In late 2023, Alaska Airlines announced plans to acquire Hawaiian Airlines, in a $1.9 billion deal. Up until now, there had been questions about whether the deal would get approval, given that the Department of Justice (DOJ) has been pretty aggressive with blocking mergers.
We’ve now learned that the DOJ doesn’t plan to challenge this takeover. While there are still some closing conditions that have to be met, I think it’s safe to say that it’s highly likely this deal will end up being finalized.
With that in mind, what does that mean for the future of the loyalty programs of the two airlines, Alaska Mileage Plan and HawaiianMiles? Let’s talk about that, and the best strategy to take at this point…
In this post:
Alaska Mileage Plan will be the surviving program
Even when Alaska’s takeover of Hawaiian is complete, the plan is for the two airlines to maintain their own brands, as this is an important commitment that Alaska Airlines is making to the state of Hawaii.
However, we do know that the plan is for the Alaska Mileage Plan program to be the surviving frequent flyer program, meaning that the HawaiianMiles program will eventually be discontinued. Here are a few thoughts on what this could look like:
- Even though I think Alaska Mileage Plan miles are significantly more valuable than HawaiianMiles, I expect that miles will be consolidated at a 1:1 ratio between the programs
- When the merger is finalized, it’s possible that there will be a period where miles can be transfered between the two programs, or it’s also possible that Mileage Plan will just very quickly become the surviving program
- From a branding perspective, it’s anyone’s guess how this plays out; it’s possible the overall loyalty program is named Alaska Mileage Plan, or I could also see the combined airline essentially having an identical program that’s branded as Hawaiian Mileage Plan, just to make Hawaiian’s customers feel more recognized
Regardless, I’d consider Mileage Plan being the surviving program to be positive news. There are lots of great ways to redeem Mileage Plan miles, not just for travel on Alaska, but also for travel on dozens of airlines in the oneworld alliance and beyond.
What about Bank of America and Barclays cards?
When it comes to credit cards, Alaska Mileage Plan has co-branded credit cards issued by Bank of America, while HawaiianMiles has co-branded credit cards issued by Barclays.
How will this play out? Here’s my speculation:
- I think it’s a given that the Alaska Mileage Plan partnership with Bank of America will continue, given that this is a big source of revenue for Alaska, and Mileage Plan also has a lot more members than Hawaiian’s programs
- It’s anyone’s guess if the HawaiianMiles credit cards will be discontinued in the long run, or if Alaska is able to reach an agreement whereby the airline has cards issued by both Bank of America and Barclays; that’s not unheard of, as American has cards issued by Citi and Barclays, also due to a merger
My guess is that the Bank of America portfolio will continue and the Barclays portfolio will eventually be discontinued, but I don’t think it’s a sure thing.
What about transferable points with Amex & Bilt?
When it comes to transferable points currencies, Alaska Mileage Plan exclusively partners with Bilt Rewards, while HawaiianMiles partners with Amex Membership Rewards.
How will this play out? Here’s my speculation:
- I don’t think Alaska Mileage Plan will partner with Amex Membership Rewards in the long run, so I think that partnership is likely to eventually be discontinued; if Alaska Mileage Plan wanted to partner with one of the four big transferable points currencies, it would’ve done so by now
- Meanwhile the Bilt Rewards partnership is part of a larger tie-up, and I suspect Bank of America doesn’t have issues with it; as a result, I think that will stick around, or if it’s discontinued, it’ll have nothing to do with the merger
So yeah, I wouldn’t count on Mileage Plan partnering with anything other than Bilt Rewards in the long run, but anything is possible.
Are there any good opportunities now?
Are there any strategic arbitrage opportunities you should take advantage of now, in light of the upcoming merger? The way I view it, there are two things to consider.
For one, you might want to consider picking up a HawaiianMiles co-branded credit card from Barclays. There’s both a personal and business card, and they have solid bonuses, so this could be a creative to pick up some Alaska Mileage Plan miles.
I think the other opportunity worth considering is transferring Amex Membership Rewards points to HawaiianMiles. As a matter of fact, through August 31, 2024, you can transfer Amex points to HawaiianMiles with a 20% bonus.
Is this worth a speculative transfer? Everyone has to decide for themselves. The way I’d personally approach this is by asking myself “would I trade one Amex point today for 1.2 Alaska miles in a year or so.” Let me of course add the following caveats:
- While I think it’s very likely the merger gets finalized, something could still go wrong, so this is no guarantee
- While I don’t think Alaska Mileage Plan will devalue materially, it’s anyone’s guess what a frequent flyer program looks like a year down the road
- I generally err on the side of caution when it comes to speculatively transferring points, since you lose quite a bit of flexibility when doing this
With the current 20% bonus, though, I think there could be merit to this, especially if you value redeeming miles on oneworld airlines.
Bottom line
With Alaska’s takeover of Hawaiian closer to becoming a reality, it’s worth considering the implications of this merger on the carriers’ frequent flyer programs. Alaska Mileage Plan is expected to be the surviving program, and I’d expect miles will convert at a 1:1 ratio.
Some may find it worthwhile to transfer some Amex points to HawaiianMiles (especially with a bonus), or even to apply for a HawaiianMiles credit card, since it’s anyone’s guess how long those opportunities will be around. Everything comes with risks, but for some, it could be a good opportunity.
What’s your take on the future of Alaska & Hawaiian miles? Are you taking any action now in light of what we can expect?
Any thoughts on timing? Curious when the two will be one or at least when earning miles on Hawaiian will be able to earn Alaska miles.
"the plan is for the two airlines to maintain their own brands."
I don't think this is accurate. While Alaska has stated that the Hawaiian brand will not disappear, they have been very light on specifics. Most likely, they will cobrand some planes however, the plan is to operate as one airline.
Merging the two frequent flier program is going to be a disaster for AS Mileage Plan members as Hawaiian Airlines fliers will qualify at far higher rates for Gold 100K status. Also, given the lack of any improvement for First Class experience on AS (subpar ratings), do they know or care about maintaining a competitive advantage on Intl business class routes and also managing wide body aircraft.
It was absolutely deplorable that AS management...
Merging the two frequent flier program is going to be a disaster for AS Mileage Plan members as Hawaiian Airlines fliers will qualify at far higher rates for Gold 100K status. Also, given the lack of any improvement for First Class experience on AS (subpar ratings), do they know or care about maintaining a competitive advantage on Intl business class routes and also managing wide body aircraft.
It was absolutely deplorable that AS management deliberately chose not to adopt the positive aspects of Virgin America's travel experience....
I hope that Hawaiian officially joins the OneWorld Alliance as well.
Alaska is getting widebodies
I used to think the world of Alaska but they have become another delta since joining one world.Their IT sucks on their website now and their once low priced partner awards are outrageously over priced even more than American.I purchase delta airline first class tickets cheaper than Alaska and book awards for less on other one world partners
Alaska also gets crumbs for award inventory from one world partners and if you are lucky...
I used to think the world of Alaska but they have become another delta since joining one world.Their IT sucks on their website now and their once low priced partner awards are outrageously over priced even more than American.I purchase delta airline first class tickets cheaper than Alaska and book awards for less on other one world partners
Alaska also gets crumbs for award inventory from one world partners and if you are lucky to book something you can pay a 12.dollar fee to them.I looked at a coast to coast Alaska metal ticket on miles for a 5 hour flight and they asked for 125k one way.Hard pass done with Alaska.Used to be 25 to 50k
I think they suck now and won’t be flying them anymore
Hub DFW. I'm finding Alaska a lot better miles wise than American. IMO American is off the charts. Now I typically book 1st class and find Delta almost half, yes half, of what American wants. Recently booked Alaska DFW to SEA for next summer trip 50K each (2) 1st class. American would probably require 100K each.
Now if Hawaiian miles will exchange with Alaska and Hawaiian keeps Amex as a transfer partner, well things will be looking good.
It depends on the structure of the company going forward. Marriott maintains credit cards with both Amex and Chase. It is possible that the new airline will maintain both especially if they operate as separate branding.
I just called Hawaiian to inquire about transferring my American Air points/miles to Hawaiian. they said they have no mechanism to do so. I called American and they said that it was not permitted.
This is probably tangential at best, but I'm wondering how this will affect redeeming JetBlue TrueBlue points on Hawaiian Airlines flights once the Alaska-Hawaiian merger is complete?
I have a bit of an odd question. AS killed most of their Bay Area to OGG routes (running 1x/week in 2025 vs daily in 2024). I have to think this was in anticipation of the merger approval and controlling capacity. Catch is I have AS tickets on what was a nonstop from SJC to OGG next Spring that is now routing through SAN (which is a nonstarter, I'll take my refund and fly another...
I have a bit of an odd question. AS killed most of their Bay Area to OGG routes (running 1x/week in 2025 vs daily in 2024). I have to think this was in anticipation of the merger approval and controlling capacity. Catch is I have AS tickets on what was a nonstop from SJC to OGG next Spring that is now routing through SAN (which is a nonstarter, I'll take my refund and fly another airline if needed).
Do you think that once the merger is official, AS will rebook me over to HA on one of their 3 daily nonstops out of the Bay Area to OGG?
Doubt there will be integration to that point before your flight.
What do you think the implications will be for award travel on other airlines, such as United? We can currently book flights with miles between the islands from our United account. Will this go away with the merger?
@ Curious -- We don't yet know for sure, but personally I think it's likely that the partnership between United and Hawaiian will end. I could be wrong, though.
Branding wise I'd do an AF/KLM or IAG BA/Iberia/AerLingus type thing unless Alaska really has brand superiority to Hawaii. 1:1 would be great for Hawaiian miles which are worth a little less.
Great news on the merger.
The hoops required to transfer Avios is a pain. Hopefully they have one backend program, regardless of frontend branding.
I consider AF/KLM FB to be essentially one program.
If you value Mileage Plan at 1.8 cents, then transfering Amex MR to Hawaiian Miles with the 20% transfer bonus means you are cashing out MR at 2.16 cpp. That's certainly a good return on MR points, but not without risk (Merger falls through, Hawaiian Miles don't transfer to Mileage Plan at 1:1, or a devaluation, but I don't believe any of those things are LIKELY to happen)
@ M!le HOarder -- Yeah, that's a fair analysis, though personally I no longer value Mileage Plan miles at 1.8 cents each. If you could transfer the points and they'd turn into Mileage Plan miles immediately, I'd say it's a no-brainer. But I usually approach the miles & points game with a short term mindset when it comes to the value I see with any particular program.
AS miles are worth a lot on AA metal. So either AS miles are worth a lot or AA miles not. I can book AA flights on AS miles on city pairs under 500 miles for 9K AS miles flying 1st class. If I book the same on AA, then the miles would be 3x or more and usually only if you book close to 331 days out.
Sidebar, DL pesos get a lot of flack. AA out of DFW is a lot more like ridiculous. Try the 2 airlines from DFW to JFK for comparison and see how far more pesos get you.
That is not a fair comparison. You whould check DL out of ATL and get your heart medication. AA is valued high because it offers excellent and viable partner awards with the lowest price in the market. TPAC, TATL, Australia-Asia, Europe-Asia are all significantly lower than AS, with same partners and sometimes better award availability. If you accrue AA miles for AA, then you should change strategy. Very few airlines offer the best value on their own metal.
Totally understand DL out of ATL. Use to live in the burbs and go way, way back with DL. But I don't and what I wrote is a fair comparison. AA out of DFW one must use every trick in the book like waiting 331 days out, sometimes waiting another day for the miles to "settle down" just get something decent.
I have a friend who is 4 million miler with AA and probably have...
Totally understand DL out of ATL. Use to live in the burbs and go way, way back with DL. But I don't and what I wrote is a fair comparison. AA out of DFW one must use every trick in the book like waiting 331 days out, sometimes waiting another day for the miles to "settle down" just get something decent.
I have a friend who is 4 million miler with AA and probably have 3 million now. For a European trip next month (booked a long time ago), going AA DFW to MIA to LHR on BA to GVA just to keep the miles within gunshot range. Closer to home P2 is sitting on half million and I'm (was - devaluation) hoping to book Qatar to Africa. For me AA would be the last airline to accumulate miles. Earning structure on cards is pitiful, no transfer partner(s) and Europe, well forget it. And oh, try your AA million miler status and the max is Platinum (not Pro) even for my 4 million miler friend. That'll really get you a lot as a joke!
Ben
I attempted to transfer miles per your suggestion but was unable as Hawaiian has not ability and American will not allow. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thank you.