Hawaiian Airlines Mastercard Review
With Hawaiian miles now transferrable to Alaska at a 1:1 ratio, there is a lot of interest in Hawaiian Airlines’ Barclays-issued credit card. We are yet to see what will become of the Barclays-Hawaiian relationship after the Alaska merger, but in the short term, this card’s sign up bonus offers the potential for a massive injection of Hawaiian (and thus Alaska) miles, more than enough for a flight to Hawaii and nearly enough to fly to Japan or Taiwan.
As for the card itself, earning 2 miles per dollar on common categories like dining, gas, and groceries is solid, especially for an airline card. But you could earn more miles with other (no-net-fee) cards like the Amex Gold or Bilt Mastercard. Meanwhile, unless you fly to Hawaii on Hawaiian Airlines each year, and either check bags or travel with a companion, you won’t be breaking even on the card’s $99 fee.
But for a quick spike of highly valuable miles, you could do much worse than this card, with its solid earnings and protections.
Quick ratings
🟡 Decent card
🦥 Lazy
🛡️ Travel protections
🔒 Shopping protections
✈️ Great redemptions
Bonus
The bonus on this card usually ranges from 50-70k miles, usually after spending $2,000 in the first 90 days. That bonus can be supplemented with a companion discount (e.g. 50% off a companion fare), and if you can get the in-flight code that flight attendants pass out on board you can receive the bonus after just a single purchase rather than meeting spending minimums.
Laziness rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐
This card has a very simple structure. It earns bonus points on three common categories (dining, gas, groceries). Most users won’t have to deal with any credits.
You will have to remember to use your card when booking to get free bags on Hawaiian flights. You might also want to keep the companion discount in mind if it makes sense to use it. These credits can more than offset the annual fee, but are only applicable to Hawaiian flyers.
Hawaiian miles can easily be transferred to Alaska to take advantage of that valuable, stable and predictable award chart.
Net fee
Annual fee:
$99
Credits and offsets:
Two free checked bags when flying with Hawaiian
$100 annual companion discount
Typical net annual fee:
$99
Earning
3x Hawaiian
2x gas, dining, groceries
1x other
Perks
2 free checked bags
Share miles
In-flight purchase credits for Pualani Elites ($10 per day, up to $100 per account year)
Discounts on award flights
Concierge
The ability to share miles with friends or family for free as a cardholder is the star benefit here. If an award flight costs 40k miles to book and you have 60k in your account and your partner has 20k, normally you’re out of luck. With this benefit, though, you can pool miles to make redeeming them much easier.
The discount on award flights is unlikely to be too valuable since the points will usually be more valuable when transferred to Alaska than when redeemed on Hawaiian flights.
Protections
No foreign transaction fees ✅
Trip Delay Insurance ✅ (>6 hour delay, up to $300)
Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance ✅
Baggage Insurance 🚫
Baggage Delay Insurance ✅
Rental Car Insurance ✅
Purchase Protection ✅
Return Protection ✅
Extended Warranty ✅
Cell Phone Insurance 🚫
Travel Accident Insurance ✅
The Hawaiian Airlines Mastercard also offers price protection, which reimburses cardholders for price differences if they find a lower price advertised in print or online within 120 days from the date of purchase.
Note that the card’s website only advertises the no foreign transaction fee benefit and the fact that the card is a World Elite Mastercard.
I believe that the card’s guide to benefits can be found here, but I haven’t been able to verify this.
Hacks
Get more out of your miles by transferring them to Alaska.
Points/Rewards
⭐⭐⭐⭐(West Coast)
⭐⭐⭐ (East Coast)
Hawaiian Miles redemptions to Hawaii start at 40,000 miles round-trip from the West Coast and 60,000 from the East Coast. When transferred to Alaska, that airline’s distance-based award chart offers exceptional value from the West Coast to Asia, with flights to Japan and Taiwan usually available for 75,000 miles. East Coast flights to Europe usually start at 55,000 miles. Alaska also offers huge sales from time to time.
Alternatives
To earn a ton of points on dining and groceries, consider the Amex Gold, which earns 4 Membership Rewards per dollar on dining and groceries, double the rate on the Hawaiian card, and—at least for now—those points can be transferred to Hawaiian.
Likewise the Bilt card, which earns 3x on dining, 2x on travel, and its points can be transferred to Hawaiian via Alaska.
If you’re looking to boost your Alaska miles balance, you could choose the Alaska Visa, which offers double points on gas, EV, cable, select streaming, and local transit. These are less common bonuses compared to dining and groceries, making the 2x earning rate is more competitive. The card also offers a companion fare benefit.
Card Pairs
If you want to invest heavily in the Hawaiian-Alaska ecosystem, rather than choosing between the Hawaiian and the Alaska cards, why not get both? With the pair, you can earn double Alaska or Hawaiian miles on dining, groceries, gas, EV charging, cable and streaming, and local transit. Add the Bilt card for 3x on dining, 2x on flights, hotels, and rental cars, and lots of special opportunities to maximize your points.
Conclusion
The Hawaiian Airlines Mastercard is a solid option to quickly accumulate of Hawaiian/Alaska miles or to form part of a heavy investment in the Alaska/Hawaiian ecosystem. In the long-term, though, only those who fly on Hawaiian Airlines on a regular basis will be able to justify the card’s $99 fee.