Start with the points you already hold
Disclosure: Award Optimizer may earn a commission when you book hotels, rentals, or experiences through links to partners such as Expedia, Hotels.com, VRBO, Klook, or Tiqets. Award charts and miles math are never sponsored.
For a one-way economy award from the US mainland to Hawaii, the useful transfer depends on the bank points you hold. Transfers are almost always irreversible, so find the seat first.
| You hold | Start with | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Chase Ultimate Rewards | Aeroplan, or British Airways Avios | Both are 1:1 Chase partners. Aeroplan is the program with a tracked Hawaii economy cell. Chase does not transfer to Atmos Rewards. |
| Amex Membership Rewards | Aeroplan, or British Airways Avios | Same two programs, both 1:1 from Amex. Amex does not transfer to Atmos or to United. |
| Capital One miles | Aeroplan, or British Airways Avios | Both are 1:1 Capital One partners in this site's transfer map. Capital One does not transfer to Atmos or United. |
| Bilt Rewards | Atmos Rewards, Aeroplan, or Avios | Bilt is the only major bank currency this site tracks into Atmos, and it also transfers 1:1 to Aeroplan and Avios. |
| Citi ThankYou | Check the card | This site's Citi list does not include Aeroplan, Avios, United, or Atmos, and the public partner count is contested. Do not assume a Hawaii program is on the card. |
The Hawaii award guide is the route page. This post is only about which transferable currency can reach a tracked economy cell.
The Hawaii economy cells this site tracks
Hawaii does not price like a transatlantic award. Many programs treat it as a domestic route, so the cash line is often taxes rather than a long-haul carrier surcharge. West Coast gateways are a shorter flight than Chicago or the East Coast, and a distance-based program can put those trips in different bands. This page quotes only cells in award-data.js.
Atmos Rewards
Alaska and Hawaiian now share Atmos Rewards. The tracked mainland-to-Hawaii cells are 12,500 miles one-way in economy and 25,000 miles round trip. Business is a separate cell: 25,000 miles one-way. A one-way award is a real booking on that chart, not a round-trip-only product.
Bilt transfers to Atmos at 1:1. Chase and Amex do not. This page does not quote a neighbor-island distance table or a Marriott transfer ratio. Short hops are a different route. Read the Atmos Rewards guide and confirm the live price, because a starting fare can move with demand.
Air Canada Aeroplan
Aeroplan prices United flights inside North America on a distance chart. For the band this site uses for US mainland to Hawaii, economy is 12,500 miles one-way and 25,000 miles round trip. Business on the same row is 25,000 miles one-way. The chart file records that both partner columns match on those two economy figures, and that a first-class column is not published for this zone pair.
Chase, Amex, Capital One, and Bilt all transfer to Aeroplan at 1:1. A longer itinerary can land in a higher distance band. This page does not quote those other bands. Search the airports you will actually fly. The Aeroplan guide covers the program, and fuel surcharges explains why the cash line still matters.
Prices this page does not quote
- United MileagePlus. United does not publish an award chart. If you already hold United miles, or you transfer Chase or Bilt points to United at 1:1, read the live price on united.com. Compare that quote with the same flights in Aeroplan before you move points.
- British Airways Avios. Avios can book American and Alaska, and Chase, Amex, Capital One, and Bilt transfer at 1:1. Avios charges each segment, so a connection can cost more than a nonstop. British Airways does not publish a numeric partner chart this site can cite for Hawaii, so there is no Avios mileage figure here.
- American AAdvantage. AAdvantage prices its own flights dynamically, and it is not a Chase or Amex transfer partner. Reach American metal through Avios, then read the Avios quote in the booking search.
- Turkish Miles&Smiles. Older writeups that treat a very cheap Turkish partner award to Hawaii as current are stale. The Hawaii chart on this site has no Turkish cell, so this page does not quote one. Turkish transfers from Capital One, Citi ThankYou, and Bilt, not from Chase or Amex.
Search the seat, then transfer
- Write down the island and the mainland city. Note who flies it nonstop.
- United metal points at Aeroplan, or at United if you already hold those miles. American or Alaska metal points at Avios, with no mileage figure memorized from this page. Hawaiian metal points at Atmos, which means Bilt, not Chase.
- Search the same dates on the programs you can actually fund. Aeroplan's transfer from Chase can take until the next business day, and sometimes longer, so do not move points against a seat you cannot hold.
- Compare miles plus the cash line with the cash fare that week. The next section is the cents-per-point check.
- Transfer the exact amount to one program and ticket it.
Run the route before you transfer. Award Optimizer compares the published chart rates it tracks for a US–Hawaii economy trip. It will not invent a live United price. Honolulu is prefilled as a one-way economy search. Switch the island if you want Maui, and set the wallet you actually hold.
How to read the result is in what counts as a good cents-per-point value.
A cheap cash fare can beat the award
Cents per point = (cash fare − award taxes and fees) ÷ miles × 100. Use the cash fare for the same flight, cabin, and date.
Award Optimizer's bands are Excellent at 3¢ or more, Great from 2¢ up to 3¢, Good from 1.5¢ up to 2¢, and Poor under 1.5¢.
Illustrative math only, not a quoted fare. The miles figure is the tracked Hawaii economy cell, 12,500 miles one-way. The cash fares and the tax line are hypothetical.
- Hypothetical cash fare $320, hypothetical taxes $10: (320 − 10) ÷ 12,500 × 100 = 2.48¢, which is Great.
- The same award against a hypothetical $150 fare: (150 − 10) ÷ 12,500 × 100 = 1.12¢, which is Poor. Paying cash is usually the better use of the week.
The miles did not change. The cash fare did. Run your own dates in the cents-per-point calculator.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest tracked way to fly to Hawaii in economy?
The cells this site tracks are 12,500 miles one-way on Atmos Rewards and 12,500 miles one-way on Aeroplan. Both are one-way prices, with round trip tracked at double that. Search the live seat. This page does not quote an Avios Hawaii price.
Can I use Chase points to fly Hawaiian Airlines?
Not by transferring into Atmos. Chase does not transfer to Atmos. Chase holders book United through Aeroplan or United, or American and Alaska nonstops through Avios, then read the price the search actually shows.
Should I still follow an old Turkish Hawaii award post?
No. This site's Hawaii chart has no Turkish mileage cell, so this page does not publish one. Do not transfer on the basis of an old screenshot.
Hawaii, after the award is ticketed. Hotels.com or Expedia for hotels, VRBO for a condo or house, Klook for tours, Tiqets for attractions.
Book the ground portion only after the award is ticketed. These are household sites already used on this site. Award Optimizer may earn a commission if you book through them. The mileage figures on this page are not sponsored.
Find the seat, then move the points
Aeroplan and Atmos are the two programs with a tracked Hawaii economy cell of 12,500 miles one-way. Chase and Amex reach Aeroplan. Only Bilt reaches Atmos. Avios can book American and Alaska, without a Hawaii mileage figure on this page. United's own price is dynamic. Transfer after the seat is real.