[BREAKING: Mileage Transfers From Hawaiian And AMEX Now Live!] WOW! DOT Approves Alaska-Hawaiian Merger, On Condition That Miles Combine At 1:1 Ratio!

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Update, 9/26: You can now transfer your miles in either direction between Alaska and Hawaiian! Just select if you want to transfer to HawaiianMiles or Alaska Mileage Plan miles and sign into both accounts to transfer.

You can transfer all of your miles, in at least 50 mile increments. The transfer is limited to 500,000 miles per transfer. Your profiles on Alaska and Hawaiian must match for the transfer to go through.

I just transferred over all my Hawaiian miles over to Alaska and they posted instantly:

 

You can now transfer AMEX points over to Alaska at a 1:1 ratio by transferring instantly to Hawaiian and then instantly to Alaska.

Congrats to everyone who got the 20% bonus last month!

HT: Eluzer K.

Update, 9/18: Alaska has completed its acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines for $1.9B.

The integration process will take up to 18 months, but later this month you will be able to transfer miles from Hawaiian to Alaska and vice versa at a 1:1 ratio!

That means for the first time ever, you can effectively transfer AMEX points to Alaska via Hawaiian at a 1:1 ratio!

The DOT is requiring the 1:1 transfer ratio and that miles never expire. The DOT will also require that “The combined airline must maintain a minimum dollar value for all miles in the new loyalty program, measured by the guest-facing value of miles redeemed for carrier-operated flights” and that “The combined airline must not impose change or cancellation fees on rewards redemption tickets for travel on carrier-operated flights.” It remains to be seen how exactly that will play out.

Lounge members also have reciprocal access and elite status matching will take place later this year.


Originally posted on 9/17:

The US DOT has approved the Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines merger, with some conditions.

The biggest is that miles must be preserved at a 1:1 ratio and never expire!

That topic was the subject of my own speculation last month, when I speculatively transferred 500,000 AMEX points into 600,000 Hawaiian miles, on the gamble that they would become 600,000 Alaska miles.

I never thought I’d be writing an expected value formula on DansDeals, but I got pretty wonky with the fun!

While Hawaiian miles aren’t worth much, Alaska miles can be very lucrative. This comparison chart shows just how much better their miles are over the competition for domestic awards.

And now it seems like the bet will pay off, with the DOT insisting on 1:1 transfer ratios!

The DOT said the combined airline must also continue flying their current rural routes, provide family seating on all fares, and provide compensation for airline caused delays and cancellations.

You can still transfer miles from AMEX to Hawaiian, though the 20% bonus is no longer applicable. I would certainly assume we will get advance notice before that transfer option goes away, but it’s always possible that it goes away without warning. I would assume the transfer option will go away at some point before the merger closes.

Of course, the merger still has to close. And Alaska can devalue its program in a combined mileage program, but I don’t think that will happen right away as airlines don’t try to squander goodwill soon after a merger.

How many AMEX points will you transfer to Hawaiian before the merger is finalized?

HT: Moshe R

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119 Comments On "[BREAKING: Mileage Transfers From Hawaiian And AMEX Now Live!] WOW! DOT Approves Alaska-Hawaiian Merger, On Condition That Miles Combine At 1:1 Ratio!"

All opinions expressed below are user generated and the opinions aren’t provided, reviewed or endorsed by any advertiser or DansDeals.

Harley Kesselman

Dan, Are you on the US DOT too now? Haha!

Stamaguy

How much of a sure thing is this

Eli

Thank you Dan!! I moved 500k of my 1.5m

David

great. I transferred what I had last week in Amex points to HI air before the deadline based on your thoughts (I didn’t have much, about 26,000, but I’ll take it in Alaska).

I really hope I’m wrong, but to your last article point, I think devalue coming first 1/2 of next year.

Stamaguy

Dan what do you think of signing up for the Hawaiian airlines Barclays card right now, do some quick spending and getting that welcome bonus ultimately in Alaskan airlines miles

CtownBin

Unlike the AMEX transfer option- which is almost certain to go away before the merger (though hopefully with notice)- the Barclay’s co-brand cards might stick around. That’s what happened when American merged with US Airways, there are 2 co-brand issuers post-merger, similar with the Marriott-Starwood merger. Time will tell. But certainly no rush to grab the Hawaiian cards right now.

pes

i love the math

Me

I actually took your original advice and transferred 1 million points. Now I’ll have 1.2 Alaska.
Thank you Dan!

moshe

BH great news- i took a gamble and moved 1m with the 20% hopefully it goes thru and ill have 1.2m AS IYH

Avi

Alaskan deval incoming

Valentin

I got the Barclays Hawaii credit card right away I heard about the merger. Nowadays the offer is even better: 70K miles, spending only $2,000.

Herman the German

I transferred 60K Amex. into 72K Hawaiian.
In addition opened Hawaiian cc with 70k sign up bonus for spending 2G

Week before I used 60k Alaska miles for 2 RT 1st class tix AA JFK-MIA

R

Nice! I moved 275k (now 330k).

Dave

How do you all have so many Amex points? I have a measly 100k 🙁

ad

are we going to be able to transfer hawaiann miles to alaska or redeem hawaiaan miles at alaska rates

lakewood34

yes transfers will be allowed beginning later this month
https://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=137495.msg2866890#msg2866890

MG

So can still transfer over now and it will merge into AS

A

“The combined airline must not take any actions that would devalue HawaiianMiles miles, must maintain the value of each unredeemed HawaiianMiles mile earned prior to the merger closing…”
Dan,
Doesn’t this suggest that our Hawaiian miles cannot ever be devalued for flight redemptions?

Also, thanks to you I got in on the MR transfer!

Moshe

Why didn’t you move 1m?

cook

Too bad the deadline was on motzei shabbos, by the time I saw the post it was after midnight

Dfw Jon

What we need now is a deal on pagers

Eli

Can one still move miles now to Hawaii?

Work-for-ur-muny

מזל טוב

Wow, I am pretty surprised at how the DOT sounds off on such seemingly nitty-gritty parts of the deal, such as transfer ratios.

Sam

Well they do have their own Hawaii points to look out for.

CtownBin

Moved over 400k of my 2.2mil AMEX points with the 20% bonus. Hopefully they last a while- and the program doesn’t devalue before I get to use them!

Berel

I moved 450k plus 20%. Thanks Dan!

Mendy

I don’t have American Express points or any other banks transferable to Hawaiian airlines

Sai Dhanchander

Dan I have a question I did transfer 66,000 miles and today and other 49,000 making total of 115,000. I’m located in Cincinnati I know you are in Columbus area so was wondering what would you suggest it is for me and my girlfriend to wisely use the 115,000 so we both can do trips to Hawaii and Alaska hooefully it is possible since I looked and the points to Alaska for two are around 50k plus taxes if you can provide more insights would be great

Friend Question

asking for a friend- he has 1.5m MR however due to issues with his business, some accounts were closed (he was told by amex that they will be re-opened) and other are under financial relief. probably wont be able to use amex (BP) for at least another year until balance is paid off.
He already transferred 1m with the 20%, but he wants to know if he should send the remaining 1.5m and have total of 2.7m AS.
would you advise him to do that or should he hold off the 1.5m in his MR account and be happy with the 1.2m AS?

joel

why couldn’t your friend say he is asking for a friend….

Moshe

Or his friend asking for his friends friend which would be him

Mergs

Can you remind what is the great value now that El Al is not an option?

Chaim

Will amex stop being transferable to Hawaiian airlines?

Barry

So I fly out of EWR
American sucks for that..

So what is alaska miles really good for

Ez

Who is forcing you to fly out of EWR. PHL and JFK have great options for American

Mergs

Without allow is there still an advantage to Israel?

Josh

So Dan how many more points are you transferring

xbox 360

if i have about 250k points would you recommend sending them all over?

BG

It doesn’t say anything about killing the value of the miles for transfers to American, which is the biggest and best value for Alaska miles at this point.

Moshe

Any chance Hawaiian miles usage will be restricted to Alaska metal only?

cook

Any way to know beforehand if miles in Hawaiian account will count towards lifetime status for Alaska once the accounts trasfer/merge?

xc

I cant make a laining on this for the life of me “The combined airline must maintain a minimum dollar value for all miles in the new loyalty program, measured by the guest-facing value of miles redeemed for carrier-operated flights”

cook

Hawaiian CC currently offers 2 free checked bags, how likely is Alaska to honor the baggage allowance post merger?

Mordy

If I get the Hawaii cc will Alaska honor the free checked bag allowance?

rick

hey folks.. late to the party but am i safe to xfer miles now (without the 20% bonus sigh) to Hawaiian to be moved to Alaska in the near future ?

David

Is it smart to get Hawaiian card now for the 70k miles?

Sruly

Anyway around the transfer fee from amex to hawaiin?

efs183

It wouldn’t surprise me to see AA tighten up it’s award buckets to AS since low level awards are going to be impossible to get for AAdvantage members. This rush of newly Amex minted AS miles is might force AA or other OW partners to pull a United move and whack availability to AS.

Be careful what you wish for, since AS can’t devalue – doesn’t mean the AS’s partners wont take steps to protect thier programs.

Jb

Are all transfers instant?
Amex to Hawaiian
Hawaiian to Alaska

Usher

Hi Dan, can AmEx stop to allow transfers to Hawaiian at anytime? Since i have some amex points pending and Don’t wanna pay twice $99?

Leo

Do alaska miles expire ?

Mr L

Is 150k for qsuites worth?

Sruly

Whats the cancelation and change policy with Alaska flights?

MF

2 months too late
imagine booking elal nyc-tlv with 70k amex points

CtownBin

I think this happening so fast- before AMEX transfers to Hawaiian go away- is going to be bad for us. It means that it’s too easy to get Alaska miles, since you can do AMEX>Hawaiian and Hawaiian> Alaska at the same time, so it’s essentially AMEX>Alaska. This means a ton of AS miles in the market now hitting the sweet spots hard, and Alaska is going to have a HUGE devaluation even sooner. I had anticipated AMEX>Hawaiian going away in conjunction with the merger and Hawaiian>Alaska being possible.

as

Exactly right. Common sense here ^^^^

Alf1333

What about applying for Hawaiian credit cards now. I guess now is the time.

IL

Anyone else getting an era when trying to transfer? I keep getting an era.

Reuven Levinson

Website is down

A

Sorry, we cannot complete this request at this time. Please contact Customer Support if the error persists.

meyer

What is the cancelation policy for Alaskan and Hawaiian award redemption?

Eli

Heavy delay on transfers Amex>Hawaiian

Shmuli Reinitz

They keep on refunding my transfers. Are transfers down?

Joe

Same here

skeptik

here comes the devaluation of Alaskan miles?

Kurius

do I have to do the transfer or will Hawaiin and the Alaska accounts just merge after a while on their own without me doing anything?

Joe

Anyone else unable to transfer from AMEX to Hawaiian right now? It says it goes through, but then minutes later it gets refunded with no warning or explanation.

Usher

Seemsike game over, just chatted with Amex and they did the transfer for me & got rejected & they told me that the airline is rejecting it…

Garr

Hard to find any good redemptions for Alaska business now

Shmuel

Transfers from Amex working again!

Mont reid

Getting “not eligible for this exchange” message trying to transfer from ha to alaska. Anyone with this? Name, address and phone all match up

Shmuel

I have seen that anyone with a two letter name has been having issues

montreid

TY – That’s us – darn Chinese names. 😀

Agoldsc1

I noticed that the Hawaiian website says that “Miles transferred into a HawaiianMiles account from another program may not be transferred to another loyalty program.” Maybe too many people have been transferring Amex–>Hawaiian–>Alaska and they want to close the loophole? In any event, just a heads up in case anyone is considering a large transfer.

Chain

So how do I transfer from Hawaiian to Alaska? Under the option share miles? It ask for Hawaiian acct number. does it mean My Alaska number?

IL

Does anyone else get an era message when trying to transfer the Hawaiian mile to Alaska. I get it when I try signing into the Alaska account when directed by the transfer site.

Alex

Trying to transfer from Hawaiin to Alsaka, and keep getting an error message saying “We’re sorry. Something went wrong. If you continue to see this error, please contact your loyalty program’s support team.”

yankel

getting the following error message when attempting transfer from Hawaiian to Alaska, and the names on account match. any ideas?

“You are not eligible for this exchange. Please check the FAQ section for more details or contact your Loyalty provider.”

Jonathan

Does it still make sense to transfer Amex points to Hawaiian (and subsequently transfer to Alaska)? Was looking at Coach class NY to LA flights (say at least 2 months out) and it seems more expensive to use Alaska Airlines miles (getting just $0.008 per point value) than to pay in dollars…what are the best routes to get more than $0.01 per Amex point value on Alaska Airlines flights or Alaska Airlines partners flights?

Myi

What’s the cancellation policy with an award ticket?

Mosh

And sure enough American block all their business class seats with Alaska. Oh well…

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