Affordable Airfare to Hawaii with Loyalty Points and Rewards Programs
Explore the best ways to earn and redeem points for affordable flights to Hawaii.
Hawaii, the tropical paradise in the Pacific, is a popular destination for many travellers. If you're looking to save on your next trip, consider using credit card rewards to book your flights. Here's a roundup of the top credit cards and programs that can help you fly to Hawaii cheaply.
Transferable Points Cards
Transferable points cards offer flexibility, allowing you to transfer points to various airline partners. These cards are ideal for those seeking diverse redemption options.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve®
These cards offer Ultimate Rewards points that can be transferred to several airlines, including Southwest, United, and British Airways, all of which fly to Hawaii. Chase Ultimate Rewards can also be used to book Southwest’s low-fare award flights, which are especially good from the West Coast.
American Express® Gold Card and The Platinum Card® from American Express
These cards offer Membership Rewards points that transfer to Hawaiian Airlines and British Airways, among others, useful for Hawaii flights.
Citi Strata Premier® Card
Citi ThankYou points transfer to partners like Turkish Airlines, which may offer competitive awards to Hawaii.
Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® Card
This card is great for Alaska Airlines flights or American Airlines partner flights to Hawaii.
Capital One Venture X and Capital One Venture Cards
Capital One Miles transfer to Singapore KrisFlyer (which partners with United) and other airlines, offering good redemption rates to Hawaii. The Venture X card offers luxury perks plus earning 75,000+ miles sign-up bonuses.
Airline-Specific Cards
If you have a preference for a specific airline, consider these options.
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Credit Cards
Best for fans of Southwest flights to Hawaii due to their fare-based award pricing and two free checked bags. Points can also be transferred from Chase Ultimate Rewards.
United MileagePlus® Card
Good if you want to book United flights directly to Hawaii. United is part of Star Alliance, and Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer instantly to United at a 1:1 ratio.
Special Mentions
Air France and KLM's joint Flying Blue program
Offers round-trip flights between the U.S. and Hawaii for 35,000 miles round-trip in economy class.
Korean Air SkyPass miles
Korean Air's co-branded credit cards allow you to earn Korean Air SkyPass miles. Korean Air first class round-trip flights to Hawaii cost 45,000 miles.
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card
Currently offers a sign-up bonus of 100,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 5 months from account opening.
Southwest flights
Come with two free checked bags per person.
In summary, transferable points cards like Chase Sapphire and American Express Platinum provide the most flexibility with multiple redemption options to Hawaii, while Southwest cards shine for fare-based award pricing and companion perks. Alaska Airlines and United cards are best if you prefer those specific airlines.
This guidance reflects the current best credit card options for cheaply flying to Hawaii using points as of mid-2025.
- For diverse redemption options to Hawaii, consider the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Reserve®, American Express® Gold Card, and The Platinum Card® from American Express, offering transferable points to various airlines.
- Citi ThankYou points from the Citi Strata Premier® Card can be transferred to partners like Turkish Airlines for competitive awards to Hawaii.
- The Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® Card is ideal for Alaska Airlines flights or American Airlines partner flights to Hawaii.
- Capital One Venture X and Capital One Venture cards offer Miles transferable to Singapore KrisFlyer and other airlines, providing good redemption rates to Hawaii, with the Venture X card offering luxury perks and a high sign-up bonus.
- Southwest Rapid Rewards® Credit Cards are beneficial for fans of Southwest flights to Hawaii due to fare-based award pricing, two free checked bags, and the option to transfer points from Chase Ultimate Rewards.
