Travel Deal of the Day (April 24, 2008)

As has been publicized recently, the number of seats between the mainland US and Hawaii has decreased substantially recently due to airline shutdowns. If you are planning on using frequent flyer points to get you to/from Hawaii, the airline shutdowns may make it even more difficult to find seats available using frequent flyer miles. But there are still ways to use your miles.

The Deal:
Here are some ways to use your frequent flyer miles for your upcoming trip to/from Hawaii:

(1) If you are searching for economy class seats that will require you to use the fewest miles possible (on most airlines, 35K miles for an economy class ticket between mainland US and Hawaii), check all days of the week and all partner airlines. Availability for popular travel days such as Friday and Sunday (or days near holiday weekends) will be first to go. Sometimes seats using miles open up at the last minute - so if you are able to plan a last minute trip, you may have good luck finding seats available using miles. Also, check availability using an airline’s partners. This will likely require calling the airline. Even if you have to pay a booking fee (for using the services of a phone agent at the airline), the fee is well worth it if you are able to find free seats for your Hawaiian holiday. Note than many airlines will let you spend double miles to buy any economy class seat that is for sale (usually 70K miles), but I consider that a bad value for your miles in almost all situations.

(2) Look into using your miles for a free trip in First Class. For a long (usually overnight) trip, it may be worth it for you to spend extra miles and fly First Class to and from Hawaii. Most airlines now charge 75K miles roundtrip between the mainland and Hawaii. Definitely look into this option if all economy class seats at the 35K level have already been sold. It is a far better option to spend 75K roundtrip miles for a first class ticket than to spend 70K miles for a more costly economy ticket to Hawaii.

(3) If economy and first class seats available using miles are sold out, consider buying an economy class ticket and using miles to upgrade the tickets to First Class. Many airlines offer this option for a limited number of seats. There are a few caveats here – (1) before buying non-refundable economy class tickets, ensure that those flights are available for upgrades using miles to first class & (2) some airlines now charge a “co-pay” fee in addition to frequent flyer miles to upgrade a paid coach ticket to first class. You must factor a “co-pay” fee into your total airfare cost to verify if using miles is a wise choice.