Flying to Hawaii with Points in Economy {Guide}

A Hawaiian vacation is a popular goal for families who are saving up miles and points. And for good reason! The islands are beautiful and you don’t need a passport to visit. Flight and hotel prices can be high, which makes using points a fantastic option for families to save money on the trip.

Due to high demand, points redemptions to Hawaii can take more planning but are still possible — especially if you plan in advance and can be flexible.

In this guide, I’ll show you several ways to get to Hawaii using points and miles, including a few sweet spots!

If you’re new to booking flights with points, be sure to check out this overview for important background information. You can also sign up for our free course.

April 2026 Update:

Hawaiian Airlines officially joined the oneworld alliance on April 22, 2026. You can now use miles from any oneworld partner (American AAdvantage, British Airways Avios, Finnair Avios, Qatar Avios, Japan Airlines, Cathay Pacific) to book flights on Hawaiian Airlines.

The price for booking Alaska flights through Finnair has changed. It used to be 13,500 points each way and now it’s 19,500. The price to book American through Finnair has not changed.

December 2025 Update:

Turkish Airlines has significantly devalued rates to Hawaii. Previously, it cost 10k points each way from anywhere in the US to Hawaii. Now the price is 25k points each way from the mainland US to Hawaii.April 2026 Update:

The price for booking Alaska flights through Finnair has changed. It used to be 13,500 points each way and now it’s 19,500. The price to book American through Finnair has not changed.

How to Earn More Points

Each airline option I list in this article has more than one credit card that can earn you a welcome bonus and the points you need to fly to Hawaii. This article is already long enough without listing out every single card you could get for each of these programs to earn points.

So how can you figure out how to earn the right points? First step: get our free airline transfer partner guide — inside we have a chart that shows which kinds of points transfer to which airlines. Then work backwards! Let’s say you figure out that you want to fly on United but you want to book via Air Canada Aeroplan (this article explains exactly how to do that).

You can look at the chart in my Travel Points 201 guide and see that American Express, Chase, Capital One, and Bilt Rewards all transfer to Aeroplan. Then you could browse my Best Offers page, where I list all my favorite current offers–to see which cards currently have good bonuses and earn those kinds of points.

Pro Tip: Transfer Bonuses

Most points transfer 1:1 when you transfer from a program like Chase Ultimate Rewards® to an airline or hotel. But! Banks run promos throughout the year and certain transfers may offer a bonus. I don’t currently maintain an updated list of transfer bonuses but you can find one here.

Hawaii Flights Reality Check

Booking award flights to Hawaii can be pretty straightforward and it can also be more nuanced or complicated. In our “best” options we are pulling out the options that we think balance value and ease of booking and earning the points.

Delta is the hardest airline to book with points

In 2025 we could find no reliably good deal for booking Delta flights to Hawaii. It’s possible to get a good deal when Delta has a flash sale, but they aren’t predictable, so it’s hard to plan for. Flight sales to Hawaii have been more common in 2026, but are still unpredictable.

Flying from the West Coast is cheapest and easiest

If you live on the West Coast, you’re going to have a lot of options. You should also be watching for fare sales because there are going to be a lot of times when you can snag a deal on a cash fare that’s really low! You could then pay for that via Capital One Travel or Chase Travel^SM if you wanted to offset the tickets with points. Or pay directly and use Aeroplan points to Pay Yourself Back.

The cheapest way to book American takes more work

It’s possible to book American flights through their airline partners for much cheaper rates than what American offers. But these take more work. To book American, you’ll have to work harder to find availability, but when you do — you can book via chat with FinnAir. We have guides on how to do all of this, but know that you always need to balance time and effort when deciding if a deal is worth pursuing.

Top Recommendations: Southwest or FinnAir (to book American)

Southwest Airlines with a Companion Pass

The booking process with Southwest is simple and straightforward, which makes this an easy redemption, even for beginners!

Southwest award prices vary so the number of points needed is always changing. But the advantage here is that if you don’t have enough points to cover the tickets for everyone in your family, it’s usually easy to book additional tickets for the same flight in cash.

Flights to Hawaii aren’t always cheapest on Southwest, but if you earn a Companion Pass, you’ll be getting one ticket for free. If you want to get into Southwest points, be sure to check out the Southwest module of our free course which is very detailed on how to get the best prices, too.

Sample Card Strategy

• Open Southwest cards and earn a companion pass. Once you earn the pass, you’ll have at least 125,000 Southwest points to use and you’ll be able to bring one person with you on each flight for just the price of taxes and fees!
• Open cards that earn Chase Ultimate Rewards® (these transfer to Southwest). A great option is the Chase Ink family of cards.

FinnAir Avios to book American, Alaska, or Hawaiian Flights

FinnAir offers a roundabout way to book onto select American, Alaska, and Hawaiian flights. We have a detailed guide here on this strategy.

These would cost 19,500 each way when flying on Alaska or Hawaiian, and just 15,000 each way on American. This is a great price — 30,000 points for a round trip on American — and can be booked for connecting flights, flights from small airports, and the East Coast!

Finn Air Avios are some of the easiest points to earn. If you earn points with any of the major banks (Capital One Venture miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards®, American Express Membership Rewards, Citi Thank You Points), you can transfer to at least one of the Avios partner airlines and from there move points to Finn Air Avios.

Sample Card Strategy

• Open cards that earn Chase Ultimate Rewards® (these transfer to Avios partners) A great option is the Chase Ink family of cards.
• Open cards that earn Venture miles.
• If you follow our Three Year Plan, you’ll earn plenty of these!

Honorable Mentions: Cheap cash fare or American/Alaska flights via Japan Airlines

Book a Cheap Cash Fare

Booking a cheap flight and using points to cover the purchase is another way to cover flights. This is best for when you find a cheap cash fare or if your trip is coming up soon and you don’t have points yet.

Many banks have travel portals that allow you to book directly through them and use your points — or earn bonus points. These portals operate similarly to travel sites like Expedia and are powered by different search engines.

When you book through Chase Travel℠, or Citi and Capital One travel portals, you can use your points to cover all or part of your purchase. Or use Aeroplan Pay Yourself Back.

Rates can vary widely by bank portal, and the value for your points will fluctuate based on the credit card you hold with that bank.

Japan Airlines

You can book Oneworld partners American, Alaska, and Hawaiian through Japan Airlines with competitive pricing to Hawaii (37k points round trip from the West coast and 50k from the East coast). The challenge is that there are only two transfer partners to Japan Airlines, so it can take longer to earn enough points for an entire family to fly.

• Open cards that earn Capital One miles (these transfer to Japan Airlines). One of my favorites for luxe perks is the Capital One Venture X (earn 75,000 miles). You can also earn 75,000 miles with the $95 fee Capital One Venture card.
• Connect Bilt to Rakuten to earn more points that can be transferred to Japan Airlines.

Routing Tips For Flights to Hawaii

HNL is the largest airport in Hawaii and has the most flight options.

From the West, it’s pretty easy to find flights. Many airlines offer non-stop service to several of the Hawaiian Islands, giving you plenty of options. You can fly from cities like San Francisco, L.A., Seattle, Portland, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, etc.

Prices are usually cheaper from the West (but not always).

From the Midwest or East Coast, there are still plenty of flights to Hawaii, but it’s harder to book non-stop flights. There is more competition for award seats on the long haul flights to Hawaii from cities like Chicago or New York so those seats tend to book up quickly. To snag one of these flights, it helps to book early, and/or be flexible when looking for options.

Consider a Stopover

In many cases, you’ll need a connection if you’re coming from the Midwest or East. Due to the times of connecting flights, you may want to consider breaking up your travel. One option is to fly to California, spend the night at an airport hotel, and then continue on to Hawaii the next day.

We did this in reverse in 2019 — we flew from Kauai to Oakland and spent the night at an airport hotel (using points of course!) The next morning we continued on east.

Depending on the routing and carrier you pick, booking separate itineraries won’t necessarily cost you any more points. For example, booking a flight from Chicago to L.A. and then a separate flight from L.A. to Maui could cost about the same amount as a flight all the way from Chicago to Maui.

Quick Comparison Chart

This chart is best viewed from a computer, as it is too wide to show well on a mobile device.

Some pricing is variable and we show the cheapest pricing we found with a + symbol to show it might be more than that.

Taxes and fees are $11.20 for a roundtrip except where indicated. Some airlines have additional fees (like a partner booking fee). We’ve listed those for your reference.

How to Fly to Hawaii With Points By Airline

Southwest and JetBlue don’t belong to a major airline alliance but have their own partner relationships — for example, you can use JetBlue points to book a flight operated by United Airlines

Southwest Airlines

West Coast from 11,950 points (varies)

Midwest and East Coast from 36,000 points (varies)

If you earn a Companion Pass, your flights will be even cheaper since your companion will be able to fly for $5.60 each way! Earning a Companion Pass is our favorite way to keep flight costs down.

Best for: If you have a companion pass (or two) or when Southwest has a flight sale. Note that Southwest flights from the Midwest or East Coast can cost as much as 35,000+ points each way. 

Cost: Southwest award prices are variable, so prices change regularly. 

Southwest flies nonstop routes to Hawaii from 8 airports. Here is a map that shows these routes:

Southwest Booking Example: LAX to OGG (on Southwest) 11,950 points + $11

Southwest Booking Example: ORD to OGG (on Southwest) 36,724 points + $11

 

JetBlue

West Coast from 47,600 points

East Coast from 80,400 points

Best for: Non-stop flights from the East booked in advance.

Cost: JetBlue uses dynamic pricing so prices vary. Rates start at 23,800 points each way from the West Coast and 40,200 points each way from the Midwest/East Coast. Taxes and fees are $5.60 each way.

Notes: The only routes to Hawaii that are bookable through JetBlue are the routes United Airlines flies. You can see them here.

There are cheaper ways to get to Hawaii, but JetBlue does occasionally have decent availability for non-stop flights from the East, which can be hard to find. The higher price may be worth it if you want a specific flight. You’ll find the most options when booking about 9-10 months in advance.

JetBlue Booking Example: LAX to OGG (on United) 47,600 miles + $11

 

JetBlue Booking Example: EWR to HNL (on United) 80,400 miles + $11

 

Book United Flights (Including Star Alliance Partner Options)

When booking flights with alliance partners, you can often save points by booking through a partner rather than booking with the actual airline you want to fly.

In this case, United is the only Star Alliance partner with flights from the mainland US to Hawaii, so this section compares different ways to book United flights with points. 

United flights are generally only bookable with partner airlines IF it is a “saver” level award on United.com. Even then, sometimes saver level awards aren’t offered to partners to book. 

Air Canada Aeroplan

West Coast from 30,000 points + CA$126

Midwest/East Coast from 50,000 points + CA$126

Best for: If Air Canada has a transfer bonus and you’re flying from the West Coast. From the Midwest and East Coast, it’s cheaper to book via other options

Cost: Aeroplan uses a distance-based award chart, so the price varies depending on how far you fly. Flights from the West Coast to Hawaii start at 15,000 miles each way. Flights from Chicago are priced at 25,000 each way. 

Notes: Most of the time when you book a flight to Hawaii through Air Canada, you’ll be flying on United Airlines. It’s easiest to start your search on United.com to see 30 day availability. Look for United awards marked “Saver” — these are the ones that will be released to alliance partners like Air Canada. 

Air Canada Booking Example: LAX to OGG (on United) 30,000 miles + CA $126

 

Air Canada Booking Example: ORD to OGG (on United) 50,000 miles + CA $126

 

Singapore KrisFlyer

West Coast, Midwest, and East Coast: 40,100 points

Best for: Flights from the Midwest or East Coast on United.

Cost: Flights from anywhere in North America to Hawaii cost 19,500 miles each way plus $5.60 in taxes. This is a better value for more expensive flights on United — like from the Midwest or East Coast.

Notes: These flights are a good deal from the East, but availability can be hard to find.

Singapore Booking Example: LAX to OGG (on United) 40,100 points + $11

Singapore Booking Example: ORD to OGG (on United) 39,000 points + $11

Turkish Airways

West Coast, Midwest, and East Coast: 50,000 points

Best for: Booking United flights from anywhere (esp Midwest or East Coast), if you can find availability. This is not a beginner friendly redemption. While it used to be a sweet-spot, the current pricing may not be worth the hassle to book it. 

Cost: Turkish Airways prices all routes on its partner airlines from the mainland US to Hawaii at 25,000 points each way per person.

Notes: These flights are a decent price — if you can find availability. They are best for people with flexible dates and who don’t mind a challenge.

Booking Tips: You’ll need to find Saver level availability on United. We have a full post with more details on how to book this deal to Hawaii. Keep in mind, that this is an advanced redemption.

Turkish Booking Example: LAX to OGG on United 50,000 points + $11

Turkish Booking Example: ORD to OGG (on United) 50,000 points + $11

I couldn’t find any online availability when researching this post, even though it appears there should be flights available. If this happens, you can try calling Turkish Airlines to see if they can book the flight over the phone.

United

West Coast from 33,400 points

Midwest and East Coast from 50,000 points

Best for: If you have a lot of United miles or specifically need a United flight — and that flight isn’t bookable with a partner.

Cost: United uses dynamic pricing so rates can vary. Saver rates to Hawaii typically start at 25,00 miles each way, but you can often find lower prices from the West Coast. 

United Booking Example: LAX to OGG (on United) 33,400 points + $11

 

United Booking Example: ORD to OGG (on United) 50,000 points + $11

 

Book American, Alaska, and Hawaiian Flights (Including OneWorld Partner Options)

Through the Oneworld Alliance, you can book flights on American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, and Hawaiian Airlines.

Atmos Rewards (Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines)

West Coast: from 25,000 miles

Midwest and East Coast: 50,000 miles

Best for: Booking non-stop flights on Hawaiian Airlines or flights from the Midwest on American/Alaska

Cost: Alaska and Hawaiian use the same distance-based award chart. This means that longer routes take more miles. The prices listed on the award chart are starting prices. Actual prices could be higher. Flights from the West Coast start at 12,500 miles each way. 

Alaska/Hawaiian Booking Example: LAX to OGG (on Hawaiian) 25,000 points + $11

 

Alaska/Hawaiian Booking Example: ORD to OGG (on American) 50,00 points + $52

American Airlines AAdvantage

West Coast, Midwest, or East Coast: from 45,000 points

Best for: Booking flights from the Midwest or East, including from smaller airports if you don’t have access to Avios to book it cheaper via FinnAir. Or if you have earned a lot of AA miles and just want to use them!

Cost: American uses dynamic pricing so prices vary. Flights to Hawaii start at 22,500 miles each way. This is the same for flights in the East and in the West. 

Notes: There are cheaper ways to get to Hawaii from the West Coast, but American is not a bad option from the East. You can also usually add a connection from a smaller airport without paying additional miles. This makes American a nice option for anyone coming from a small airport in the Midwest or East.

American Airlines Booking Example: LAX to OGG (on American) 45,000 points + $11

American Airlines Booking Example: ORD to OGG (on American) 45,000 points + $11

Finnair

From West Coast, Midwest, or East Coast on Alaska or Hawaiian: 39,000 points 

From West Coast, Midwest, or East Coast on American: 30,000 points 

Best for: Flights on Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, or American Airlines from anywhere in North America if you’re willing to put in a little more work to search. Extra good if you can utilize a transfer bonus!

Cost: 19,500 each way when flying on Alaska or Hawaiian, 15,000 each way on American. Taxes and fees are $5.60 each way. 

Notes: This is an advanced redemption that requires some extra work, but the price can be worth it, especially for those flying from the East Coast.

Booking Tips: The hardest part about this redemption is that it can’t be booked online. If you search on the Finnair site it won’t show any availability even if the flight is actually bookable. We have a full guide on this here. 

Finnair Booking Example: LAX to OGG (on Alaska) 39,000 points + $11

Finnair Booking Example: ORD to OGG (on American) 30,000 points + $11

I don’t have screenshots for these redemptions because you can’t search or book them on Finnair’s website. However, if you find availability, you can call Finnair or use the chat feature to have an agent book these flights for you.

British Airways

West Coast from 40,000 points 

Midwest or East Coast from 78,000 points

Best for: Not best for anything! But we’re leaving this on here because it used to be the best and we want you to be aware of the updated pricing. Use FinnAir Avios instead. 

Notes: British Airways prices partner award flights (on partners like American and Alaska Airlines) by distance and by segment. If you’re on a connecting flight (Phoenix to LAX then LAX to Honolulu) you will be charged for two segments separately. Each segment is charged based on the distance flown so the farther you fly, the more it will cost.

British Airways Booking Example: LAX to OGG (on American) 40,000 points + $11

British Airways Booking Example: ORD to OGG (on American) 76,000 points + $11

Japan Airlines

From 37,000 points

Best for: Round trip flights on oneworld partners like American, Alaska, and Hawaiian

Cost: Japan Airlines prices its partner awards by distance. When booking a round trip, the price is based on the total mileage, not the mileage per segment. For example, a one way ticket from the west coast to Hawaii falls into the 2,001-4,000 mile range and costs 23,000 miles. If you book it as two one way tickets, you would need to pay 23,000 miles each way (46,000 total). But a round trip ticket for the same trip falls into the 4,001-6,000 mile range. The price for that is just 37,000 miles total. For this reason, it’s best to book round trip when booking through Japan Airlines.

Japan Airlines Booking Example: LAX to OGG (on American) 37,000 points + $11

Japan Airlines Booking Example: EWR to HNL (on American) 50,000 points + $11

Qatar Airways Avios

From 32,000 points

Best for: Not best pricing for anything — use FinnAir Avios instead.

Cost: Starts at 16,000 Avios each way. 

Notes: Like British Airways, Qatar flights are priced by distance and by segment. Connecting flights are charged for two segments separately, which can make the price really add up.

Qatar Booking Example: LAX to OGG (on American) 32,000 points + $43

Book Delta Flights (Delta and Sky Team Alliance Options)

You can book flights on Delta through the Sky Team Alliance or directly on Delta. 

Delta

From West Coast: from 22,000 miles

From Midwest or East Coast: from 45,000 miles

Best for: When Delta has a sale.

Cost: Delta pricing is the most volatile of all the U.S. airlines. There can be some great deals on Delta, but they aren’t predictable. If you want to book on Delta, you may find more consistent pricing by booking via one of their partners.

Delta Booking Example: LAX to OGG (on Delta) 22,000 points + $11

Delta Booking Example: ORD to OGG (on Delta) 45,000 points + $11

Flying Blue

West Coast from 36,000 points + $53

Best for: It’s not really best for anything because it’s so rare that you’d find availability

Cost: From 36,000 points + $53.44 in taxes round trip

Notes: When you book with Flying Blue to Hawaii, you’ll be flying on Delta. Not all Delta flights are bookable through Flying Blue (only flights they release to partners), so keep that in mind.

Delta flies the following routes to Hawaii, so you can check these routes:

• LAX-HNL, OGG
• SEA-HNL, OGG
• SLC-HNL, OGG
• ATL-HNL, OGG
• MSP-HNL
• DTW-HNL
• JFK-HNL

Flying Blue Booking Example: LAX to OGG (on Delta) 36,000 points + $53

Virgin Atlantic

West Coast from 44,000 points

Best for: Rarely if ever best. Flying Blue would probably be cheaper for the same flights. Or one of the other options above like FinnAir. 

Cost: Flights to Hawaii start at 22,000 points each way. Taxes and fees are $5.60 each way.

Notes: Like with Flying Blue, flights to Hawaii booked through Virgin will be on Delta. Keep in mind that Delta only releases some of their flights to partners for booking, so you won’t always be able to find availability.

For instance, while Delta offers a nonstop flight from Atlanta to Honolulu, I could not find a single date of availability with Virgin across a whole year.

Virgin Atlantic Booking Example: LAX to HNL (on Delta) 44,000 points + $11