5 Ways To Fly To Hawaii Using Points And Miles This Summer

The Hawaiian Islands are some of the most sought-after tourist destinations in the United States. In 2023, nearly ten million people visited Hawai’i from all over the world, visiting popular places like Honolulu, Kahului, and Kona. Besides the beautiful landscapes, the weather is a major draw for visiting Hawai’i, with great temperatures year-round. From thrill seekers to those simply looking to relax on a beach, Hawai’i has plenty to offer.

It goes without saying that there is significant demand for tourism to Hawai’i, with airlines offering flights from all over the United States, as far as Boston. The longest domestic route flown by any US airline is from Boston Logan International Airport to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu. The flight between the two cities takes 11-12 hours on average and covers more than 5,000 miles. Data from aviation analytics firm Cirium shows there are 21,051 roundtrip flights scheduled to and from Hawai’i this month, with 3.4 million seats on offer.

Nineteen airlines flew to Hawai’i, including airlines like ANA and Qantas, meaning plenty of frequent flier programs have award flights available to Hawai’i. Since there are so many airlines, it would be too complex to cover all the ways in which one could make an award booking to Hawai’i, so let’s cover just a few.

1

Southwest Airlines

3,522 roundtrip flights in July

Southwest Airlines

, one of the most well-known low-cost carriers in the US, only started flying to Hawai’i five years ago. This was largely due to the addition of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 to the airline’s fleet, enabling it to fly to Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Oakland, San Diego, San Jose, Sacramento, and Phoenix. Southwest also has some inter-island flying, and this month has 3,522 roundtrip flights scheduled in Hawai’i, with 616,350 seats available.

Known for being one of the cheaper airlines for cash fares to Hawai’i, Southwest’s award flights also have great ‘pricing’. A quick search of Southwest’s low-fare calendar reveals that in August, one-way flights from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to HNL are available as low as 14,687 Rapid Rewards (RR) points. The return leg is available for as low as 15,392 RR points.

A five-day trip from August 23 to August 28 is available for 31,864 points roundtrip + $11.20.

2

United Airlines

2,238 roundtrip flights in July

United Airlines is currently flying to Hawai’i from all of its hubs except Newark Liberty International Airport. Data shows that the airline has 2,238 roundtrip flights this month, totaling 568,764 as it deploys widebodies on several routes, including its high-density Boeing 777-200s. In addition to its hubs, United flies to Hawai’i from Guam and Majuro. Although passengers can use MileagePlus miles on flights to Hawai’i, the MileagePlus program is not the best for booking United flights.

United’s Star Alliance partner, Singapore Airlines, has the best award redemptions through its KrisFlyer program. Those wanting to book a United flight through Singapore Airlines need to call a phone line.

3

American Airlines

806 roundtrip flights in July

American Airlines flights can be booked with AAdvantage miles but AA is limited in its transfer partners as it does not have any banks that have transfer agreements, like the Chase Ultimate Rewards program. Luckily, AA flights can also be booked using Avios, the “currency” used by British Airways, Iberia, and Qatar Airways. Those with Chase points can transfer points to BA Executive Club for booking AA flights, but award flights are limited.

One advantage to using Avios for bookings is that award redemptions are based on flight distance, therefore the price always remains the same. For example, a flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu on American Airlines is 20,000 Avios + $5.60. In August, the same one-way flight ranges from 20k AAdvantage miles to 45k if booked directly through American Airlines.

4

Delta Air Lines

1,116 roundtrip flights in July

Delta Air Lines has its SkyMiles program, which does not publish award charts, making it more difficult to find award availability and check prices. With the other programs listed above, one can open a calendar view and see the different prices available. Since a chart is not available, we used the same dates as the Southwest Airlines flights above.

The cheapest option departing Los Angeles on August 23 is 27,000 miles + $12 in basic economy, but this itinerary includes a layover at Seattle Tacoma International Airport. The cheapest nonstop option is 29,500 SkyMiles + $12. Returning on August 28, there are only two options in basic economy, both nonstop flights, available for 32,000 SkyMiles + $12.

Virgin Atlantic, one of Delta’s SkyTeam partners and a Chase Transfer partner, does not have award availability for Delta flights from LAX to HNL.

5

Qantas

44 roundtrip flights in July

Qantas is Australia’s largest airline. A oneworld Alliance member since its founding, Qantas offers four weekly flights to Honolulu from Sydney, and its subsidiary, JetStar, also flies to Honolulu from Sydney and Melbourne. The airline’s frequent flyer program is called the Qantas Frequent Flyer Program, and the lowest available fare in August is 26,000 points + $146. These fares are for JetStar-operated flights. The lowest fare for a Qantas flight is 47,000 points one-way.

A booking from Sydney to Honolulu from August 23 to 28 would be 120,800 points + $257 (USD), while the same dates on JetStar would be 58,000 points + ~$237 (USD) roundtrip with a stop in Melbourne on the return leg.