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Objective:
Learn how to book reward travel from the west coast of North America to Hawaii using the most cost effective rewards programs.
Learning Outcomes:
- Learn why reward travel to ‘sun’ destinations is often poor value.
- Learn which programs to use for travel to Hawaii from the west coast, and why choosing the right program matters, and ways to earn program specific points.
- Learn how to search for award availability to Hawaii using British Airways Executive club.
- Learn how to complete the booking process.
Suggested Prerequisites:
- Beginner’s Guide
- An Introduction To Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
- Using Google Flights To Search Route Networks
How To Redeem Points For Your Hawaii Vacation
For travelers located on the west coast, there is a great opportunity to use British Airways Executive Club (Avios) for flights to Hawaii for the same price as many programs North American routes.
But hang on…British Airways offers flights from Vancouver to Hawaii?
Well, not exactly. British Airways partners with Alaska Airlines, and they have various non-stop flights from Alaska, California, Oregon, and Washington State .
While Alaska charges between 35,000 and 60,000 Mileage Plan miles for flights from North America to Hawaii, British Airways charges only 25,000 miles due to their distance based reward chart.
Distance based reward pricing is generally terrible value for long-haul routes, but there is a lot of value to be had in regional travel or niche routings like west coast to Hawaii.
Since the flight is only being operated by Alaska Airlines, but booked through British Airways, the Executive Club pricing prevails.
British Airways Avios points are relatively easy for Canadians to obtain:
- 1:1 transfer ratio from American Express Membership Rewards
- 1:1 transfer ratio from RBC Rewards
- 1:1.25 transfer ratio from Starwood Preferred Guest to Executive Club, when transferred in 20,000 point increments
- The RBC British Airways Visa Infinite card
- Flights on British Airways, or any Oneworld partner airlines
- Stays at participating hotels
Check out the post ‘How To Earn British Airways Points Quickly’ for more information on earning rewards.
How To Search For Award Space
British Airways doesn’t actively display flights on Alaska Airlines when using the Executive Club search tool. However, flights can be easily searched using Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan.
To search Mileage plan, simply:
- Check “Use miles”
- Enter your “From” origin.
- Enter your “To” destination.
When the results populate, you need to remember two very important conditions:
- You need to find a direct route, as British Airways charges per segment, rather than total distance flown. Adding a connection will cost a minimum of 15,000 Avios miles round trip per ticket, which would generally represent poor value.
- British Airways will only have access to the seats priced at 17,500 miles, so look for any direct routes with that price. Alaska Airlines has different mileage redemption rates, starting at 17,500 one way from North America to Hawaii, and going up to 30,000 miles.
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