As Hawaiian Airlines still faces its potential merger with Alaska Airlines, both companies await word from the U.S. Justice Department. Customers, including us, holding HawaiianMiles, are understandably concerned about the future of their hard-earned travel benefits.
We’ll explore the current situation, together with historical precedents regarding loyalty programs during airline mergers as well as bankruptcies, and try to offer suggestions for mileage holders.
The current landscape at Hawaiian Airlines.
The Hawaii bellwether is still facing scrutiny in the planned acquisition by Alaska. This deal, if consummated, will reshape Hawaii travel dynamics in a profound way. DOJ is investigating the merger, with its conclusions expected to be published in the weeks ahead. These developments leave a cloud of uncertainty lingering around the future use of HawaiianMiles.
If the deal doesn’t go through, with huge Hawaiian Air losses incurred and continuing, it isn’t clear whether the airline will be able to move forward without the fear of another bankruptcy.
Learning from the past regarding mileage programs during transitions.
Historically, it it is normal for airline mergers to result in the consolidation of frequent flyer programs. When American Airlines and US Airways combined, the frequent flyer miles from US Airways were integrated into American’s AAdvantage program, for example. The affirming statements by Alaska and Hawaiian executives, and other precedents affirm that HawaiianMiles will be absorbed into Alaska Airlines’ Mileage Plan, should the merger be allowed to proceed.
A different situation in terms of Hawaiian Miles could unfold if the merger does not proceed and Hawaiian Airlines is pushed towards another bankruptcy. In prior airline bankruptcies, loyalty programs have largely remained intact, with miles retaining their value. However, every situation is different, and the outcome would be based on the situation and decisions made at Hawaiian.
Several strategies for holders of HawaiianMiles to consider.
1. Should you redeem HawaiianMiles sooner rather than later? If you have been saving those miles for a dream vacation to Hawaii, the mainland, Tahiti, or Australia, you might consider booking sooner to avoid any potential change in your ability to redeem HawaiianMiles.
Beat of Hawaii editors just used HawaiianMiles to obtain free travel between Hawaii and French Polynesia. That was done at cost of 49,500 miles per person, round-trip. That comes to a cost of $500 per person, based on our estimation of HawaiianMiles value at one cent per mile. That flight normally sells on a cash basis for no less than double that. So it was a great deal. We also paid $66 in taxes per person.
By comparison, the cheapest roundtrip we could find using the Alaska Mileage Plan for August between LAX-PPT (Papeete) on partner Air Tahiti Nui was 90,000.
2. When looking to find the best possible mileage redemptions, we suggest checking Google Flights first to find the lowest fare and then check those dates first for mile redemption possibilities. This is because for some time there has been no low fare calculator available on Hawaiian Airlines and, as such, no way to scan dates easily for cost.
How much could HawaiianMiles be worth if converted to Alaska Mileage Plan miles.
When considering how the value of HawaiianMiles might change, it is not only about the ratio of points to points converted between programs, but also other factors.
If points transfer at a 1:1 ratio, what else needs to be considered?
Because these are very different programs, even with Alaska confirming a 1:1 points conversion, HawaiianMiles will still work differently when converted to Mileage Plan.. Other considerations include how much upgrades and award tickets cost, their availability, and other things. We’ll have more to report on that soon.
Alaska will, in any event, aim to properly and fairly equalize the overall value between multiple aspects of highly disparate loyalty systems. How that is going to work will be revealed as part of the proposed merger, if it is allowed to proceed.
BOH editors have been participants in both airlines mileage plans for many years. We have successfully used each for free travel, including much international travel using Alaska, as well as many Hawaiian Air trips and upgrades using HawaiianMiles.
Alaska’s Mileage Plan is far more robust and evolved.
It is known for beneficial redemption options, including for international travel through a wide array of global partners. That was true before Mileage Plan became part of OneWorld and is even more so now with nearly thirty airline partners.
HawaiianMiles, on the other hand, has always had limited options outside of Hawaiian Air flights and upgrades. If HawaiianMiles are integrated into Alaska’s system, members from the Hawaiian side would suddenly have access to a greater range of airlines, free flights, and upgrades.
Other changes HawaiianMiles members can expect.
Achieving elite status and other perks will be different. For those with elite (“Pualani”) status in the HawaiianMiles program, the transfer of such benefits to Alaska’s Mileage Plan will be an aspect of likely changes, as the value of elite status would be significantly elevated by the partnership. Alaska and Hawaiian also each have different thresholds for elite status levels. In addition, other perks such as lounge access privileges are very different at the two airlines.
Earning miles when flying with the carriers’ partner airlines. That is another differentiation between the two airline programs, and those will need to get integrated in some way.
Sharing miles on Hawaiian AIrlines. As commenters have pointed out, and with which we concur, that’s a feature that is very helpful. It requires that one member have a Hawaiian branded credit card. Alaska Airlines does not currently offer that feature.
Change in redemption rates. Each airline has its own charts of redemption rates for free flights and upgrades, and those too will need to achieve a commonality in value.
Alaska’s Mileage Plan is far easier both to understand and to use. For example, an upgrade on Hawaiian Airlines still requires a sometimes lengthy phone call with their off-shore call center, both to find what cost of upgrade is available for various dates, and then to purchase the upgrade with miles. That is still not available as an online service.
What’s your plan for your HawaiianMiles?
