability).

As you can see, with miles and points, the question isn’t if you can go to Hawaii, but when to go! With this info in hand, you’ll be ready to book in no time. Just remember, for a popular destination like Hawaii, travel date flexibility and planning ahead goes a long way when searching for award space. Also, don’t forget your beach packing list so you don’t forget anything at home.

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