The Cheapest Ways to Get to Hawaii

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Hawaii is one of the best places in the world to visit, and judging by the number of inquiries I get about booking awards to Hawaii, it’s clear that many people agree. There are a number of cheap ways to get there that I’ll list in order.

1. Korean Miles Award: 25,000 Korean Miles and $11 Roundtrip, First Class 45,000 Korean Miles Roundtrip

Korean miles can book a roundtrip in Delta economy from anywhere in the United States to any of the four major Hawaiian islands for 25,000 Korean miles. A roundtrip in Delta First Class is 45,000 Korean miles.

You just have to find Saver award space on Delta flights on delta.com and transfer your Ultimate Rewards or SPG Starpoints to Korean miles.

More info on the process: Guide to Booking Delta Flights to Hawaii for 25k Korean Miles Roundtrip, 45k in First

Korean miles can also book Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines Saver award space, but the price is higher: 30k/60k Korean miles roundtrip in economy/First.

Getting Korean Miles

Korean miles are a 1:1 transfer partner of Marriott Rewards.

You can use Marriott points to book free nights (starting at 7,500 points a night) at thousands of hotels as the company, post SPG merger, has the biggest footprint in the world. OR you can also transfer them to airline miles of almost any type. You’ll earn at least 81,000 Marriott points for meeting the spending requirement for the bonus, which translates to 32,000 of almost any airline mile as you’ll get a 5k mile bonus for every 50k point increment you transfer.

2. Avios Award: 26,000+ Avios and $11+ roundtrip

I love that British Airways Avios has a distance-based award chart. For 26,000 Avios and $11, you can fly roundtrip on American Airlines or Alaska Airlines planes from the West Coast to Hawaii. Here are the possible routes.

Avios can be used for one way awards at half the price of a roundtrip award, which means that if you can’t get the Avios deal both ways, it’s still a good idea to go one way for 13,000 Avios and use another one way deal.

See here for an Anatomy of an Award post for a step-by-step breakdown of the time I booked a one way award from Honolulu to Los Angeles with Avios.

Getting British Airways Avios

You can get Chase’s British Airways Visa Signature Card, transfer Ultimate Rewards 1:1, Marriott Rewards 4:5, or transfer Membership Rewards 5:4.

Check out the top options for cards with big bonuses. 

3. Singapore Miles Award: 35,000 Singapore Miles and $11 Roundtrip, First Class 60,000 Singapore Miles Roundtrip

Singapore miles can book United economy from anywhere in the United States to any of the four major Hawaiian islands for 17,500 Singapore miles each way. One way in United First Class is 30,000 Singapore miles.

You just have to find Saver award space on United flights on united.com and transfer your Ultimate Rewards, Membership Rewards, ThankYou Points, or SPG Starpoints to Singapore miles.

More info on the process: Guide to Booking United Flights to Hawaii with Singapore Miles

While Korean miles and Avios are cheaper, I use this option the most to get to and from Hawaii. I am not usually traveling to or from a place with a direct American or Alaska flight to Hawaii, and Delta releases less Saver award space than United, making Korean miles harder to use. The best bet on this list is definitely United opening up award space, which you can then book with Singapore miles.

Getting Singapore Miles

Singapore miles are a partner of every transferable points program including Ultimate Rewards.

Check out the top options for cards with big bonuses of all the transferrable point types. 

4. Cash Flights

If cash flights are below about $400, you are better off booking them than using Avios or Korean miles. If they are below $550, you are better off booking them than using Singapore miles.

You don’t often find cash fares that low, but they certainly do happen.

When they do, you should buy the ticket with the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card. Capital One miles can be redeemed for 1 cent each toward any travel expense. After meeting the minimum spending requirement for the bonus, you’ll have $560 in travel credit.

With the Venture Rewards Card, you don’t even have to wait to meet the minimum spending requirement before you spend the miles. Open the Venture Rewards Card, put whatever cash tickets on the card you want now to help you meet the minimum spending requirement, and then redeem your Capital One miles to offset the charges.

What Wasn’t On the List

• United miles
• Delta miles
• American Airlines miles

Flights on those airlines can be booked cheaper with Singapore, Korean, and British Airways miles respectively.