As we reported previously, starting tomorrow, AAdvantage members will no longer be able to book awards between Hawaii and the continental US on Hawaiian Airlines. So today’s the day if you want to book that trip; you can book travel through next summer, but your flights must be ticketed today.
That being said, this is just a quick reminder that you can still earn AAdvantage miles for travel on Hawaiian Airlines within the Hawaiian Islands and between Hawaii and Australia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Tahiti and Taiwan. And you can redeem AAdvantage miles for travel on Hawaiian Airlines flights within Hawaii, and between Hawaii and those same countries, plus American Samoa.
And since so many of you are Starpoints fans, it should be noted that Starwood transfer partners Alitalia and Flying Blue (Air France/KLM) can get you a round-trip ticket to Hawaii for just 30,000 miles, or just 25,000 Starwood points with the 5,000 point bonus for redeeming 20,000 points. Both of these programs are partnered with Delta, and Flying Blue is also an Alaska Airlines partner.
Amex is currently offering increased sign-up bonuses on its two SPG credit cards. If you sign up for both the personal and business Starwood Preferred Guest credit cards and meet the minimum spending ($3,000 in the first three months for the personal card and $5,000 for the business card), you’ll earn a total of 60,000 points, which, when factoring in the 5,000-mile bonus, will get you 75,000 miles when transferring points to the programs above.
For more ideas, check out Jason Steele’s post on Credit Card Combinations for a Hawaiian Vacation.