Aaron is an avid global traveler and miles and points enthusiast. In addition to writing for Forbes.com, Aaron is a full-time professional advisor to Fortune 500 companies at a global consulting firm.
Aaron Hurd ContributorAaron is an avid global traveler and miles and points enthusiast. In addition to writing for Forbes.com, Aaron is a full-time professional advisor to Fortune 500 companies at a global consulting firm.
Written By Aaron Hurd ContributorAaron is an avid global traveler and miles and points enthusiast. In addition to writing for Forbes.com, Aaron is a full-time professional advisor to Fortune 500 companies at a global consulting firm.
Aaron Hurd ContributorAaron is an avid global traveler and miles and points enthusiast. In addition to writing for Forbes.com, Aaron is a full-time professional advisor to Fortune 500 companies at a global consulting firm.
Contributor Caroline Lupini Managing Editor, Credit Cards & Travel RewardsCaroline Lupini has been traveling the world with the help of credit card rewards since 2011. She has visited over 110 countries and is able to utilize her knowledge of credit cards and to make travel both less expensive and more luxurious. Caroline.
Caroline Lupini Managing Editor, Credit Cards & Travel RewardsCaroline Lupini has been traveling the world with the help of credit card rewards since 2011. She has visited over 110 countries and is able to utilize her knowledge of credit cards and to make travel both less expensive and more luxurious. Caroline.
Caroline Lupini Managing Editor, Credit Cards & Travel RewardsCaroline Lupini has been traveling the world with the help of credit card rewards since 2011. She has visited over 110 countries and is able to utilize her knowledge of credit cards and to make travel both less expensive and more luxurious. Caroline.
Caroline Lupini Managing Editor, Credit Cards & Travel RewardsCaroline Lupini has been traveling the world with the help of credit card rewards since 2011. She has visited over 110 countries and is able to utilize her knowledge of credit cards and to make travel both less expensive and more luxurious. Caroline.
| Managing Editor, Credit Cards & Travel Rewards
Updated: Jul 17, 2024, 10:36am
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The Hawaiian Airlines® World Elite Mastercard® * makes sense for travelers who fly frequently on Hawaiian Airlines and value redemptions on intra-Hawaii flights. If you are a frequent traveler on Hawaiian Airlines and can benefit from the two free checked bags perk and companion fare discount, you should consider getting this card. But for other travelers, a major airline’s credit card, a card that earns flexible points or one of the many 2% cash-back cards may be better options.
Hawaiian Airlines® World Elite Mastercard® *Our ratings take into account the card’s rewards, fees, rates along with the card’s category. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.
Welcome Bonus 70,000 HawaiianMiles Annual Fee Regular APR 21.24% - 29.99% variable Credit Score Good/ExcellentCredit Score ranges are based on FICO® credit scoring. This is just one scoring method and a credit card issuer may use another method when considering your application. These are provided as guidelines only and approval is not guaranteed.
Earn 70,000 bonus HawaiianMiles after spending $2,000 on purchases within the first 90 days.Credit Score ranges are based on FICO® credit scoring. This is just one scoring method and a credit card issuer may use another method when considering your application. These are provided as guidelines only and approval is not guaranteed.
Earn 50,000 bonus miles plus buy one ticket, get one for just the taxes and fees ($0 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) with this offer. To qualify, make $3,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days of opening your account.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card On Chase Bank USA, NA's Website Welcome Bonus 60,000 bonus points Annual Fee Credit Score Excellent, Good Regular APR 21.49%-28.49% VariableCredit Score ranges are based on FICO® credit scoring. This is just one scoring method and a credit card issuer may use another method when considering your application. These are provided as guidelines only and approval is not guaranteed.
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.
Citi Double Cash® Card On Citi's Website Welcome Bonus Earn $200 cash back Annual Fee Credit Score Excellent, Good, Fair Regular APR 19.24% - 29.24% (Variable)Credit Score ranges are based on FICO® credit scoring. This is just one scoring method and a credit card issuer may use another method when considering your application. These are provided as guidelines only and approval is not guaranteed.
Earn $200 cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.
The Hawaiian Airlines® World Elite Mastercard® * is offered in partnership with Barclays and is targeted toward the Hawaii-based, Hawaiian Airlines frequent flyer.
The card benefits are mostly limited to Hawaiian Airlines, including two free checked bags for the primary cardmember, a companion discount and a fee waiver for cardmembers wanting to share miles with other travelers.
The card is light on travel protections, as it does not come with car rental insurance, baggage delay insurance or other protections common among travel credit cards with similar annual fees. It does offer a number of benefits through the Mastercard network as a World Elite Mastercard.
The Hawaiian Airlines® World Elite Mastercard® * has an annual fee of $99 and currently offers a welcome bonus: 70,000 bonus HawaiianMiles after spending $2,000 on purchases within the first 90 days.
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Our credit card editors are committed to bringing you unbiased ratings and information. Our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers. We use data-driven methodologies to evaluate financial products and companies, so all are measured equally. You can read more about our editorial guidelines and the credit card methodology for the ratings below.
The Hawaiian Airlines® World Elite Mastercard® * is best for frequent Hawaiian Airlines flyers and those who regularly travel on routes served by the airline and its partners. The card earns bonus miles on everyday spending categories, including gas, dining and groceries, making it a worthwhile consideration for the airline’s most loyal customers.
The Hawaiian Airlines® World Elite Mastercard® * rewards its cardmembers most when they spend money with Hawaiian Airlines and in specific bonus categories.
The most generous awards are granted for purchases made directly with Hawaiian Airlines. The card earns 3 HawaiianMiles per dollar on eligible purchases made directly from Hawaiian Airlines, 2 HawaiianMiles per dollar on gas, dining and grocery store purchases and 1 HawaiianMiles per dollar on all other purchases.
Finally, the card currently offers a welcome bonus: 70,000 bonus HawaiianMiles after spending $2,000 on purchases within the first 90 days.
The easiest to redeem rewards is to book travel with Hawaiian Airlines. Redemptions for award travel on Hawaiian Airlines start at 7,500 HawaiianMiles for one-way main cabin travel between Hawaiian islands and 20,000 for one-way main cabin travel between Hawaii and the American West Coast. Hawaiian Airlines publishes an award chart for its own flights, but with up to eight pricing levels between each region, award prices are roughly tied to the cash price of similar tickets on that route.
HawaiianMiles can also be redeemed for travel on Hawaiian Airlines’ partners, including Japan Airlines, JetBlue, Korean Air, Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Australia. Award redemption prices are specific to each partner and are determined by routing, flight length or flight price. Hawaiian Airlines publishes charts of its flight award prices on partner airlines.
In addition to redemptions for award travel, Hawaiian Airlines offers a variety of gift card, car rental and hotel reservation credit partner awards. Generally, these awards represent a value of about half a cent per mile.
Finally, Hawaiian Airlines offers the option to donate miles to several charitable organizations in Hawaii.
Using data from various government agencies, Forbes Advisor estimates the 70th percentile of wage-earning households earns $118,438 annually and has $39,337 in expenses that can be charged to credit cards. These figures are used to estimate the potential rewards from this credit card.
Hawaiian Airlines® World Elite Mastercard® * Rewards Potential
Hawaiian Airlines Purchases Gas, Dining and Groceries All Other Purchases Total: 56,304 HawaiianMiles See More See LessThe Hawaiian Airlines® World Elite Mastercard® * comes with a standard suite of World Elite Mastercard benefits.
For travel between the U.S. West Coast and Hawaii, Alaska Airlines offers an extensive network including airports on Oahu, Maui, Island of Hawaii and Kauai. The Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card offers a free checked bag on Alaska Airlines flights. Earn unlimited 3 miles per dollar on eligible Alaska Airlines purchases, unlimited 2 miles per dollar on eligible gas, EV charging, cable, streaming services and local transit including ride share purchases and unlimited 1 mile per dollar on all other purchases. You’ll also earn an annual companion fare starting at $122 ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) after you spend $6,000 or more on purchases within the prior anniversary year, all for an annual fee of $95.
The Alaska Airlines companion fare will likely be more valuable than the $100 annual companion discount offered by the Hawaiian Airlines Mastercard—airfares between the U.S. and Hawaii are frequently several hundred dollars. Cardmembers can fly a companion on Alaska Airlines flights and flights operated on behalf of Alaska Airlines, not just between Hawaii and the U.S. mainland (provided they earn the companion pass).
For those looking at award travel redemptions on partners, Alaska miles can be redeemed on Japan Airlines and Qantas, which cover many of Hawaiian Airlines’ partner network destinations. The addition of the entire network of OneWorld partners makes Alaska Airlines miles much more flexible than HawaiianMiles for international travel.
For West Coast-based travelers and many Hawaii-based travelers who value travel to and from Hawaii over intra-Hawaii travel, the Alaska Airlines credit card almost certainly provides more options. For most, it offers better value than the Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard. It’s also worth noting that Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines entered into a merger agreement at the end of 2023. If approved, their loyalty programs will be combined.
Travelers looking for maximum flexibility should consider the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. The card carries a $95 annual fee, but offers flexible points that can be redeemed for travel booked through Chase Travel℠ or transferred to global airline partners for maximum value.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred earns: 5 points per dollar on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3 points per dollar on dining, select streaming services, and online grocery purchases (excluding Walmart, Target and wholesale clubs), 2 points per dollar on all other travel purchases and 1 point per dollar on other purchases. On its face, 2 Ultimate Rewards per dollar might seem less appealing than earning 3 HawaiianMiles per dollar on Hawaiian Airlines flights. But given that Ultimate Rewards points can be redeemed for travel at 1.25 cents per point through the Chase travel portal, cardholders can get similar value for their spending Chase Ultimate Rewards also offers a number of airline and hotel transfer partners that can provide opportunities to get outsized value from Ultimate Rewards points.
In addition to earning points that can be used for travel, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card comes with various travel and insurance benefits including auto rental collision damage waiver, trip cancellation/interruption insurance, extended warranty and purchase protection.
For travelers looking for a flexible points currency with excellent redemption options, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card provides at least as much value as the Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard with much more versatility.
For travelers who find an annual fee unappealing or are looking for a simple card that earns generous rewards on everyday spending, it’s hard to ignore the Citi Double Cash® Card.
For no annual fee, the card offers an effective 2% cash back on all purchases—1% when purchases are made and another 1% when they’re paid off. Cash back can be redeemed as a statement credit. You’ll have no categories to track and cash back offers the ultimate ability to shop around with your rewards.
While the Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard may make sense for island residents or avid Hawaii travelers, most people can find a more rewarding credit card. Consider a flat 2% cash-back card or a card that earns flexible rewards. If you are interested in a co-branded airline card, consider airlines with a larger destination footprint.
No single credit card is the best option for every family, every purchase or every budget. We've picked the best credit cards in a way designed to be the most helpful to the widest variety of readers.
Forbes Advisor considers a variety of criteria when assigning credit cards a rating. Cards are graded based on numerous factors, including:
Card features we expect cardholders to use the most often are weighted more heavily in our ratings. Altogether, the factors come together to provide a star rating for each individual card.
To learn more about our rating and review methodology and editorial process, check out our guide on how Forbes Advisor rates credit cards.
*The information for the following card(s) has been collected independently by Forbes Advisor: Hawaiian Airlines® World Elite Mastercard® . The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
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