Hawaiian Airlines is one of JetBlue’s airline partners. This means that you can earn JetBlue’s points (TrueBlue points) on paid Hawaiian flights and also use TrueBlue points for award flights that are operated by Hawaiian Airlines. Depending on when you are going to Tahiti from Hawaii, Hawaiian Airlines operate directly flight once or twice a week from Honolulu International Airport (HNL) to Fa’a’ā International Airport (PPT) in Tahiti.
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JetBlue’s Award Chart For Hawaiian Airlines
JetBlue does not have award chart for their own flights because the points required vary by the cash price of the ticket. However, JetBlue has an award chart for Hawaiian Airlines that can be found here. According to the award chat, JetBlue categories Tahiti under International Destinations.
- Economy one-way: 30,000 TrueBlue points.
- Business one-way: 70,000 TrueBlue points.
Comparing with Hawaiian Airlines own program, Hawaiian Airlines has joined other airlines implementing the dynamic award pricing. So the miles required for redemption for this particular route HNL – PPT can be anywhere between 27,500 miles and 100,000 miles for economy class one-way and between 47,500 miles and 95,000 miles for business class one-way, based on the date of travel. (HawaiianMiles Award Chart). It’s worth mentioning that if you have an eligible Hawaiian Airlines credit card, you receive discount on award travel in economy class. For this particular route HNL – PPT, required miles with the discount come to 24,750 miles one-way. Award discount does not apply to business class.
Earning TrueBlue Points
JetBlue’s TrueBlue points are easier than Hawaiian Airlines miles to obtain. JetBlue is a transfer partner of major flexible points such as:
- American Express Membership Rewards Points – 250:200
- Capital One Miles – 2000:1000
- Chase Ultimate Rewards Points – 1000:1000
- Citi ThankYou Points – 1000:1000
- Marriott Bonvoy Points – 60,000:25,000
A good use of TrueBlue points on Hawaiian Airlines for this particular route is when there’s a transfer bonus offered by those above mentioned flexible points earning program. For instance, Citi sometimes offers 25% bonus if you transfer ThankYou points to JetBlue. So for every 1,000 ThankYou points transferred, you will receive 1,250 TrueBlue points. With this promotion, when you transfer 24,000 ThankYou points, you will get 30,000 TrueBlue points that is enough for a one-way economy class ticket from Honolulu to Tahiti. If you have the Citi Rewards+ credit card, you will also receive 10% ThankYou points back. But that’s not all, if you have a JetBlue credit card, you also receive 10% TrueBlue points back on award redemption. The taxes and fees are the same as what Hawaiian Airlines charges if you were to use Hawaiian Airlines miles for redemption, which is significant low ~$6.
Hawaiian Airlines, on another hand, is also a transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards program. From time to time, American Express does offer transfer bonus to Hawaiian Airlines as well. However, please keep in mind that American Express charges an excise fee of 0.06 cents per point, up to a maximum of $99 fee when you transfer Membership Rewards Points to a U.S. airline’s program. With this type of bonus, you only need to transfer 22,000 MR points to Hawaiian Airlines, and you will receive 27,500 miles that is enough to book a one-way economy class ticket from Honolulu to Tahiti. You will be paying $13.20 transfer fee + taxes and fees when you redeem Hawaiian Airlines miles which is significant low of ~$6.
Both TrueBlue points and Hawaiian Airlines miles allow connection from another Hawaii island without charging for more points or miles.
Redeeming TrueBlue Points On Hawaiian Airlines
Unfortunately, currently you cannot redeem TruBlue points to book Hawaiian Airlines flights online. You must call 1-800-JETBLUE (538-2583) and have a JetBlue phone agent transfers you to another TrueBlue agent that can check for Hawaiian Airlines’ award inventory for you in order to book. JetBlue does not have a direct TrueBlue line, so during the busy time the wait can be a little bit longer.
If you decide to transfer points to either program, be sure to check award availability prior to transferring points because once the points are transferred, it’s final. It is also worth noting that JetBlue is not able to quote taxes and fees without doing a real booking at this time. The agent tried her best by letting me know that the taxes and fees can range anywhere from $30-$90; however, in reality it’s only around $6 for this particular route, which is very much the same as what Hawaiian Airlines charges for their own program’s redemption. So if you want to figure out the taxes and fees, use Hawaiian Airlines website to search.
