You Can Now Transfer AMEX Points to AlaskaAir

A major subplot of the Alaska takeover of Hawaiian Airlines has been speculation over the fate of the merged company's mileage plans. Speculation ran rampant on three important questions:

  • Would their two loyalty programs merge into Alaska MilagePlan?
  • Would Alaska honor Hawaiian Miles at 1:1 rate?
  • How would the merge effect the ability to transfer AMEX Membership Rewards points to Hawaiian?

A Bank-Partner Conflict

The last question was pretty noteworthy, because Hawaiian and Alaska have different bank partners for their credit card portfolios. Hawaiian is a partner with BarclayCard for its credit card products, and is a points transfer partner of AMEX. Alaska issues its credit cards through BofA and has no major bank points transfer partner. Perhaps not coincidentally, Alaska miles have retained their value arguably the most of any US carrier in recent years.

The Side Door Is Open

Well, when the deal closed we got some clarity on the points most concerning the points and miles hobbyists:
  • The new company will maintain both brands, and, for now, both loyalty programs
  • Miles will be interchangeable between Hawaiian and Alaska at a 1-to-1 ratio, and most interestingly:
  • AMEX points will continue transferring to Hawaiian, which means they newly (indirectly) transfer to Alaska!
We might have Mayor Pete to thank for that last point. He'd coincidentally put the US airlines on notice recently regarding the possibility of consumer protections on miles valuations, and it seems a thumb might have been on the scale for Alaska MileagePlan concessions in order to secure federal approval of the merger.

But The Hinges Are Rusty

There have been widespread reports since the deal closed that AMEX points were not actually transferring to Hawaiian and perhaps something was afoot. But I can confirm, having personally transferred MR to Hawaiian today the functionality indeed works, but with a frequent rates of errors. I had to attempt my transfer three times before it finally went through. You may experience similar. But it does work! I also transferred miles from Hawaiian to Alaska to book an AA partner award today and that process went without a hitch.

Should I Transfer Now?

My usual advice holds: don't throw miles speculatively at programs for bookings you might hypothetically make. It's possible this avenue of transfer will close at some point, but we should get some notice given the changing political winds. But if you see an award you want to book, do so right away with my blessing.

Tad's Take

Being able to transfer AMEX MR (and Hawaiian miles) to Alaska 1:1 is an unexpected win for all of us with balances in the former two programs. While Alaska hasn't been immune from devaluations, it continues to have sweet spots (like domestic AA bookings) and represents a better value than most peers at this point.