Credit Card News
American Express to Discontinue Hawaiian Airlines Transfers
Travelers hoping to transfer their American Express Membership Rewards points to Hawaiian Airlines will want to do so while they still can.
About Amex Ending Hawaiian Airlines Transfers:
American Express has announced that transfers of Membership Rewards points to Hawaiian Airlines’ HawaiianMiles program will soon be discontinued. The last day for this transfer option will be June 30th. Until then, members can transfer points at a rate of 1:1.
This update comes after Hawaiian Airlines closed its merger with Alaska Airlines. That transaction was completed in September of last year. Because Hawaiian and Alaska are now under the same umbrella, flyers can transfer their HawaiianMiles to Alaska’s Mileage Plan. Once again, these transfers are at a rate of 1:1.
While Hawaiian Airlines is no longer partnering with Amex, Bilt Rewards members can continue to transfer to Hawaiian via the program’s partnership with Alaska Airlines. Previously, Hawaiian was a direct transfer partner with Bilt, but they were dropped shortly before the merger.
As for Membership Rewards, with the removal of Hawaiian, Amex will still have 20 travel transfer partners. This includes 17 airlines and three hotel groups.
My Thoughts:
Believe me when I tell you that this loss is being heavily mourned by the credit card enthusiast community — even though most saw this coming once the Hawaiian-Alaska merger was made. The reason why it’s a bummer is that Alaska Airlines miles are considered to be one best points options at the moment. In fact, according to The Daily Drop, “Alaska miles are the most valuable U.S. points currency for domestic and international travel.”
Given the popularity of Alaska miles, even before the merger deal was officially done, I saw plenty of reports of people getting Hawaiian Airlines credit cards or transferring points in anticipation of being able to then move those miles over to Alaska. Similarly, while it’s not typically advisable to move points speculatively, some are making an exception in a bid to move Amex Membership Rewards Points to Alaska (via Hawaiian) while they still can.
Of course, if it weren’t for the two airlines joining forces, this sweet spot opportunity wouldn’t have been available in the first place. So I suppose this is more of a “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened” sort of situation?
In any case, whether you want to move your Amex points to Hawaiian Airlines or forward them on to Alaska, make sure to do so before this June 30th end date.
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