They Used To Save Miles For Hawaii. Not Anymore.

Above, Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu. Photo by Armand Vaquer..

Airline mileage award programs used to be relatively easy. People accrued airline mileage over a year or more and redeemed them for economic travel.

One of the places they used to redeem their mileages was Hawaii. It appears to be no longer the case.

According to Beat of Hawaii:

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.

To read more, go here.