Starting on 4/28, Southwest will begin flying between the Hawaiian Islands. Currently Hawaiian Airlines has a practical monopoly on most of these routes and you can pay $80-$100 for a one-way 30 minute puddle jumper, plus bag fees.
Southwest will utilize their planes to fly between the islands in order to maximize their aircraft utilization. They plan to rapidly grow in Hawaii, so their interisland schedule will grow as well.
Flights between Honolulu and Maui begin April 28. You can fly on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Saturdays for $28 each way (1,379 points), Mondays or Thursdays for $38 each way (2,105 points), and Sundays or Fridays for $58 each way (3,556 points) through June 23. Summer travel dates will be $48-$58 each way.
Flights between Honolulu and Kona begin May 12. You can fly on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Saturdays for $28 each way, Mondays or Thursdays for $38 each way, and Sundays or Fridays for $58 each way through June 23. Summer travel dates will be $48-$58 each way (2,830-3,556 points).
You can use Southwest’s low fare calendar to help find valid dates.
Plus with Southwest you’ll get 2 free checked bags and there are no fees to cancel your flight. Read more about Southwest benefits here.
For now, Southwest doesn’t pose a major threat to Hawaiian’s interisland operation. But I can see it growing rapidly if Hawaiian doesn’t respond with lower fares and free checked bags.
Chase points transfer to Southwest at a 1:1 ratio.
Chase premium cards with transferable points include:
- Chase Sapphire Reserve
- $450 annual fee, $300 in annual travel credit, 50K points signup bonus, earn 3 points per dollar on dining/travel, 50% bonus value on using points for paid travel redemptions, Global Entry/Pre-check, Priority Pass lounge access.
- Chase Sapphire Preferred
- $95 annual fee waived for first year, 50K points signup bonus, earn 2 points per dollar on dining/travel, 25% bonus value on using points for paid travel redemptions.
- Chase Ink Business Preferred
- $95 annual fee, 80K points signup bonus, earn 3 points per dollar on select business spending and travel, 25% bonus value on using points for paid travel redemptions.
Chase no annual fee cards with transferable points if you, a spouse, or an additional user have one of the premium cards above include:
- Chase Freedom Card
- No annual fee, 15K points signup bonus, earn 5 points per dollar in rotating categories.
- Chase Freedom Unlimited Card
- No annual fee, 15K points signup bonus, earn 1.5 points per dollar everywhere.
- Chase Ink Business Unlimited Card
- No annual fee, 50K points signup bonus, earn 1.5 points per dollar everywhere.
- Chase Ink Business Cash Card
- No annual fee, 50K points signup bonus, earn up to 5 points per dollar.
You can also earn Southwest points on Southwest branded cards:
- Chase Southwest Business Premier card
- Chase Southwest Consumer Priority card
- Chase Southwest Consumer Premier card
- Chase Southwest Consumer Plus card
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Which island is the best to travel to for the first time? With a wife and a young child.
More info in the last post:
https://www.dansdeals.com/airfare-deals/hawaii-flights/southwest-now-selling-tickets-hawaii-intro-fares-48-1950-points-way/
My dad first took me to Maui @ 9 years old. I had a great time and from what I remember, plenty of kid friendly things to do at Grand Wailea.
Dan, I have a Hawaii related question for you – What is the best way to get from NYC to Hawaii first class with reward miles / points? I’ve tried to look for Singapore & Korean deals but the availability is basically non-existent for Delta & United first class saver flights. United’s first class saver availability is about 1 flight per month and doesn’t become available until a few weeks before the flight. Is United for 90k miles each way really the only option if you can’t wait until the last minute and that one saver flight option doesn’t work?
It looks like it will be a cheap year to fly to, and around, Hawaii. Just be aware that outside of Oahu hotel and car rental prices are high in Hawaii (the demise of Mexico tourism seems to have already made Hawaii irresistible to West Coast vacationers) and the new competition is almost certain to make them even higher. I’m wondering if we will see something like an “Iceland situation” where a rapid increase in cheap flights lead to material over-crowding and sky high prices on the ground.
Looks like all low cost gone
Now 13000 miles lowest
24000 miles average one way
Still not bad