Hawaiian Airlines is preparing for a seismic shift in its loyalty program, with a sweeping end to 18 major airline and lifestyle partnerships scheduled for June 30, 2025. This sweeping change marks the first phase in the carrier’s transition to Alaska Airlines’ Mileage Plan following their planned merger. For loyal HawaiianMiles members, the clock is ticking—valuable benefits and redemption options are about to vanish.
HawaiianMiles, once considered one of the more approachable and lifestyle-integrated frequent flyer programs, is being dismantled in its current form. Starting July 1, the familiar program features—including fixed award rates, flexible partner redemptions, and American Express transfer options—will cease to exist. The result is a sharp pivot toward Alaska’s more traditional, demand-based award pricing system.
The End of an Era: HawaiianMiles as We Knew It
For more than four decades, HawaiianMiles stood as a cultural and functional pillar for frequent travelers to and from the islands. Its emphasis on Hawaii-specific perks—like interisland rewards and restaurant or retail redemptions—made it a unique player in the global loyalty space. Members could earn miles not just through flying but through local grocery stores, pancake houses, sunglasses retailers, and even mortgage payments.
Now, this lifestyle-centric approach is being retired. The Alaska merger shifts the focus to a more conventional, airline-dominant model. While long-term promises like access to the oneworld network bring future potential, the immediate reality is one of restriction and urgency.
These 18 HawaiianMiles Partnerships Will Disappear
Perhaps the most jarring part of this transition is the wholesale dissolution of 18 active partnerships. These include seven international and domestic airline alliances and eleven lifestyle, shopping, and dining partners. Here’s what’s ending:
Airline Partnerships Being Terminated:
Redemption and earning through the following airlines will no longer be available after June 30, 2025:
- Virgin Australia
- Virgin Atlantic
- China Airlines
- Japan Airlines (transitioning to Alaska)
- Korean Air
- JetBlue
The final date to book award flights using HawaiianMiles on these carriers is June 30, 2025, with all travel completed by February 28, 2026. Earning miles through these airlines also ends on that date.
Non-Airline Partners Also Phasing Out:
These lifestyle partnerships—central to HawaiianMiles’ island ethos—are being retired:
- Foodland
- Hele
- Boyd
- Koa Pancake House
- Konos
- Maui Jim
- The Alley
Further, additional earn-only programs are vanishing:
- Rocket Mortgage
- University of Hawaii
- Carmel
- Island Art
For residents and frequent visitors alike, these provided real-world value that often made up for the program’s higher award pricing. Their disappearance marks the end of a deeply integrated Hawaii-based loyalty ecosystem.
American Express Transfer Option Is Ending—Permanently
A blow to savvy travelers came with the announcement that American Express Membership Rewards transfers to HawaiianMiles will end June 30. For years, this was one of the most flexible and powerful ways to top off HawaiianMiles balances quickly, especially in advance of award redemptions.
Travelers looking to take advantage of this link must transfer their points before the June 30 cutoff. Once severed, there will be no grace period or recourse.
Alaska Airlines, which does not support Amex transfers, has confirmed that it will exclusively prioritize Bank of America and Bilt as its credit card and transfer partners. Bilt allows point transfers to Alaska at a 1:1 ratio and provides enhanced earning potential via rent payments through its Visa platform.
Award Prices Have Skyrocketed Under the New Model
The shift to Alaska’s Mileage Plan framework has already begun to reshape award pricing—and not in travelers’ favor. Hawaiian’s once-predictable fixed award charts have given way to a demand-based, dynamic pricing structure that has seen First Class round-trip flights soar as high as 500,000 miles.
Where previously travelers could expect capped rates of 80,000 miles round-trip for First Class, many now report triple or quadruple that figure depending on season and route. One-way pricing at 250,000 miles is no longer uncommon.
While this model theoretically improves availability by opening up more seats for redemptions, it also places an enormous burden on travelers trying to extract value from their points. In this setup, timing, flexibility, and luck will become the dominant factors in determining whether miles are well spent or wasted.
Travelers React with Frustration—and Resignation
The reaction among HawaiianMiles loyalists has been one of anger, betrayal, and in some cases, quiet resignation. For many, the program represented more than just points—it symbolized a connection to the Hawaiian experience itself.
Lynette, a frequent traveler, shared how she saved miles for years to take her elderly parents to Maui, only to find the redemption now priced out of reach. Puyo, another user, said a route from Boston to Honolulu that previously cost 130,000 miles now shows as 500,000 miles. Franklin, a longtime member, lamented that the merger represents a “cultural erasure” of Hawaiian Airlines’ legacy.
While disappointment runs deep, some also acknowledge that Hawaiian Airlines was in dire financial condition, and that the merger may have been the only way to avoid bankruptcy. Still, the abruptness and scale of the changes feel like a betrayal of the loyalty many travelers built over decades.
What Can You Still Do Before the Deadline?
Despite the upheaval, there are still meaningful actions travelers can take before June 30:
- Book award flights on partner airlines now. These bookings remain valid for travel until February 28, 2026.
- Transfer Amex Membership Rewards points immediately if you plan to use them for HawaiianMiles redemptions.
- Spend or redeem miles with lifestyle partners like Foodland, Hele, and Maui Jim before their redemption portals close.
- Monitor award fares carefully, and strike when a reasonable redemption appears. Volatility is now part of the landscape, and what’s available today may not be there tomorrow.
In short, the final days of HawaiianMiles as we know it are not just a deadline—they’re a call to action.
The Future Under Alaska Airlines: More Potential, But Not Yet Realized
Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian have outlined a future of greater global access through the oneworld alliance, including redemptions on American Airlines, British Airways, Qantas, and others. While this promises exciting opportunities, these features are still in development.
Key details such as new redemption charts, status match rules, and elite qualification pathways have yet to be announced. As of now, no formal transition plan exists to explain how HawaiianMiles will convert into Alaska miles—or whether value will be preserved.
What’s certain is that this isn’t just a transition—it’s a hard reset. For loyalists, the program they knew is ending. What comes next may offer more in scale but remains unproven in spirit.
Final Takeaway: Don’t Wait—Act Now Before It’s Too Late
June 30, 2025, is more than just a date—it’s the line between what HawaiianMiles used to be and what the Alaska-driven future will become. For travelers, this is the final window to use miles in ways that may never return.
Whether you’re a casual visitor, a miles hacker, or a lifelong kamaʻāina, the days ahead represent a pivotal turning point. The loss of partners, the death of fixed pricing, and the evaporation of Amex transfers mark the end of a unique loyalty era.
Act while you still can. What remains of the HawaiianMiles program is vanishing by the day—and with it, a distinct chapter in the history of Hawaiian aviation.
