Hawaiian-Alaska Airlines Merger: What We Know (and Want to Know) About the Loyalty Program of the Future

On Tuesday, the US Justice Department decided not to block proposed merger of Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian AirlinesThe news comes just eight months after the two US airlines announced a $1.9 billion deal.

“I am confident that with the merger of these two airlines, a stronger company will emerge that will provide more travel options for Hawaiians and local businesses — and will increase competition across the U.S. airline industry,” said Hawaii Governor Josh Green. said in a statement“I appreciate the Department of Justice’s careful consideration of Hawai’i’s unique needs in considering the proposed merger. I look forward to this merger and the tremendous benefits it will bring to consumers, employees, and the community.”

For Hawaiian Airlines loyalty program enthusiasts, what would the benefits of this potential merger be? While Alaska Airlines plans to keep Hawaiian Airlines as a separate brand, The program will operate under a loyalty program..

So, is it safe to assume that Hawaiian Airlines will adopt Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan program, or will the two companies operate under a completely new name?

While the merger still needs to be approved by the U.S. Department of Transportation, the potential merger of the two programs has raised some questions about how it will affect those looking to earn and redeem miles, use elite membership benefits, and more.

Read on to learn more about what we know about the Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines merger, as well as what we’d like to know if the merger were to go through.

What We Know About the Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines Merger

At this point, details about how the merged loyalty program will operate once the merger is complete are still scarce. According to a Securities and Exchange Commission Documents filed by Hawaiian in December 2023, the two airlines’ loyalty programs would be combined into one common loyalty program and your miles would transfer to the next program.

Additionally, if you currently hold elite status with Hawaiian Airlines, your status will also transfer. However, neither Hawaiian nor Alaska has specified how Pualani Gold or Pualani Platinum membership will match Alaska’s Mileage Plan elite status tiers.

“It is expected that [the elite tiers] will provide benefits equivalent to or better than what you receive today,” according to the SEC filing.

Another benefit of the merger is that Hawaiian Airlines will join Oneworld Alliance. Currently, Hawaiian is not part of any major airline alliance, unlike Alaska, which is part of Oneworld. Not only will the merger give elite status members additional Oneworld perks, such as priority check-in and bonus miles, but Oneworld passengers will be able to earn and redeem miles when flying with the airline.

According to the SEC filing, “Upon completion of the combination, existing Hawaiian Airlines customers will enjoy the benefits of the industry’s most valuable loyalty program, earning and redeeming miles, as well as receiving privileged benefits across the entire Oneworld Alliance network, expanded global lounge access and credit card benefits in the combined program.”

Related: Alaska Airlines Announces 4 Big Changes to MVP Elite Class

What We Want to Know About the Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines Merger

However, there is still little clarity about the future of the Alaska-Hawaii loyalty program.

Are your Hawaiian miles converted to Alaska miles at a 1:1 ratio?

According to the SEC filing, the miles you earned with Hawaiian Airlines will not expire, and you can continue to earn and redeem those miles before the merger. If you have any remaining miles after the merger, “your existing miles will be honored.”

However, the SEC did not specify how they would be honored. Specifically, would those miles be converted to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles at a 1:1 ratio?

Past experience is incorporated in this direction.

For example, when Finnair has adopted Avios as its loyalty currency.Any remaining Finnair Plus points are automatically converted at a ratio of 3:2. However, the conversion ratio is 1:1 during integration American Airlines AAdvantage and US Airways Dividend Miles in 2015.

It’s not yet clear what approach Hawaii and Alaska will take, although it’s worth noting that our August 2024 valuation Alaska miles are worth about 72% more than Hawaii miles.

Will American Express Membership Rewards lose Hawaiian Airlines as a connecting partner?

Earlier this year, Bilt Rewards quietly lost Hawaiian Airlines as a transfer partner but kept Alaska Airlines. With the proposed acquisition, it could Amex cardholder Expect to lose Hawaiian as a transfer partner in the near future?

You can now transfer Amex points to Hawaiian at a 1:1 ratio. Plus, Amex is offering a 20% transfer bonus on Hawaiian Airlines until August 31; therefore, your points are now transferred at a 1:1.2 ratio.

Since we don’t yet know if Hawaiian miles will transfer 1:1 to Alaska, you could be taking a gamble by making a speculative transfer from Amex to Hawaiian. After all, those miles could eventually convert to Alaska miles at a 1:1 ratio. However, you could end up with your Hawaiian miles converting at a much lower rate. Whether or not this is worth the gamble is up to you.

Related: American Express Membership Rewards Transfer Partner: Maximize Your Points

What will happen to the Hawaiian Airlines co-branded credit card?

Barclays currently issues two Hawaiian Airlines co-branded credit cards: Hawaiian Airlines® World Elite Mastercard® and Hawaiian Airlines® Business Mastercard®. Both offer two free checked bags on Hawaiian flights when you use the card to purchase eligible fares from the Hawaiian Airlines website; 3 miles per dollar spent on Hawaiian Airlines purchases; 2 miles per dollar spent on gas, dining, and eligible grocery purchases; and 1 mile per dollar spent on all other purchases.

According to the SEC filing, Hawaiian will “continue to accept new applications.” So can cardholders expect the co-branded cards to continue? Will the cards eventually be dissolved? Or will additional card benefits be added and applied across the entire combined route network?

The information about the Hawaiian Mastercard and Hawaiian Business Mastercard has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

How many miles will you need for Hawaiian award flights?

While many major airlines use dynamic award pricing, Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines still operate using award charts. However, Hawaiian Award Chart based on a number of factors, including your flight area and the time of year (busier travel days will cost you more miles). Certain passengers are also eligible for award discounts — namely Pualani Platinum, Pualani Gold, and Premier Club members, as well as some Hawaiian Airlines cardholders.

Meanwhile, Alaska Airlines has a distance-based award chart for its own flights and a separate award chart for partner airlines, all of which have “starting at” award prices (actual prices can be two or three times higher, depending on the flight).

So how will Hawaiian-operated flights fit into this? Since Alaska plans to keep Hawaiian as a separate brand, will it be subject to partner pricing, or will Alaska add new regions (and prices) to its own award chart? Or will Hawaiian keep its own award chart?

Currently, neither Hawaiian nor Alaska has specified what award flights will look like under the combined loyalty program.

Related: Changes to the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan award chart are now in effect

What will happen to the other Hawaii partners?

Hawaiian Airlines isn’t part of a major alliance, but it does have partnerships with a number of other airlines, including Virgin Atlantic, JetBlue, and Japan Airlines. Additionally, you can earn (and redeem) miles with American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines on inter-island flights with Hawaiian Airlines.

While none of these partnerships are particularly valuable, it remains to be seen what happens if the merger is approved and the loyalty programs are combined.

The last line

We’ve seen airlines roll out new loyalty programs just in the last year. For example, Finnair is now using British Airways Avios as its respective award program. However, Finnair retains autonomy regarding its program’s elite tiers and award chart.

There aren’t many details yet on how the Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines merger will affect the airlines’ loyalty programs and members — but we’re eagerly awaiting the news and will be sure to update readers as more details become available.

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