How to Use Chase Ultimate Rewards Points for Hawaii

Gorgeous beaches and perfect weather make Hawaii one of the top 10 most visited states. How to use Chase Ultimate Rewards points for Hawaii? That’s what Rob wants to know.

Rob sent me a message on Facebook asking,

I’m trying to figure out how to book flights to Maui from San Diego and the points seem like they don’t work well to transfer. I have 150k Chase Ultimate Rewards points.

One of my favorite ways to use miles and points are for trips to Hawaii. With the right combination, you can get a trip to Hawaii for practically free.

There are lots of ways to get to Hawaii using points and miles. Some ways are easier than others.

The best ways to book Hawaii on points and miles depend on what miles and points you have.

If you have airline miles or points you have fewer options. You have more flexibility with transferrable points programs like Chase Ultimate Rewards.

You can use Chase Ultimate Rewards points for a free trip to Hawaii. You can redeem your points for flights, hotels, rental cars, tours, and activities.

In this guide, we’re focusing on using Chase Ultimate Rewards points.

This is the first post in the series on How to Use Chase Ultimate Rewards Points for Hawaii:

Flights
Hotels
Rental Cars
Tours and Activities

Here’s how to redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points for flights to Hawaii.

Table of Contents

How to Use Chase Ultimate Rewards Points for Hawaii

There are three different ways you can use Chase Ultimate Rewards points for Hawaii. You can transfer points to airlines, transfer points to Marriott then transfer to Korean, or book through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal.

All three ways are easy.

Transfer Points to Airlines

You’ll get the most value and use the least amount of points if you transfer your points to airlines.

You can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards on a 1:1 ratio to 11 airline partners:

Aer Lingus AerClub
Air France & KLM (Flying Blue)
British Airways Executive Club
Flying Blue/KLM/Air France
Iberia Plus
JetBlue TrueBlue
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards
United MileagePlus
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Points transfer instantly except for Singapore Airlines. It can take up to 2 days for your points to post to your KrisFlyer account.

Except for United and Southwest those airlines don’t fly to Hawaii from the United States.

Pro-tip: Thanks to airline partner alliances, you can use your miles/points to get to Hawaii.

	Where to Book	Miles/Points Needed for Coach Ticket	Miles/Points Needed for First Class Ticket	Allow One-Way Flights	Allow Holds for Award Ticket	Bookable Online?
British Airways	American Airlines and Alaska Airlines	12,500 one-way from the West Coast	32,500 one-way from the West Coast	Yes	No	Yes
Air France & KLM (Flying Blue)	Delta Airlines	15,000 one-way	30,000 one-way	Yes	Yes	Yes
Iberia	American Airlines	28,000 roundtrip from the West Coast	64,000 roundtrip from the West Coast	No	No	Yes
JetBlue	Hawaiian Airlines	22,000 one-way from the West Coast; 30,000 one-way from the East Coast	45,000 one-way from the West Coast; 70,000 one-way from the East Coast	Yes	No	No
Singapore Airlines	United Airlines and Alaska Airlines	17,500 one-way on United; 11,500 one-way on Alaska (Zone 2)	30,000 one-way on United	Yes	Yes, but you have to call	Yes for United flights; No for Alaska flights
United Airlines	United Airlines	22,500 one-way	40,000 one-way	Yes	Yes	Yes
Virgin Atlantic	Delta Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines	20,000 one-way on Delta; 20,000 one-way on Hawaiian from the West Coast	Not offered on domestic Delta flights; 40,000 one-way on Hawaiian	Yes	Yes	Yes for Delta flights; No for Hawaiian flights

British Airways

Photo courtesy: British Airways

You can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to British Airways Avios on a 1:1 ratio.

British Airways doesn’t fly to Hawaii but their partners American Airlines and Alaska Airlines do. You can use your Avios points on American and Alaska without transferring your points.

You’ll pay fewer points than if you used American Airlines miles or Alaska Airlines miles!

You can book one-way and roundtrip tickets with British Avios points.

But there’s a catch.

British Airways uses a distance based award chart. This means the further you fly, the more British Airways Avios points you’ll pay.

They also charge for each flight segment. If you have a connecting flight, you’ll pay for each stop.

You’ll get the most value on short, nonstop flights.

Direct and connecting flights will cost more Avios than nonstop flights of the same distance.

Pro-tip: A direct flight is not the same as a nonstop flight. A direct flight includes one or more stops without changing planes. Your flight number stays the same even if you stop at another airport.

A quick way to find out how many miles your flight is to use the Great Circle Mapper. Enter your airports in the box and click the while “Distance” button.

Leave From the West Coast

You’ll get the best deal to Hawaii if you leave from the West Coast.

Because it’s only 12,500 Avios one-way or 25,000 Avios roundtrip to fly to Hawaii from these cities:

Anchorage
Bellingham
Los Angeles
Oakland
Phoenix
Portland
Sacramento,
San Diego
San Jose
Seattle

The same coach flight costs 22,500 American miles one-way or 50,000 miles roundtrip! A First Class flight costs 55,000 miles one-way or 110,000 miles roundtrip.

If you used Alaska Airlines miles, you’d pay 17,500 miles one-way for a nonstop flight or 35,000 miles roundtrip. Flying First Class would cost 40,000 miles each way or 80,000 miles roundtrip.

From the West Coast, a First Class ticket is 32,500 Avios points one-way or 75,000 points roundtrip.

East Coast Hack

If you aren’t starting on the West Coast, it may be cheaper to use your Southwest Companion Pass to get to the West Coast.

Let’s say you’re Rob’s friends, Gary & Emily from Boston.

It would cost Gary and Emily 120,000 British Airway Avios for roundtrip tickets from Boston to Maui.

Yeah, that’s a LOT of points!

But they can save 57,810 to 70,000 points if they use their Southwest Companion Pass to fly from Boston to Los Angeles.

The roundtrip flight from Boston to Los Angeles costs 12,190 Southwest points. Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer to Southwest on a 1:1 ratio.

Pro-tip: You’ll get more value using Chase Ultimate Rewards points for hotels than on Southwest flights. Instead of transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Southwest, get a Southwest credit card instead.

The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card, Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card, and Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card are each offering a 50,000 point bonus after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months of opening your account. The Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card is offering 60,000 points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of having the card.

A roundtrip flight from Los Angeles to Maui costs 50,000 Avios points.

By using their Companion Pass to get to the West Coast and booking a flight from Los Angeles to Hawaii, Gary and Emily pay 50,000 points.

Avoid Connecting Flights

Avoid connecting flights. Some flights from San Diego to Hawaii connect through Los Angeles.

Because you pay per flight when using British Airways Avios, it will cost 20,000 Avios each way (40,000 Avios roundtrip).

Whereas if you flew from Los Angeles to Maui, you’ll only pay 12,500 Avios one-way or 25,000 Avios roundtrip. A savings of 15,000 points!

Read all the ways to get to LAX from San Diego.

Why You Should Book Hawaii Flights With British Airways Avios Points

Hawaii is a great destination to take advantage of British Airways’ distance based award chart.

You’ll pay less British Airways Avios points for a flight to Hawaii on American Airlines.

If you have to cancel your ticket British Airways refunds your points. But you don’t get back the taxes. But the British Airways Visa Signature® Card offers up to $600 a year statement credit rebate on airline taxes and fees on award tickets.

There are no fees for last-minute tickets aka close-in fees booked within 21 days of travel.

Even though you’re flying on American Airlines, you booked through British Airways. So if you have to make a change or cancel your ticket, you will contact British Airways.

You can earn Avios points without flying! As mentioned above, you can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to British Airways at a 1:1 ratio.

Pro-tip: Points transfer instantly. Once transferred, you can’t undo the transfer. So make sure there is award space available before you transfer points.

How to Book American Airlines Flights With British Airways Avios

Photo courtesy: American Airlines

Step 1 – Log in to Your British Airways Executive Club Account

This should default to the “Book with Avios” tab. If not, click on “book with Avios.”

Step 2 – Enter Your Travel Details

Enter the city you’re flying from and the city you want to fly to, your travel dates, and class. In this case, it’s Los Angeles (LAX) to Maui (OGG).

Then click on the blue box “Get Flights.”

Step 3 – Select Your flights

Choose your flights then click “Continue.”

A summary of your flights, the number of Avios and the taxes and fees will appear.

Step 4 – Transfer Points

If everything looks good, log into your Chase Ultimate Rewards account and transfer 25,000 points to British Airways Avios.

Points transfer instantly but you have to refresh your page. Sometimes you have to log out and log back in.

Step 5 – Book Your Flight

Once the points are in your account and you’re ready to book, click “Continue” to book your flight.

Pro-tip: If you aren’t seeing any available American Airlines flights try logging into the American Airlines website. Look for coach MilesAAver flights. Write down the flights and times, then call British Airways to book.

How to Book Alaska Airlines Flights With British Airways Avios

Alaska Airlines flights aren’t shown on the British Airways website. You have to search for award tickets on the American Airlines website or the Alaska Airlines site.

If using the American website, uncheck the American Airlines box to only show flights on Alaska. Write down the flight numbers and times and call British Airways to book. Their number is 1-800-452-1201.

Air France & KLM (Flying Blue)

Photo courtesy: Air France

Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfers on a 1:1 ratio to Flying Blue, the loyalty program for Air France & KLM.

You can’t fly from the US to Hawaii on Air France or KLM. But you can use Flying Blue miles on Delta flights to Hawaii.

With Flying Blue miles, you can book one-way and roundtrip flights.

Flying Blue doesn’t have a traditional award chart. They use a pricing calculator. But it doesn’t show mileage information for flights from the US to Hawaii.

A roundtrip coach ticket is 30,000 Flying Blue miles. Flying roundtrip in First Class will cost 60,000 miles.

How to Book Delta Flights With Flying Blue Miles

Photo courtesy: Delta Airlines

It’s easy to search for flights on the Delta website. You don’t need to log in to look for award space. Enter your travel details, then click “Miles” under the “Show Price In” section. Write down the flight number and times.

But that doesn’t always mean you can book those flights with Flying Blue miles.

The best way to determine if you can use your Flying Blue miles on Delta is to check the Flying Blue website.

Step 1 – Log in to Your Flying Blue Account