What are you going to do when summer ends?
Rather than bemoan the loss of that sweet summer weather, you can escape some chilly temps and head to Hawaii instead. Be honest, you know you want to keep that beach feeling going just a little bit longer. We don’t blame you. In fact, we want to help you. We just want to help you avoid the usual pricey flights. With that in mind, we have a flight deal tailored just for our friends on the west coast to escape the fall chill for some more fun in the sun.
The Hawaii Flight Deals
For the biggest savings, you’ll want to fly American Airlines out of San Jose (SJC). Starting at just $295 for economy with a connection in Los Angeles (LAX) or Phoenix (PHX), that’s tough to beat. When we say economy, we don’t mean that basic economy garbage. We mean a true economy ticket complete with your carry-on and preselected seat.
If you need to book a non-stop, you can find flights on Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines for from $358 — these flights aren’t in basic economy either. You might notice that Delta and United have similarly priced flights. Don’t be fooled, these are basic economy tickets. If you don’t want to risk getting stuck in a middle seat, stick with the flights on Alaska, American or Hawaiian Airlines.
Dates You Can Travel
You’ll find the best deals between from September through November plus a few dates in late August. If you want, you can book your return date in late December if you decide you want to spend a month or two relaxing. I’m sure your boss will understand.
To save the most, you’ll also want to depart and return on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. Once you get into the weekend, prices jump about $50.
How To Book The Deal
If I were you, I’d run a search from a bunch of west coast cities to a few cities in Hawaii — kind of like we did — and figure out what date you and your family or friends can travel. Once you have dates, you can click through to the airline to book.
Don’t Forget The Chase Travel Portal…
You had to know I was going to check this.
Yes, these deals can be booked via the Chase Travel Portal which means you can book this deal on American Airlines for only 19,640 Ultimate Rewards points if you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve. See, there’s a reason we call it the best card for flight deal fanatics.
For some context, you could transfer 25,000 Ultimate Rewards points to British Airways to book a non-stop award ticket with Avios. While you have to connect for this deal, That’s still a savings of 5,000+ Chase points. Even if you book a non-stop Alaska Airlines flight that’s going for $358, that’s still less than 24,000 points and beats the British Airways award rate from the west coast.
Or Amex Travel
If you have The Business Platinum Card from American Express, you can book with Membership Rewards points via Amex Travel and get a 35% rebate if you book with your preselected carrier. If you’ve selected American, you can get in on this $295 American Airlines deal for about 19,000 points.
Just remember, to get the 35% rebate on economy flights, it must be on your preselected airline.
Even if you don’t have the Business Platinum, I noticed that this fare is a Membership Rewards Insider Fare which allows me to book for 26,010 Amex points via Amex Travel. Not too shabby if you ask me.