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Until recently, you could transfer Hawaiian Airlines miles to Hilton hotel points at a 1:2 ratio. But Hawaiian has changed their policy, and it’s not as good anymore!
What’s Changed?
You could convert 1 Hawaiian Airlines mile into 2 Hilton hotel points, and you had to transfer in increments of 5,000 Hawaiian Airlines miles.
Now, the ratio is only 1 Hawaiian mile to 1.5 Hilton hotel points, and you have to transfer in increments of 10,000 points!
You’re getting 25% less Hilton points for transferring the same number of Hawaiian miles, and you can’t move less than 10,000 miles at a time. You still have to call Hawaiian Airlines at 877-426-4537 to make the transfer, and it can take 10 to 15 business days for the Hilton hotel points to show-up in your account.
Changes happen and it’s the nature of the miles and points hobby. That’s why miles & points sitting in your accounts really have no value until you go out and use them!
What About the Barclays Hawaiian Airlines Card Bonus?
Link: Barclays Hawaiian Airlines Card
Link: My review of the Barclays Hawaiian Airlines card
The old transfer ratio worked out well for folks who got the Hawaiian Airlines card, with a bonus of 35,000 Hawaiian miles after spending $1,000 in the 1st 3 months.
I wrote how to transfer the 35,000 Hawaiian miles bonus to 70,000 Hilton points. That translates into 14 nights at a Hilton Category 1 hotel, or 1 night at Hilton’s top Category 10 hotels, like the Conrad Tokyo.
This was a good deal if you needed more Hilton points, and a better deal than signing-up for the American Express Hilton HHonors card (50,000 point sign-up bonus) or the Citi Hilton HHonors Visa card (40,000 or 50,000 point sign-up bonus, depending on the card version).
Now, you’ll only be able to transfer 30,000 Hawaiian Airlines miles (because you can only transfer in 10,000 miles increments). And you’ll only get 45,000 Hilton hotels points in the transfer (30,000 Hawaiian Airlines miles x 1.5 Hilton hotel points).
If You Transfer Your Hawaiian Sign-Up Bonus to Hilton Now, You’ll Get Less Nights at Lower Categories
If you really need Hilton points for an upcoming stay, this might still be a good deal for you. But it may not be worth it otherwise.
Just Like Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic changed their transfer ratio last month, too. I liked using miles for Hilton stays instead of flights, because award tickets on Virgin Atlantic cost so much in taxes and fees. I’m not very happy about getting less Hilton points for my Virgin Atlantic miles.
Bottom Line
You used to be able to transfer Hawaiian Airlines miles to Hilton hotel points at a 1:2 ratio. But that’s now changed to 1 Hawaiian Airlines mile = 1.5 Hilton hotel points. And, you have to transfer 10,000 points at once.
This makes converting the sign-up bonus of 35,000 miles on the Barclays Hawaiian Airlines card to Hilton hotel points much less lucrative. If you need Hilton points, you’ll get better sign-up bonuses from other cards, like the American Express Hilton HHonors or the Citi Hilton Honors Visa Signature. Or the Citi Hilton Reserve which gets you 2 free weekend nights.
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“Fewer”, darling, not “less”. Xoxo
Actually, you aren’t getting LESS points, you’re getting FEWER points.
when is this change effective? I have a trade pending.
Actually you are getting less points (than before). The grammar gestapo are out in force. Watch out Daraius!
Darius,
Maybe you should also note that Hilton points can be transfer to American express rewards points at a 1.5 rate. I would take 33,000 amex points compare to 50k hilton since amex can transfer to other airlines as well
While I certainly <3 Daraius all the time, in this instance Bobbi and JD win.
From Grammar Girl:.
NevertheLESS, I'll still use your referral link for the AMEX HHonors card and Citi Hilton Reserve. =]
I <3 Susan.
I <3 Susan too! Thanks for your support!
More offensive than Kent C's incorrect insistence on "fewer" is his use of Gestapo (unless he thinks Bobbi and I were planning to torture and kill Darius and his family for using faulty grammar). People who bandy about words like Gestapo and Holocaust have no understanding of their historical context.
@Ted – I believe it has been in place for a while.
@Raymond – You can’t transfer Hilton points to Membership Rewards, but can transfer from Membership Rewards to Hilton.
@Susan – Thanks for the comment and the link!
Darius,
Are you sure? I just went to the HHonors and said I could transfer 1,000 american express membership rewards with 1,500 points.
Sorry you are right!
Darius,
You are right that on the Hawaiian website it says 1 to 1.5 transfer to Hilton. I was disappointed that I had missed the 1:2 ratio, and went ahead and did the trade.
To my pleasant surprise the transfer posted to my Hilton account on 4 April 2014 and the ratio was 15,000 Hawaiian points for 30,000 Hilton. I have triple, double, quadruple checked it and sure enough the 1:2 ratio still held for this recent transaction.
@Steve – I like those kind of surprises. Thanks for sharing!