It’s no secret that we love traveling in premium cabins here at TPG, and there’s no better feeling than redeeming your hard-earned points and miles for top-notch luxury travel experiences. Whether you’re booking business class or first class using points and miles, it’s rewarding to know you’ve paid a fraction of the cash price.
However, there are times when frequent flyer programs offer discounts on purchasing miles or provide bonus miles on top of your purchase. These offers can provide great value, especially if you’re low on miles or saving up for a more ambitious redemption.
I recently used a Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles sale to purchase miles to upgrade to first class on Hawaiian’s new 787-9 Dreamliner for half the price of a cash ticket.
Here’s how I did it — and how you can use Second Sales to do the same.
Related: Buy bonus points and miles with this promotion
HawaiianMiles sale
I looked into buying miles to redeem for a one-way ticket to Honolulu. However, at the time, Hawaiian was charging 80,000 miles to fly on the Dreamliner. This would be equivalent to buying 40,000 miles for $1,000 and receiving another 40,000, with a 100% bonus.
Cash fares for first class ranged between $850 and $1,200 on my dates of interest, so it wouldn’t have been a huge deal. Additionally, I won’t earn miles on redemption, whereas I would on a cash ticket.
Upgrading cash tickets with Hawaiian miles
Then the best-value option became clear: buying a cheap main cabin cash ticket on a Dreamliner route and upgrading to first class using Hawaiian miles. Flights between the West Coast and Hawaii cost 25,000 miles to upgrade to the Saver level (A fare class).
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My first step was to confirm that my preferred date did, in fact, have saver-level availability. For this, I turned to ExpertFlyer (owned by Red Ventures, TPG’s parent company) and searched for that date, looking specifically for Dreamliner flights.
I then bought three tickets for me and my family for about $210.
Because I was traveling in a group of three, I needed 75,000 miles to upgrade. With the 100% bonus, that meant buying 38,000 miles (Hawaiian only sells miles in increments of 1,000).
Within minutes of purchase, 76,000 miles (38,000 plus 100% bonus) were credited to my HawaiianMiles account.
Unfortunately, mileage upgrades on cash fares can only be done over the phone or through Hawaiian’s chat function.
After a quick call with a friendly customer service agent, all three of our tickets were upgraded to first class on Hawaiian’s Dreamliner. Total cost of each ticket $532 — $210 for cash tickets plus $322 in miles purchased with 100% bonus during recent sales. This saved me hundreds of dollars compared to the cash price of the flight.
Consider transferring Alaska miles to Hawaiian
Although the HawaiianMiles sale has ended, The Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan is currently selling miles with bonuses through Monday. During this sale, you can get up to 60% bonus on purchased miles.
Remember, Alaska miles transfer to Hawaiian at a 1:1 ratio, and although this sale doesn’t offer a 100% bonus, it’s worth looking into if you’re looking to book Hawaiian first class or other Oneworld partner award tickets.
Even if you’re not planning on flying Hawaiian anytime soon, Alaska Airlines offers many sweet spot redemptions, so it might make sense to buy miles to book one of those award tickets.
Tips for upgrading Hawaiian Airlines flights with points and miles
If you want to book first class on Hawaiian Airlines, the best way is to find economy-level availability and upgrade to an economy ticket. According to Hawaiian’s upgrade chartA one-way upgrade to a first- or business-class saver fare between North America and Hawaii is 25,000 miles.
The easiest way to find saver-level availability is through expertflyer.com using the “Award and Upgrade Availability” function.
Looking ahead to spring break dates in 2025, March 9 and March 10 at New York’s John F. There is reasonable accessibility from Kennedy International Airport (JFK). To upgrade a Hawaiian economy ticket to first class, you must book in the main cabin.
A one-way main cabin ticket is $469, while a first-class ticket is $1,627.
By purchasing 18,000 miles through Alaska Airlines by Monday, you’ll receive a 40% bonus, giving you a total of 25,200 miles at a cost of $532.13 ($495 plus a 7.5% tax recovery fee). Combining the price of a main cabin ticket and the cost of buying miles, you can sit in first class for a flight over 11 hours for about $1,000 — or about 40% cheaper than paying cash for a first-class ticket on these dates. .
If you’re ready to fly the new Hawaiian Airlines Dreamliner, flights to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in the main cabin are as cheap as $179 one-way. With up to nine seats available to upgrade to saver level, purchasing an economy ticket and upgrading to first can cost as little as $711, a great price for a premium product.
RELATED: How to Upgrade Your Seat on Hawaiian Airlines
Maximizing Alaska Mileage Plan sales for other redemptions
Another way to maximize current Alaska Airlines mile sales is to purchase miles for redemption with oneworld carriers or partner airlines through a mileage plan. Alaska depends on region and distance An award chart with some sweet spots that can maximize the value you get from buying miles.
For example, if you want to see Machu Picchu in 2025, you can fly in business class on the John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Jorge Chavez International Airport (LIM) can fly for 35,000 miles one-way.
By purchasing 24,000 miles with the 50% bonus, you’ll get a total of 36,000 miles for $660. That’s quite a bargain, the cash fare for the same route is around $1,700.
RELATED: The Best Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Sweet Spot Redemptions You Can Book
Another way to maximize current sales is to redeem miles for interregional flights, such as flights within East Asia or Australia. A one-way flight to East Asia in business class is 15,000 miles, which would cost about $325 to buy with current bonuses. These are roughly four-hour flights that can cost anywhere from $500-800 for a paid ticket.
Alaska also has a generous stopover policy for award tickets, which can be a great way to maximize miles purchased. Although the routing rules aren’t as flexible as Aeroplan’s stopover scheme, there’s still a great chance to get two trips out of one redemption.
Other ways to earn Hawaiian and Alaska miles
You can transfer American Express membership rewards point to Hawaiian Airlines at a 1:1 ratio, and transfers are usually instant.
A great way to earn lots of Membership Rewards points is by taking advantage of the generous welcome offers on Amex cards. Here are some of our favorites:
- Platinum Card® from American Express: Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $8,000 on purchases in your first six months of card membership. However, some readers have been targeted for up to a 100,000-point bonus using the CardMatch tool (offer subject to change at any time). Conditions apply.
- American Express® Gold Card: Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first six months of card membership.
- The Business Platinum Card® from American Express: Earn 150,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $20,000 on eligible purchases in the first three months of card membership.
- American Express® Business Gold Card: Earn 100,000 bonus points after spending $15,000 on eligible purchases in the first three months of card membership.
An easy way to increase your Alaska Mileage Plan balance, which you can either transfer to HawaiianMiles or redeem through the Mileage Plan, Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® Credit Card: New applicants can receive 70,000 bonus miles and Alaska’s Companion Fare ($99 fare plus $23 in taxes and fees) after spending $3,000 or more on purchases within the first 90 days of account opening.
The bottom line
If you think you missed the ball on the HawaiianMiles sale and a chance to score cheap first-class seats in Hawaii, there’s still time to take advantage of the current Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan sale. Thanks to the Alaska-Hawaiian merger, you can transfer miles between the two instantly and at no cost.
Earning up to 60% bonus miles is a great way to load up on Alaska miles, historically the hardest airline miles to earn. Don’t wait too long, because the sale ends on Monday.