Strategies for Hawaii trip using CC points and miles - Personal mission

[Anonymous]

Hello my fellow myFICOers,

Calling all CC points and miles gurus to chime in.

So here is the skinny -

DW and I found some great deals on flight tickets from Hawaii in November/December - $440 return for the two of us!

It would be exceptional...epic in fact, if I could get the 12 nights lodging, car rental, and the inter-island flights parts covered with points/miles as well.

We are closing on a house next month and my itchy fingers need to apply for new CCs to get some SUBs, so please advise on which cards

My Stats:

Scores range between 776 - 792

Other than the mortgage inq. I do not have any others in the past 12 months.

Points and Miles: (as of now)

Hhonors: 115,000

UR: 95,000

The Hhonors should get me 3-4 nights in a cat 3 or 4 hotel.

The URs should get me 4 nights in a cat 3 or 4 hotel.

I still need to app for a card and get 3-4 nights + car rental and inter-island flights. What strategies do you guys propose?

I am thinking of having DW app for the Amex Hilton card with a 100,000 SUB.

Thanks!

[NRB525]

The AMEX Hilton app is a good idea. The Hilton points will go far on Kauai. There are some Hilton’s on Oahu that may stretch those points. 

Maui Hyatt might be workable as well. The Chase Hyatt will help you get further there. Possibly a hotel on Oahu for Hyatt, though I am not positive. 

I don’t think these points will go very far on the big island. 

When does your CSR AF come due? After you start a new Member Year, the AF Travel reimbursement should kick in, and could be aligned to the rental car. 

Aloha!

[Anonymous]

I am sorry but I do not have a strategy for you -- maybe the Marriott card.  I know in Kauai there is a Marriott in Lihue.  I usually Air BnB in Hawaii. 

But I am curious how you got those flights!  I never find cheap deals to Hawaii and just have to usually bite the bullet. 

[Anonymous]

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@NRB525 wrote:

The AMEX Hilton app is a good idea. The Hilton points will go far on Kauai. There are some Hilton’s on Oahu that may stretch those points. 

Maui Hyatt might be workable as well. The Chase Hyatt will help you get further there. Possibly a hotel on Oahu for Hyatt, though I am not positive. 

I don’t think these points will go very far on the big island. 

When does your CSR AF come due? After you start a new Member Year, the AF Travel reimbursement should kick in, and could be aligned to the rental car. 

Aloha!

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Thanks NRB35!

I will check out the Chase Hyatt. My CSR comes due in Jan, and I have already redeemed the $300 credit this year for a trip to NYC.

Also, is the big island too expensive?

[Anonymous]

AirBnB is a good option for Maui since we'll be there the longest. I think Marriot has devalued its points system lately, especially with the merger with SPG. None the less, I will check it out.

For air tickets, I usually setup up google alerts for various time ranges throughout the year for specific places on our bucket list.

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@Anonymous wrote:

I am sorry but I do not have a strategy for you -- maybe the Marriott card.  I know in Kauai there is a Marriott in Lihue.  I usually Air BnB in Hawaii. 

But I am curious how you got those flights!  I never find cheap deals to Hawaii and just have to usually bite the bullet. 

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[K-in-Boston]

The only valuable piece of advice I can give is inter-island flights. You can book inter-island flights on Hawaiian using Delta SkyMiles and they’re usually 7500 miles + $5.60 each way in main cabin. Get a good signup bonus like 70k on Delta Platinum and that’s a lot of essentially free inter-island flights. For the curious, you can only book inter-island Hawaiian Airlines flights with Delta, and for revenue flights you can’t earn SkyMiles or elite qualifying stuff on anything other than inter-island flights.

[Anonymous]

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@K-in-Boston wrote:
The only valuable piece of advice I can give is inter-island flights. You can book inter-island flights on Hawaiian using Delta SkyMiles and they’re usually 7500 miles + $5.60 each way in main cabin. Get a good signup bonus like 70k on Delta Platinum and that’s a lot of essentially free inter-island flights. For the curious, you can only book inter-island Hawaiian Airlines flights with Delta, and for revenue flights you can’t earn SkyMiles or elite qualifying stuff on anything other than inter-island flights.

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Thanks K. I have not flown Delta in over 10 years but will look into it to cover the inter-island flights, and possibly car rental.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I am sorry but I do not have a strategy for you -- maybe the Marriott card.  I know in Kauai there is a Marriott in Lihue.  I usually Air BnB in Hawaii. 

But I am curious how you got those flights!  I never find cheap deals to Hawaii and just have to usually bite the bullet. 

I know what you mean, when I went I paid it all with my own cash. Had no idea about rewards cards at that time. But no biggie, I assumed a vacation was expensive. lol Though it wasn't that bad really.

For my next trip, I'm trying to get MR points to pay for the flight to Japan! And hopefuly UR point to pay for part of the lodging. But I still expect to spend a considerable amount of cash.

OP good luck with your strategy, hope it works out well for you!

[NRB525]

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@K-in-Boston wrote:
The only valuable piece of advice I can give is inter-island flights. You can book inter-island flights on Hawaiian using Delta SkyMiles and they’re usually 7500 miles + $5.60 each way in main cabin. Get a good signup bonus like 70k on Delta Platinum and that’s a lot of essentially free inter-island flights. For the curious, you can only book inter-island Hawaiian Airlines flights with Delta, and for revenue flights you can’t earn SkyMiles or elite qualifying stuff on anything other than inter-island flights.

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Actually, you can book similar award flights with American Airlines and United: 7,500 miles in each of those programs. plus a fee, for a flight on HA. If you book out far enough, and pay cash, you save the miles for another day. 

[NRB525]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@NRB525 wrote:

The AMEX Hilton app is a good idea. The Hilton points will go far on Kauai. There are some Hilton’s on Oahu that may stretch those points. 

Maui Hyatt might be workable as well. The Chase Hyatt will help you get further there. Possibly a hotel on Oahu for Hyatt, though I am not positive. 

I don’t think these points will go very far on the big island. 

When does your CSR AF come due? After you start a new Member Year, the AF Travel reimbursement should kick in, and could be aligned to the rental car. 

Aloha!

---

Thanks NRB35!

I will check out the Chase Hyatt. My CSR comes due in Jan, and I have already redeemed the $300 credit this year for a trip to NYC.

Also, is the big island too expensive?

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The hotel chains are not evenly dispersed on the different islands, so you have to look at what is there. All the islands have their share of very high priced ( high points cost ) resorts.  What you are looking for are the lower priced properties of those chains. 

Go online to each of the hotel program websites and look for likely bookings at the various properties. Then calculate how many points you need per stay.