A major milestone in my credit (re)building, post-bankruptcy story is an approval for the 1st airline and frequent flyer miles card I have ever had in my possession. Tonight, I got my wish!
During a recent trip to Hawaii, I somewhat-on-a-whim took an application from a flight attendant for the Hawaiian Airlines World Elite MasterCard by Bank of Hawaii. What can I say - their in-flight sales pitch clicked with me so I figured, why not? For a $99 annual fee, I'd never complain about extra miles for future trips to the Islands - with things like free checked bags on a Flagship Carrier of which I have great respect for.
I filled out the application and dropped in the mail while still in Hawaii - kind of old-school, but added to the novelty plus there was an in-flight promo code written on the back. Over a week later, I heard nothing. So earlier today, I called customer service just for a lark. I was greeted with a proper Aloha, then given the outstanding news of my APPROVAL! Card should be shipped out later this week, or early next.
Credit line is $1,500 = pretty run-of-the-mill for me, at least right now. That was about all the rep could see given how new the account was, so I told her Mahalo and that I looked forward to traveling with Hawaiian again soon.
For years and years, travel cards of this sort of tier seemed elusive and borderline impossible to me - only accessible by those with XX million dollars in assets, ridiculous houses, multiple luxury cars, insane jobs, and so on. This sort of approval really offers some perspective not only on how far I've come, but also what lies ahead.
ALOHA!! 
Thanks very much, everyone - it really is exciting! A significant notch in the belt which will also help immensely with future travels... $99/year would pay for itself after checking 2 x bags roundtrip. Or, about the same as a bar tab hanging out at Poipu for the afternoon - not worth losing sleep over!
Indeed, had been a long while since my last mail-in application...maybe a college Visa years ago. I really hope the in-flight code was paired somehow to my flight attendant, so she'll get kudos or other bonuses.
As I've mentioned on threads elsewhere, AmEx is "next" - hopefully within the next year or 2. I'll have to share the news with some family as well, of whom have some deep connections with the Islands.
Congrats on your BOH Hawaiin Airlines WEMC approval
Aloha and congrats on the approval !! 
Congratulations! Think you could take me next time??
