Everyone was unsure whether or not the merger would make it all the way through or if the Department of Transportation would object.
About a month ago, AMEX was offering a 20% transfer bonus on points transferred to Hawaiian Airlines, one of their travel partners.
Travel Hackers online were discussing whether or not Hawaiian Miles would transfer 1:1 to Alaskan Miles if the merger went through. Hawaiian Miles are not worth much and easy to earn, but Alaska Miles are very valuable and very hard to earn.
Alaska Airlines is part of the One World alliance, so you’re able to book American Airlines flights at great point redemption rates.
This potential merger provided an opportunity for Travel Hackers with many points to put some at risk by transferring to Hawaiian, hoping Alaskan would honor the points if the merger were to go through. But no one was sure, so it was definitely a risky play.
I follow someone that transferred over a million points to Hawaiian hoping for the best. Others I follow transferred hundreds of thousands. I took the plunge and transferred 282,000 points from AMEX (including the transfer bonus).
We knew there was the risk that they would just remain Hawaiian points, and as a result, not very valuable. But we also knew there was the chance they would become Alaskan points, and very valuable. It looked promising, so we took the risk. Worst case, we’d just have to go on lots of trips to Hawaii. 😂
The good news came out last week that the merger went through and Alaska & Hawaiian points will transfer back & forth at a 1:1 value. Celebrations ensued online in the points world!
Ok, so how do you get in on this? Is it too late?
The 20% transfer bonus is over but you still have time to take a couple of steps.
If you fly American, Alaska, or other One World partners, these points could be very valuable for you & worth the effort.
- If you have AMEX points, you could consider transferring a certain number of them to Hawaiian Airlines while that transfer partnership exists. Some think it could be ending soon.
- You could apply for the Hawaiian Airlines personal card or business card knowing that those Hawaiian welcome bonus points will transfer 1:1 to Alaska.
Alaska’s rates on American Airlines flights are almost unbeatable and the opportunity just opened up for many of us to accumulate Alaska Miles. Most people don’t think this will last long and that eventually Alaskas points could be devalued.
If you have some trips coming up soon where you can fly Alaska, American or one of the partners, you might consider this opportunity while it’s still available.
