At the moment the Hawaiian Airlines® World Elite Mastercard® is offering the best bonus I ever recall seeing on the card. In this post, I wanted to provide a detailed review of the card.
In this post:
Hawaiian Airlines Credit Card
The Hawaiian Airlines Credit Card might not be on most peoples’ radar, but the card offers a reasonable welcome bonus, annual fee that’s waived for the first year, and for some the card could be worth holding onto long term. Let’s take a closer look at how the benefits of the card work.
Sign-Up Bonus
The Hawaiian Credit Card is offering a sign-up bonus of 50,000 HawaiianMiles after spending $2,000 within 90 days. That bonus can potentially get you quite a bit of travel, either on Hawaiian Airlines or on one of their partners.
Annual Fee
The Hawaiian Airlines Card has a $99 annual fee, though it’s waived for the first year.
Credit Card Perks
The card offers a variety of potentially useful benefits that can add value.
Whether or not these benefits are worthwhile depends entirely on what your travel patterns are. I will say that in general there are cards offering better bonus categories, and even when you factor in the annual bonuses for spending, there are better cards for everyday spending.
Let’s take a closer look at the details:
2-3x Miles
The card offers a variety of bonus categories that could earn you significantly more than one point per dollar, including:
- 3x miles on Hawaiian Airlines purchases
- 2x miles on gas, dining, and grocery store purchase
- 1x miles on all other purchases
No Foreign Transaction Fees
The Hawaiian Airlines Card has no foreign transaction fees, so it’s a great card to use for purchases abroad.
First Checked Bag Free
The primary cardmember gets one free checked bag on domestic Hawaiian Airlines-operated flights. You need to include the HawaiianMiles number of the primary cardmember in the booking to take advantage of this. Furthermore, tickets have to be purchased with the Hawaiian Airlines Credit Card to take advantage of this.
50% Companion Discount
For having the Hawaiian Card you get a one-time 50% discount on a published full coach roundtrip fare for a companion, with taxes and fees not included. This is good for 13 months from account opening, and is valid between Hawaii and the rest of North America.
$100 Anniversary Companion Discount
On their account anniversary every year, card members receive a $100 companion discount for roundtrip economy travel between Hawaii and North America. This is valid for 12 months.
Hawaiian Airlines A330 first class
Redeeming Hawaiian Airlines Miles
Hawaiian Airlines recently made some negative changes to their award chart, which now looks as follows (pricing is one-way):
There are some other interesting redemption opportunities, though. Hawaiian Airlines has some airline partners, including Japan Airlines, JetBlue, Korean Air, Virgin Atlantic, and Virgin Australia. I wouldn’t say any of the redemption opportunities are industry-leading, but at least there are some.
Redeem HawaiianMiles for travel in Virgin Atlantic Upper Class
There is even a hotel opportunity that some might find worthwhile. You can convert Hawaiian miles into Hilton points at a 1:1.5 ratio. I wouldn’t consider that to be especially good, though it’s worth being aware of.
Hawaiian Card Summary
The Hawaiian Airlines® World Elite Mastercard® is no doubt a niche card. This is a card that might not be worth it long term for those who don’t frequently fly Hawaiian, while for those who do, it could be well worth it for the annual $100 companion discount and free checked bag.
When I applied for the Barclays HA Mastercard, one of the perks that convinced me to bother was the 50 percent off companion fare. As a couple who goes to Hawaii about twice a year, pre-pandemic, that seemed like a deal. There were no blackout flights or dates. Just a simple “other restrictions may apply,” at the end of the terms which really had no meaning.
So, when I sat down to book our annual...
When I applied for the Barclays HA Mastercard, one of the perks that convinced me to bother was the 50 percent off companion fare. As a couple who goes to Hawaii about twice a year, pre-pandemic, that seemed like a deal. There were no blackout flights or dates. Just a simple “other restrictions may apply,” at the end of the terms which really had no meaning.
So, when I sat down to book our annual trip to the timeshare in Maui, I tried using the companion fare discount. Color me surprised when it was not available for the single direct flight between SEA-OGG, even though the plane was virtually empty. Our dates are set for the timeshare, so moving it around wasn’t useful. Hawaiian did offer the discount by connecting us through HNL and charging us a total of $300 more for the privilege of taking two flights when a cheaper direct flight was available. So, that 50 percent off perk was eaten up completely by charging us $300 more. But we did get the bonus of deplaning and boarding twice.
Pre-pandemic, we usually went to the Big Island for a few weeks during the winter. And even though Alaska Air offers a nonstop, SEA-KOA, we always take HA and connect in OGG or HNL. So, I checked possible dates in Nov/Dec. The HA computer decided that I really wanted a tour of the islands and would one routing: not SEA-OGG-KOA or SEA-HNL-KOA; but SEA-OGG-HNL-KOA with a mere 36 minutes to make the connection in HNL Even IF the flights were all on-time, it could take 36 minutes to open the door and deplane at HNL. I’m in good shape for someone 75 years-old but sprinting off the plane to the next might be a challenge. And I know the baggage handlers won’t be sprinting to the next flight with our bags. Maybe I should just wonder that somehow LIH was included, too, in this routing.
No wonder my friends in Seattle marvel at my former devotion to Hawaiian. Their Alaska Bank of America companion fares are a better deal financially and with NO restrictions.
As pretty as the card is, I’ll be dropping my Barclays HA Mastercard this year and taking a direct flight on Alaska to the Big Island. Nothing lasts forever.
I got the card with the 70,000 mile inducement after a pamphlet was handed out on the flight in August 2022 to Maui from Sacramento. On the pamphlet it states clearly the mileage award is worth two round trip tickets from the west coast and less if from the east coast.
Several weeks later, I bought tickets to Hilo with the card. The mileage did not even cover one round trip ticket to Hawaii....
I got the card with the 70,000 mile inducement after a pamphlet was handed out on the flight in August 2022 to Maui from Sacramento. On the pamphlet it states clearly the mileage award is worth two round trip tickets from the west coast and less if from the east coast.
Several weeks later, I bought tickets to Hilo with the card. The mileage did not even cover one round trip ticket to Hawaii. I had to pay more that $ 200 extra, just on my ticket and full fare on my wife's, so be advised, its a bait and switch tactic in my experience.
I have a Hawaii card. I would not recommend the card. Right now I cannot use the card miles to go from Raleigh NC to Hawaii. I have to pay to fly to Boston, then I can use the miles to fly to Hawaii. Jet Blue is a partner with Hawaii airlines, but cannot use miles to fly on Jet Blue. I will be contacting the office in Hawaii to discus this since their office...
I have a Hawaii card. I would not recommend the card. Right now I cannot use the card miles to go from Raleigh NC to Hawaii. I have to pay to fly to Boston, then I can use the miles to fly to Hawaii. Jet Blue is a partner with Hawaii airlines, but cannot use miles to fly on Jet Blue. I will be contacting the office in Hawaii to discus this since their office open 6 hours later than NC time. I cannot use the flyer miles and my wife flying at the 50% discount promised, I have to pay for my flight for her to get the discount. What is the point of having the miles card if cannot use them.. I have a Citi card with AA airlines and this is not how they operate. Made a mistake getting this card.
One benefit which I believe was not included in the main post was that if you have this card any other Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles member may transfer their miles to your account free of charge. If you haven't flown with Hawaiian Airlines, you should give it a try. Their first class is way better than anything offered by any other U.S. airline. And they have a free sandwich and chips offering in main cabin.
@ Sachin, @Robert Hanson Barclays has become extremely stingy, as has US Bank, B of A.
I've gotten 3 Hawaii air cards last one 6 months ago and a AA card last month . If u have a card with them I think u have a better chance so 1 I will keep.
CHEERs
Just applied last month, had to jump through hoops just to get approved. 4506T transcript is a pain.
@Greg, if you're looking for premium cabin availability, it's wide open, except there is ZERO availability at the 40,000 mile saver levels. It means you'll be paying 80,000 miles O/W from the west coast or 130,000 miles O/W from the east coast. They must not have any problem selling their J seats, which honestly seemed to be priced fairly.
My real bone to pick with this card is that none of the perks work...
@Greg, if you're looking for premium cabin availability, it's wide open, except there is ZERO availability at the 40,000 mile saver levels. It means you'll be paying 80,000 miles O/W from the west coast or 130,000 miles O/W from the east coast. They must not have any problem selling their J seats, which honestly seemed to be priced fairly.
My real bone to pick with this card is that none of the perks work for J-class. As someone in the continental 48 I'm not interested in saving $100 on 6-12 hour flight in coach.
I've had the card for two years after getting the sign-up bonus and year 1 bonus miles for meeting spend (since discontinued) I'm going to be dumping the card after my Hawaii trip in November. Not a keeper for an occasional traveler to Hawaii IMO.
"I wouldn’t say any of the redemption opportunities are industry leading, but at least there are some."
OK, and what are some sweet spots redeeming on partners?
Lol Sachin. Barclay's might not have an official policy of 5/24 but they are just as bad.
@Lucky unrelated but ANA are introducing new seats for B777-300ER, from 2nd August on HND-LHR. Link (only in japanese so far) https://www.ana.co.jp/ja/jp/international/promotions/b777-300er/seat-new/
Seems to be 3-4-3 in Y, replacing the current 2-4-3.
It's a total niche card, but I'm in the islands quarterly and just a simple swipe of the card for gas, food, and groceries adds up fast.
I've been rolling the business and personal cards every two years, and have never used the miles. I can tell you that if your activity level falls off, and your miles disappear, you can just call them and they can easily reactivate them but they'll "book" you...
It's a total niche card, but I'm in the islands quarterly and just a simple swipe of the card for gas, food, and groceries adds up fast.
I've been rolling the business and personal cards every two years, and have never used the miles. I can tell you that if your activity level falls off, and your miles disappear, you can just call them and they can easily reactivate them but they'll "book" you on a $100 inter-island flight...at least that's what happened with me. I'm a UA elite and I can tell you that the treatment on Hawaiian air codeshare flights is not good, so I don't use them at all.
I plan to cash all my miles out for a 1st class trip to somewhere in the South Pacific or transfer them to a partner.
@Robert Hanson Its Barclays so 5/24 doesn't apply
@Greg
The award availability is great. However, HWN just introduced higher points needed for flights. I have been seeing .09 - 1.1 values. Previously it was 1.4 -1.7. I live in HI and have been thinking of switching to Alaska or Southwest's CC now that they are here. Though I am not sure a transpacific flight on SW is something I look forward to.
Strange that on a post that is essentially only about a credit card, there is no mention of which bank issues it. ;)
Nor about the fact that those of us with LOL/24 will almost certainly be denied for MAC.
Does Lucky get a commission on every app, even if that app is denied? Or was this simply a 'not paying attention' omission?
Do you have to ticket by 13 months or travel by then (start or complete?)? I'm wondering if you can combine the $100 discount upon renewal with the companion.
Speaking of reviews, when are we getting the next Air Europa review?
Barclays rejected my application. 800+ FICO score. The reason given was too many cards opened recently.
How is Hawaiian award availability?
/different topic -
Ben- at PDX they announced they will be adding Screen Door, a well known southern place here in Portland to the airport terminal B.
Also slightly more aviation related, they seemed to mention they will be opening a new bar in the terminal extension their working on called ‘Juliet’ which will be a bar with a theme that pays homage to woman in aviation. Pretty cool.
https://news.google.com/articles/CAIiEKgoILcTXOOwC62wzfS_eDIqGQgEKhAIACoHCAownqX_CjCltfgCML7NpAY?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen
/different topic -
Ben- at PDX they announced they will be adding Screen Door, a well known southern place here in Portland to the airport terminal B.
Also slightly more aviation related, they seemed to mention they will be opening a new bar in the terminal extension their working on called ‘Juliet’ which will be a bar with a theme that pays homage to woman in aviation. Pretty cool.
https://news.google.com/articles/CAIiEKgoILcTXOOwC62wzfS_eDIqGQgEKhAIACoHCAownqX_CjCltfgCML7NpAY?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen