Earlier this morning I wrote about needing to keep close track of the expiration date of your Hawaiian Miles. However, during my 45 minutes on the phone, the rep told me about a special, phone-only increased sign-up offer for the Hawaiian Airlines MasterCard from Barclays.
If you call Hawaiian Airlines customer service at 1-877-HA-MILES (1-877-426-4537) and have them transfer you to Barclays, they would authorize a sign-up bonus of 50,000 miles upon spending $1,000 in your first 3 months as a card member. This is well above the normal sign-up bonus of 35,000 miles (which is all that you’ll see online), and a great deal for anyone looking to go to Hawaii. But is this a card worth getting?
First, the sign-up bonus. 50,000 miles for spending $1,000 in 3 months is more than reasonable, and one of the best point-per-spend sign-up bonuses you will find. On Hawaiian Airlines, it’s more than enough for a roundtrip economy award from North America to Hawaii.
Second, it has an additional perk of a one-time 50%-off companion discount on roundtrip economy flights to/from North America, which is good on any paid economy class fare within your first 13 months as a card member.
A final interesting perk is that when you pay the $89 annual fee on your card member anniversary, you get $100-off one economy class companion ticket. The same terms apply as with the 50% discount, providing a nice way to offset the annual fee if you plan to travel to Hawaii once a year.
I couldn’t pass up a chance to earn that many miles for such a small spend, so I took them up on it. And remember, this is NOT available online. You must call Hawaiian Airlines at 1-877-HA-MILES (1-877-426-4537), tell them you heard about the increased sign-up bonus on the card and ask to be transferred to Barclays.
Michael Prodanovich is a contributor to Point Me to the Plane, and author of The Ultimate Guide to Free Travel
The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
11 comments
It actually is available online if you go through the booking process for a flight. On the last screen just before paying, an ad for the 50,000 mile card pops up. I have been able to reproduce this on multiple accounts and browsers. I guess there is a chance that all of my accounts are targeted, but I doubt it. Hope this helps someone.
Oh cool, good to know! Hopefully that is the case, and people can do it the easier way as opposed to having to call in and go through the application process on the phone.
I don’t think its worth wasting an application on HA unless you perhaps fly them. Their miles are not worth a lot, I would consider 50K Hawaiian miles to worth about 25K United miles.
They are worth more than a penny to me. 7,500 points for island hopping. It is a nice tool to have in your bag if you travel to Hawaii frequently. It seems like we end up island hopping for fun or necessity because of mainland award availability. $89 for 50,000 Hawaiian miles is a great deal for our family. We play two player mode on this every couple years.
Last time I checked 50k offer shows up after you mock book a flight. Also HA in-flight application form has 50K points offer. I picked one up during my previous flight to Maui. 35K points will get you a round trip from west coast to Hawaii.
Thankful for these updates.. We love our Barclays, Hawaiian Air Miles.. Go one to 2 Xs per yr. Very Informative article. MichaelProdaNovich
[…] miles reinstated, and the subsequent supposed phone-only offer which was presented to me on how to get a 50,000 mile sign-up bonus on the Hawaiian Airlines MasterCard from Barclays. In the latter post, many people commented that […]
Thanks for writing this article! Quick question – can I book a flight with points and use the 50% off a companion ticket in the same booking?
Looks like from your notes that would be a no? Since it has to be a paid flight.
Good question, and your assumption is correct, it must be a paid economy-class fare, and then you get the second ticket at 50% off of the price that you paid for the first.
do you get the bonus points as soon as you hit the $1000 spending or at the end of 3 months?
The bonus points posted at the end of the billing statement in which I hit the spend amount, so if you spend it on day one, you’ll see the bonus points at the end of your first month.