Questions and Answers

Next June I have a trip booked from MSP to MUC to NRT to HNL that I redeemed before the United changes (in large part to info from this site – thank you). With my last stop in Hawaii I will be flying into HNL but am planning on staying at the Ritz Carlton Kapalua in Maui. To get to my question: I feel like I am not finding any great options for a return flight to Minneapolis, cash or miles. Can anyone help with a suggestion? I have Delta miles but 45k economy/55K comfort doesn’t seem like great value. I also have a stash of Amex MR available if need be and Chase UR from the CSR sign up, with the latter being earmarked for Hyatt stays in Tokyo. Ideally, I am looking to fly back on 6/23 for arrival back home on 6/24 but am flexible to stay an extra day but probably not return any earlier. Also in a perfect world I would fly back out of OGG but am willing to hop back to HNL if it makes sense.

I’d appreciate any advice as I am still new to all of this stuff. Thank you.

hi [USER=2583]@Billy[/USER], welcome. If you haven’t read it yet, this would be a good place to start: [URL]http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2015/10/06/redeeming-miles-to-hawaii-can-be-tough//[/URL]

Maybe consider a cash back card like the Arrival plus that you can use towards a cash ticket purchase if those are reasonable. I’d also try to put your trip into the hopper app and see what it forecasts for fare movement in the next few months.

You could also see about booking a ticket via the Amex portal and paying with MRs. Might not be the best value per point but it depends on whether you’d prefer to pay with points or cash. At least if you booked that way you’d also earn miles on whichever airline you chose.

United is not showing any partner award space right now but if they ever do, you could transfer MRs to Singapore and it will cost fewer miles than what United charges in its own currency.

I agree, cash (or equivalent) is probably going to be the better option here, sadly. If there are two of you, using an Alaska companion cert could be a good way to keep costs down.

If you’re going to be at the Ritz, it would actually probably be [I]way[/I] more convenient to book an island hopper flight from JHM to Honolulu, then fly back to the mainland from there.

Sounds like a great trip [USER=2583]@Billy[/USER] . That RC Kapalua property is absolutely gorgeous. The golf, beaches and hiking in the immediate area are fantastic.

Agree with everyone else regarding your flight home from the islands. And specifically, [USER=7]@Tiffany[/USER] gives great advice about island hopping from JHM. The drive from OGG to Kapalua is at least an hour, [U]without[/U] traffic.

While you’re in Maui, go get a plate lunch from Nobu’s Lunch Wagon. It’s a pink food truck in a Napa Auto Parts parking lot. Best plate lunch on the island.

Thanks all for the help. I really appreciate it.