While Hawaiian Airlines still faces its possible merger with Alaska Airlines, both companies are awaiting news from the United States Department of Justice. Customers, including us who own HawaiianMiles, are understandably concerned about the future of their hard-earned travel benefits.
We will explore the current situation, along with historical precedents regarding loyalty programs during airline mergers and bankruptcies, and try to offer suggestions to mileage holders.
The current panorama at Hawaiian Airlines.
The Hawaii bellwether still faces scrutiny in Alaska’s planned acquisition. This deal, if consummated, will profoundly reshape the travel dynamic to Hawaii. The Justice Department is investigating the merger and its findings are expected to be released in the coming weeks. These developments leave a cloud of lingering uncertainty surrounding the future use of HawaiianMiles.
If the deal falls through, with huge losses suffered by Hawaiian Air and continuing, it is unclear whether the airline will be able to move forward without fear of another bankruptcy.
Learn from the past about mileage programs during transitions.
Historically, it is common for airline mergers to result in the consolidation of frequent flyer programs. When American Airlines and US Airways combined, US Airways’ frequent flyer miles were integrated into American’s AAdvantage program, for example. Affirmative statements from Alaska and Hawaii executives, and other precedents, suggest 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 develop if the merger does not go through and Hawaiian Airlines is pushed into another bankruptcy. In previous airline bankruptcies, loyalty programs remained largely intact and miles retained their value. However, every situation is different and the outcome will be based on the situation and decisions made at Hawaiian.
Several strategies to consider for HawaiianMiles holders.
1. Should you redeem HawaiianMiles sooner rather than later? If you’ve been saving those miles for a dream vacation to Hawaii, the mainland, Tahiti, or Australia, you might consider booking early to avoid potential HawaiianMiles devaluation.
Beat of Hawaii editors just used HawaiianMiles to get free trips between Hawaii and French Polynesia. This was done at a cost of 49,500 miles per person, round trip. That works out to a cost of $500 per person, based on our estimate of HawaiianMiles’ value at one cent per mile. That flight typically sells for cash for no less than double. So it was a big deal. We also paid $66 in taxes per person.
By comparison, the cheapest round trip we could find using the Alaska Mileage Plan for August between LAX-PPT (Papeete) with partner Air Tahiti Nui was 90,000.
2. When looking for the best redemption, we suggest checking Google Flights first to find the lowest fare and then checking those dates first for mileage redemption possibilities. This is because there has not been a low fare calculator available from Hawaiian Airlines for some time, and as such, there is no way to easily scan dates to find out the cost.
How much could HawaiianMiles be worth if converted to Alaska Mileage Plan miles?
When considering how the value of HawaiianMiles might change if Hawaiian becomes part of the Alaska Mileage Plan, the first thing to do is realize that it probably won’t be the same as it is now when the programs merge. Parent Alaska’s valuation of HawaiianMiles will aim to appropriately and fairly equalize value between disparate points systems. The conversion may not be an exact one-to-one value and, as a result, we anticipate that HawaiianMiles will be worth less in the future.
BOH editors have been involved in both airlines’ mileage schemes for many years. We’ve successfully used each of them for free travel, including many international trips using Alaska, as well as many Hawaiian Air trips and upgrades using HawaiianMiles.
Alaska’s Mileage Plan is much more robust and evolved.
It is known for its beneficial redemption options, including international travel through a wide range of global partners. This was true before Mileage Plan became part of OneWorld and is even truer 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 is integrated into Alaska’s system, members on the Hawaiian side would suddenly have access to a greater variety of airlines, free flights and upgrades. That could significantly increase the value of HawaiianMiles. Therefore, a downgrade in the value of HawaiianMiles when the programs merge seems almost certain.
Editor’s note. When we witnessed the joint announcement of the merger in December, there were already questions about how these two mileage accumulation systems would be combined. The airlines confirmed that while this would happen, they did not know the precise valuation of miles that could exist in the future.
Other changes HawaiianMiles members can expect.
Achieving elite status and other benefits may also change. For those with elite status in the HawaiianMiles program, the transfer of those benefits to the Alaska Mileage Plan will also likely change as the association raises the value of elite status. Alaska and Hawaii also have different thresholds for achieving elite status. Additionally, other benefits, such as lounge access privileges, are very different.
Accumulation of miles when flying with airlines associated with airline companies. That’s another differentiation between the two airline programs, and they will need to be integrated somehow.
Change in refund rates. Each airline has its own redemption rate charts for free flights and upgrades, and those will also need to achieve a common value.
As a side note, Alaska’s Mileage Plan is much easier to understand and use. For example, an upgrade on Hawaiian Airlines still requires a sometimes long phone call with their overseas call center, both to find out what upgrade cost is available for various dates and to then purchase the upgrade with miles. It is not yet available as an online service.
What is your plan for your HawaiianMiles?
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