For decades, Hawaii was the crown jewel of airline award travel within the US. It was where you redeemed miles after stockpiling them all year or longer. But increasingly, travelers are saying it is no longer worth it.
What used to be a relatively easy redemption is now a struggle. Availability is tight, prices are up, upgrades are scarce, and the experience has changed. The individuals making these claims are not new to loyalty programs. Many are longtime members who used to book Hawaii year after year. Now, they are shifting their miles elsewhere.
Miles don’t stretch as far, and upgrades are harder to get.
Redemption levels have climbed across all programs. An economy ticket that once cost 35,000 miles round-trip now often requires 60,000 or more. Premium cabins regularly hit six figures, with little consistency or transparency. Dynamic pricing has made redemptions unpredictable and frustrating.
We have still found some value ourselves through perseverance and tenacity. For example, we have a lie-flat Hawaiian Airlines First Class award flight scheduled for tomorrow, which costs 70,000 miles, and an Alaska economy award for 35,000 miles next week. And another First Class award upgrade on Hawaiian to lie-flat for just 25,000 per person.
Compared to the cost of purchasing all these tickets, the value was better using miles. Yes, redemptions are still possible, but they have become harder to spot and are generally more conditional than ever. Saver space appears sporadically, and it often takes tools, timing, and transferable points to make it work.
Upgrades, in particular, have become the exception. Confirmable upgrade space has become harder and more complex, except for the most elite passengers. That has been true for quite some time. Other travelers echo the same trend. Upgrade space is often limited to waitlists that may or may not ever clear, or are tied to high fare classes. That has made using miles feel more like a gamble than an easy reward for loyalty.
The experience on board isn’t what it used to be.
Aircraft are changing, too. Widebodies with lie-flat seats and in-flight entertainment are being replaced on some routes by narrowbody jets with standard recliners and limited service. That makes it harder to justify the cost in terms of dollars or miles. Travelers who once viewed Hawaii as a premium destination are finding the product downgraded, even while the price climbs.
The expectation of an exceptional flight experience has become a wildcard. One traveler summed it up this way: they booked a trip for the lie-flat seat and ended up in a seat they would have never spent miles on, had they known.
When you spend tens to hundreds of thousands of miles on a trip, that kind of shift matters. The perception of value is slipping fast.
Hawaii hotel redemptions are following the same pattern.
It is not just the flights. Hotels that used to offer substantial value for points are now variable-priced and harder to justify. Oceanfront properties that were once 50,000 points per night can now top 100,000 during peak season. Even when using a certificate, fees may still apply.
One reader told us, “Even with a free night certificate, my ‘zero-dollar’ stay came with $147 in resort and destination fees.”
That has pushed some travelers to book Hawaii travel through OTAs instead of loyalty programs. In some cases, a cash booking through an online site offers a better deal than redeeming points, even at the same hotel.
For some, the redemptions are still there, albeit barely.
Not everyone has written off Hawaii as an award travel destination. Some travelers are still managing to score award tickets and make the math work, especially during off-peak times or with partner programs that have not fully adopted dynamic pricing.
However, that has become the exception, rather than the rule. What used to be a reliable value play now requires daily searches, flexible dates, knowledge of fare buckets, and sometimes the use of third-party tools. For most travelers, that is too much effort for an award that used to be relatively straightforward.
And when loyalty programs raise redemption costs without warning — as recently happened with HawaiianMiles, where award flights jumped as high as 250,000 miles one way — travelers take notice. You can read more about that in our article, HawaiianMiles quietly rewritten: Travelers now face 250K award flights.
We have heard from many readers who feel let down if not outright misled. Some are canceling their airline credit cards. Others say they are abandoning airline loyalty altogether and just using up as many miles as they can.
The ripple effect goes beyond loyalty programs.
There is a broader message here, especially for Hawaii. The travelers who are moving on are often the ones who came back using awards every year. They were not just filling seats. They were booking longer stays, spending more per trip, and influencing others to follow.
When those travelers start looking elsewhere, it is no longer just a mileage story. It is a warning sign and it signals something deeper. It means the islands may be losing ground not only in value, but also in trust and emotional connection. And that’s the kind of shift no algorithm can patch.
Do you agree or disagree? We welcome your comments.
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