We knew this situation would be coming at a certain point – the question was just when. Well, it appears that we now have an answer, as the Amex-Hawaiian transfers are ending soon, as noted via the Membership Rewards transfer tool.
The Alaska-Hawaiian merger created a fantastic opportunity to finally transfer credit card points to Alaska Mileage Plan, which isn’t something we’ve traditionally been able to do before. However, thanks to Hawaiian Air’s existing transfer partnership with Membership Rewards, plus Alaska-Hawaiian mileage transfers going live late in September 2024, Amex Membership Rewards points are now transferrable to Alaska Mileage Plan by way of HawaiianMiles. But as we all know, that arrangement was too good to last, and the Amex-Hawaiian transfers are ending soon. So, transfer your points while you still can!
Amex-Hawaiian Transfers are Ending Soon
Back in November 2024, TPG sat down with Alaska Airlines’ VP of Loyalty, Sales, and Alliances, Brett Catlin, to talk about coming changes he was overseeing as it relates to the merger. The discussion focused primarily lounges and loyalty programs, but the topic of the Amex relationship came up, too. At the time, Catlin said that he’s not a fan of the arrangement and that it would end when Hawaiian’s current contract with Amex expires. Unfortunately, he didn’t say when that would be. Apparently, though, that time is nearly here, as the Amex-Hawaiian transfers are ending soon.
How soon, you ask? According to numerous notifications in the Membership Rewards section of Amex’s website and app, the ability to transfer Membership Rewards point to HawaiianMiles is ending on June 30, 2025.
This opened up fantastic new opportunities for HawaiianMiles members, as Alaska Mileage Plan’s award chart has sweet spots for some popular travel destinations from Hawai’i, while also doing the same for Alaska Mileage Plan members.
Other Changes
While the fact that Amex-Hawaiian transfer are ending soon is the most immediate change coming to HawaiianMiles, there are larger ones on the horizon, too. The biggest of these is the launch of the new, unified loyalty program in August. The fine details, however, remain vague. For example, we don’t know how quickly the transition will take.
Moreover, while we know that the Barclays HawaiianMiles card will vanish some day, there’s still no timeline for this. However, word has it that the new premium card will launch at the same time as the new program.
Finally, though the Hawaiian-Amex partnership is coming to an end, the Alaska-BILT relationship will continue on as the combined loyalty program’s exclusive transfer partner. I suppose, they’re more ok with this relationship, as the market for BILT is much narrower than Amex. Yes, it’s a very popular program, but not everyone can make use of it. Plus, I wouldn’t be surprised if BILT pays more than Amex currently does.
Final Thoughts
There you have it. We knew that loyalty changes were on the way this year, especially since the combined program is coming soon. However, it’s nice to get a timeframe on the new premium Mileage Plan credit card. Moreover, we now know that the Amex-Hawaiian partnership is ending very soon. While that’s a bummer, it’s nice that we aren’t in limbo anymore.