Airline & Hotel Programs

Don’t leave miles and points on the table. Sign up for frequent flyer miles and hotel reward programs to help you achieve your travel goals.

You can be strategic by signing up for only the programs you need or diversify your points by signing up for many or all the programs. I personally do a combination of both. I have not signed up for everything as I don’t want to spend time earning points in programs that I will not use…yet.

There are more programs out there, including international airlines and hotel chains, but here’s a starting point to begin setting your travel goals.

AIRLINES:

	HawaiianMiles: This is my preferred airline and the only frequent flyer program that I have elite status. Hawaiian is a great choice for traveling to the west coast, New York, and international destinations like Japan, China, and Australia. This is the only major carrier that still serves a hot meal on mainland flights, whereas the others only provide meals for international. I love their service, but wish they offered more in-flight entertainment for free.
	Delta Skymiles: Unfortunately, Delta has a bad rap in regards to their frequent flyer program: award charts removed online, difficult to redeem miles, minimal saver level redemptions, etc. These are valid concerns, but I still love flying Delta. I have booked 4 international award tickets and redeemed many AMEX-Delta free companion certificates to the mainland. I have traveled with Delta since college and I love their service and free premium in-flight entertainment.
	American AAdvantage: American just merged with US Airways and will be making a slight devaluation to their frequent flyer program in 2016, which is in line with Delta and United. This is still a good program as they fly all over world. American offers great value for Hawaii travelers, as I just flew to Orlando on a Saver award ticket, and they also partner with Hawaiian Airlines for interisland and international travel.
	United MileagePlus: I have not flown on United, but I used my miles to redeem on a partner airline, Asiana, for a leg that Delta couldn’t fulfill. United does fly all over the world, including many locations in the US from Hawaii, so earning United is beneficial.
	Alaska MileagePlan: Another airline I haven’t flown, but have started earning miles. Alaska flights direct from Hawaii to Seattle, Portland, San Jose, Oakland and San Diego, and has connecting flights to locations like Orlando, New York, New Orleans, Mexico, and more.
	Southwest Rapid Rewards: If you live in the mainland, this program is probably the most valuable as they have an unbelievable benefit called Companion Pass, where your companion flies free for 1-2 years. I won’t go into further detail as I live in Hawaii and Southwest doesn’t fly here. I do, however, have accrued Southwest miles when I find cheap fares in the mainland to travel from one city to another.
	JetBlue TrueBlue: This airline doesn’t fly to Hawaii, but I have considered flying them like Southwest when flying in the mainland only.
	Frontier EarlyReturns: This airline doesn’t fly to Hawaii, and I have not considered flying them in the mainland.
	Virgin America Elevate: Virgin announced in early 2015 that they would begin flights from Honolulu/Kahului to San Francisco. I have yet to fly on this airline, but it may be good to consider for flights to New York, Orlando, Austin, Mexico, and more.
	Spirit Free Spirit: This airline doesn’t fly to Hawaii, and I have not considered flying them as their on-time history and nickel-and-dime fees are questionable.

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HOTELS:

	Hyatt Gold Passport: I love Hyatt properties and prefer to stay at any of their hotels when traveling. Brands include: Park Hyatt, Andaz, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Zilara, Hyatt Regency, Hyatt Place, Hyatt House, Hyatt, and Hyatt Centric. While points are not as easy to accumulate, redemption levels start at 5,000 points, which isn’t too bad, up to 30,000.
	IHG Rewards Club: I stay at IHG all the time and enjoy their properties. Brands include: Intercontinental, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Even Hotels, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge, and Candlewood Suites. Points are easier to accumulate, but redemption levels are higher, starting at 10,000 points up to 50,000.
	Club Carlson: I like Radisson hotels, but earlier in 2015 Club Carlson devalued its program where it cost more to redeem points. Brands include: Quorvus Collection, Radisson Blu, Radisson, Radisson Red, Park Plaza, Park Inn, and Country Inn & Suites. Club Carlson does offer many promotions throughout the year to earn a lot of points with paid stays. Redemption levels start at 9,000 points up to 70,000. Many of the better hotels are at the higher end.
	Best Western Rewards: I’ve only ever stayed at Best Western when I needed super cheap accommodations in the mainland. Brands include: BW Premier Collection, Best Western Premier, VIB, Best Western Plus Executive Residency, Best Western Plus, GLo, and Best Western. Redeem points for free nights, airline miles, gift cards and more.
	Marriott Rewards: Brands include: Ritz Carlton, Bvlgari, Edition, JW Marriott, Autograph Collection, Renaissance, Marriott, Delta Hotels & Resorts, Marriott Executive Apartments, Marriott Vacation Club, Gaylord, AC Hotels, Courtyard, Residence Inn, SpringHill Suites, Fairfiled Inn & Suites, TownePlace Suites, Protea, and Moxy. Marriott is the largest hotel brand and they announced in 2015 that it will be merging with Starwood in 2016. I have yet to stay at Marriott, but it’s on my travel goals for the future.
	Hilton HHonors: Brands include: Hilton, Waldorf Astoria, Conrad, Curio, DoubleTree, Embassy Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Inn, Homewood Suites, Home2 Suites, and Hilton Grand Vacations. I don’t stay at Hilton, but they have a large footprint worldwide and I’ll include them in my travel goals in the future.
	Starwood Preferred Guest: Brands include: Sheraton, Four Points, Aloft, W Hotels, Meridien, The Luxury Collection, Element, Westin, St Regis, Tribute Portfolio, and Design Hotels. Starwood will merge with Marriott in 2016. I imagine there will be major changes to its hotel rewards program, but until that happens, Starwood offers a great benefit to transfer points to partners such as American Airlines, Delta Airlines, and Hawaiian Airlines at a 1:1 ratio.
	Choice Privileges: Brands include: Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality, Sleep Inn, Clarion, Cambria, MainStay Suites, Suburban, Econo Lodge, and Rodeway Inn.
	Wyndham Rewards: Brands include: Wyndham, Wyndham Grand, Wyndham Garden Hotels, Tryp, Wingate, Hawthorn, Microtel, Ramada, Baymont, Days Inn, Super 8, Howard Johnson, Travelodge, Knights Inn, Dolce, and Club Wyndham.

BANK TRANSFERRABLE POINTS:

These flexible bank programs require certain credit cards for enrollment. Applying for credit cards require a lot more care and risk, thus I will go into more detail about credit cards in future posts. Below is just a brief overview of redemption rates for each program.

	Chase Ultimate Rewards: Redeem at 1.25 cents per point for travel – flights, hotels, car rentals, and activities (for example, a $500 flight = 40,000 points). UR partners include Hyatt and United Airlines, transferring at a 1:1 ratio.
	Citi ThankYou: For the Premier card, redeem at 1.25 cents per point for travel – flights, hotels, car rentals, and cruises (for example, $500 = 40,000 points); and 1 cent per point for activities. For the Prestige card, redeem at 1.66 cents per point for AA flights, 1.33 cents per point for other airlines (for example: $500 = 30,120 points on AA, or 37,594 points on other airlines).
	AMEX Membership Rewards: MR points are most valuable when transferred to a partner airline with a bonus, such as the HawaiianMiles 25% bonus transfer. Flight redemption is a 1:1 ratio, whereas other redemptions such as hotels or activities are less value, so I don’t recommend that.