I’m in the middle of a bit of a point. I’m trying to decide how many of my people American Express Membership Rewards Point I will transfer to Hawaiian Airlines Hawaiian Miles program – and by that Alaska Airlines’ Mileage Planning Program – Before it’s too late.
This is the situation: when last fall Two airlines have officially mergedopened up something like a loophole for points and miles, allowing AMEX members to effectively convert membership reward points into Alaska Miles.
It’s a bit of an end-around process. Hawaiian is a longtime Amex transfer partner. And as part of the merger last year, two airlines (operated by one parent company) launched a temporary way to travel miles Between Hawaiian Miles and Mileage Planning Program A 1:1 ratio.
Currently it can be done Transfer your AMEX points to Hawaiiantravels Hawaii miles to Alaska. This is a rather attractive option as the Alaska Mile is very helpful.
However, AMEX members may soon lose this Amex to Hawaiian to Alaska to Alaska workaround. Here’s what you need to know.
Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines are moving to one loyalty program
Alaska is currently working to strengthen the details of a single loyalty program that will serve as connective tissue between the brands of Alaska and Hawaiian airlines, just as Flying Blue is the joint loyalty program of Sister Air France and KLM.
In an interview with TPG, a spokesman for the Alaska Mileage Plan revealed that he does not love the idea of continuing AMEX forwarding. (note that Bilt’s reward We are direct transfer partners in Alaska. )
“For us, creating unintended market opportunities through third parties, for example, for example, is not our purpose, and when we are given the opportunity to close that door, we will,” Alaska Loyalty Chief Brett Catlin told me in October 2024.
So does that mean that the Amex workaround is likely out?
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“The exact intention is not to have transferable currency that can be made with competitors’ cards, and to be totally honest, we said, ‘precisely’.
As a reminder, Alaska hinted at it New premium credit cards may come with New loyalty programs roll out. And part of the airline’s goal is to drive frequent flyers into their own card suites.
Officially, the airline has not yet announced any corporate plans to end its Hawaiian Miles partnership with AMEX. However, other Hawaiian partnerships continue to end in the coming months.
Several partnerships at HawaiianMiles have ended in the summer of 2025
From June 30th, HawaiianMiles members will no longer be able to redeem miles for award flights with their next partner.
- Jet Blue
- Japan Airlines
- Virgin Atlantic
- Virgin Australia
- Korean air
- China Airlines
Additionally, travel must be booked by February 28, 2026.
HawaiianMiles members can already link their accounts to their Alaska Mileage plans – you can book flights using Alaska Miles and take advantage of mutual frequent flyers and elite status (not to mention status matching) perks.
Although the end date has not been confirmed or disclosed due to the Amex and Hawaiian partnership, we are not surprised if the card program is suddenly transferred to points that day.
Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines are changing
This wind of these (and other) Hawaiian Mile partnerships will be blown away, further surge in the postmerger movement as the company joins the airline under one business. this week, TPG reported that carriers will shift terminals Place the airline closer together with some major hubs. Hawaiian plans to join Alaska at the OneWorld Alliance by 2026.
Next month, Seattle Tacoma International Airport (sea) New International Gateway For the airline brand, there will be the first flight of Hawaii operation from the sea to Tokyo International Airport (NRT) on May 12th.
What should I do with AMEX points?
This will bring me back to my Amex Point. Thanks to revenue from both, I have around 170,000 points American Express Platinum Card and American Express® Gold Card.
With a big transfer to one partner, I don’t want to completely exhaust the stash. After all, you can get significant mileage from points from other partners, such as the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club and the Air Canada Aeroplan. Heck, JetBlue’s new TrueBlue agreement with Japan Airlines We’ve opened up a potentially attractive sweet spot.
But I know I use the Alaska Mile.
Why is the Alaska Mile worth it?
Alaska maintains a Distance-based charts for partnerswhich means that the pricing of that award is not subject to the same “dynamic” forces that could lead to eye-opening redemption rates on high-demand flights with other carriers.
For example, you can book a 22,500-mile transatlantic flight from the US East Coast to Europe, or you can book 45,000-mile lie business class seats one way.
We also got great value on short domestic flights with a large cash price. For example, I recently redeemed 4,500 miles in January, which would have been an expensive flight from North Carolina to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA).
So, before this short-lived job (probably) is over, it seems like a wise move to move a decent chunk of my membership rewards to an airline based in Seattle.
The biggest lingering question I’m struggling with: how many points do I forward?
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