Hawaii is always in season. It’s for that reason that cheap flights to the idyllic group of islands are almost non existent. Key word: almost. Getting to Hawaii on the cheap is possible, with a little outside the box thinking, some lucrative airline programs and being alert. Here are the best strategies to save on flights to Hawaii…
British Airways Avios (miles), which you can instantly create from American Express or Chase points are a winning option for getting from West Coast USA to Hawaii. Whereas most points programs would charge a whopping 40,000 points, British Airways charges just 25,000 round trip. You can depart Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland and many other West Coast cities. Simply find space on American- using the British Airways website, and book!
Despite the popularity- there are occasional, short lived sales to Hawaii. The key here, much like finding error fares- is to be plugged in, and know the minute the deals hit the market. Hawaii has been as low as $300 from many US cities round trip this year, but only for a matter of hours. Use these tips to set Google Flights alerts, and be sure to also plug in your ideal dates on Hopper and Kayak. Be sure to also set alerts for alternative Hawaiian airports, or nearby cities you’d be willing to drive to – since it can make all the difference.
Perhaps the most lucrative benefit of the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature Card is the 2 for 1 ticket voucher, whereby the cardmember gets an annual certificate where they just pay the taxes and base fare on the second passenger. In the first year of membership – that means you can snag a second ticket for just $21, and in each subsequent year, you can pay just $121 for the second person, regardless of the cash price of the ticket. So yeah, that’s HUGE savings.
Wherever you are- it can realistically be worth starting in Canada. Using miles or a dirt cheap ticket can put you in position to take advantage of competitive fares and weak currency, an excellent combination. Top carriers have launched countless flat bed business class fares in the last year, under $1000 round trip from cities like Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary. We’re not saying this is crazy cheap – but if faced with a similar price in economy it’s better to spend 10 hours in a bed, sipping champagne and earning tons of miles.
This may be obvious to some – but beating the rush by just a day can make all the difference in airfare pricing. Look into heading out of town just before everyone else, to or from a nearby airport and also look into breaking up the segments. It may be cheaper to buy a ticket from New York to Los Angeles, and then Los Angeles to your Hawaiian destination, than to buy a ticket just from new York to Hawaii. Weird, we get it – but it’s true. Put in the work and you’ll find savings.
Oh yeah, that’s right – just 40,000 points round trip. You can start in any US city that Delta serves, and if you’re plugged in at the right time to find space, you can fly round trip for 40,000 points. To do this (since Delta charges more than 100,000 points), you’ll use Delta’s partner – Korean Airlines. For Delta flights from the US to Hawaii (and vice versa) they charge just 40,000 points round trip. It’s not easy, but it’s possible- and all the gritty details are right here.
Isn’t it 25,000 points (and not 40,000) for round trip using Korean air?
for First, I believe it’s 40K.
I live in Atlanta (and have miles to burn) but finding that non-stop from ATL to HNL Delta 1 is near impossible. Koreans site is so slow. This is the worst city to live in if you’re in the miles game. Delta has a monopoly on this whole city that I have not experienced in any other city on earth. It almost always requires me hop around and make connections. And “sales” never happen in ATL! LAX, yup…MIA, yup…CHI, of course…NYC, definitely…
Why did I move here?
i got first class tickets Dec 1-10 from ATL – DFW – HNL for $1050 R/T, that was $100 more than coach.
advice for “breaking up segments” isn’t for the faint hearted — any operational issues on the first ticket and you’d be stranded half way through your journey since the 2nd separate ticket is under zero obligation to rectify problems when you “no show” for your self-connecting flight.
unless you have a very specific reason why it must be Hawaii, one can also consider Los Cabos (SJD) Puerto Vallarta (PVR) etc if they just want a sunny beach resort … for at least 1/3rd cheaper.
Hawaii is the perfect place to use Alaska’ BOGO cert, in case the rare award availability doesn’t exist.
Excellent advice! Great add.
Great tips to keep in mind. We fly PDX-HNL often to visit family. We tend to save our miles for bigger international trips and use an Alaska Airlines companion fare to save on our Hawaii flights.