Hawaii-based Airlines - Transferring HA miles to Hilton HHonors

I recently transferred some miles to HHonors to top up for an award. The miles disappeared right away but it's been about 10 days and no points in the HHonors account yet. I did a search but didn't find anything that wasn't a couple of years old. Does anyone have any experience who could tell me how long I should wait before inquiring from one of the two programs? Thanks. :)

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/16318935-post68.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/16318935-post68.html

Mahalo. I didn't get a call back but perhaps I called the right person from the get go. I called the HA number that in on the HHonors website.

Thanks for the tips, I had 6k orphan miles about to expire-- I called up and had them transferred to my HHonors. I could only transfer 5K, but that's better than nothing. It only required one phone call for me, and I was sure to have HA update my profile to have my middle initial so it would exactly match my HHonors account.

The transfer process took just over three weeks from the day I called to when the miles showed up in my HHonors account... I was beginning to think something went wrong, because these miles were not earned through flying (from Live/Bing Search Club...), so I didn't want to bring any extra scrutiny to the transfer ;)

Thanks for the tips, I had 6k orphan miles about to expire-- I called up and had them transferred to my HHonors. I could only transfer 5K, but that's better than nothing. It only required one phone call for me, and I was sure to have HA update my profile to have my middle initial so it would exactly match my HHonors account.

The transfer process took just over three weeks from the day I called to when the miles showed up in my HHonors account... I was beginning to think something went wrong, because these miles were not earned through flying (from Live/Bing Search Club...), so I didn't want to bring any extra scrutiny to the transfer ;)

Is there a limit to the number of miles you can transfer or do they just transfer them in blocks of 5K?

The latter, as far as I know. The only restriction is that they can't be miles that were transferred in from, e.g., Amex

The latter, as far as I know. The only restriction is that they can't be miles that were transferred in from, e.g., Amex

So does that mean I can't transfer Starwood to Hawaiian and then transfer those miles to Hilton? That was the suggested procedure as described in Inside Flyer. Where can I check to be sure?

So does that mean I can't transfer Starwood to Hawaiian and then transfer those miles to Hilton? That was the suggested procedure as described in Inside Flyer. Where can I check to be sure?

To convert HawaiianMiles into HHonors points, miles have to be earned through Hawaiian Airlines exclusively;

http://www.webflyer.com/programs/mileage_converter/details.php?path=965,684&miles=10000

So does that mean I can't transfer Starwood to Hawaiian and then transfer those miles to Hilton?

Correct.

Miles can be earned by flying HA, flying HA partners and crediting to HA, miles from HA's shopping portal, but transferred Amex or other points/miles will not count.

Inside Flyer and its mileage converter have had this mistake for quite awhile.

It is possible that you would get an HA agent who was green or forgot to check the source of your miles, but given that it's a two step verification (and talking to an HNL-based person on the second call) I wouldn't bet on it.

Would SPG to AA to Hilton work?

I read all about AA to Hilton and have not seen that your cannot do this.
Although all my miles are earned with aa so I have no data points to contribute.

Probably need to ask that question in a different forum. :)

Correct.

Miles can be earned by flying HA, flying HA partners and crediting to HA, miles from HA's shopping portal, but transferred Amex or other points/miles will not count.

What about bonus miles for getting the HA Visa card? Are those acceptable to transfer? There has been some question about this on the Million Mile Secrets blog.

What about bonus miles for getting the HA Visa card? Are those acceptable to transfer? There has been some question about this on the Million Mile Secrets blog.

Those are all fine. You earned them originally with HA. It's only miles transferred in to HA that you can't transfer elsewhere. As we've learned in OMNI, however, everything if fungible. I wonder if you transferred 50,000 in now and waited two years, what would happen. :D

Would SPG to AA to Hilton work?

I read all about AA to Hilton and have not seen that your cannot do this.
Although all my miles are earned with aa so I have no data points to contribute.

According to the Webflyer Mileage Converter, you can convert them directly from SPG to Hilton.

Does anyone know how this restriction is applied in practice?

Does an agent "eyeball" your account history or is there some counter of "bad" amex miles versus "good" HA miles?

If there's a counter, how are actual flight awards redeemed - bad miles first, good miles first, old first, proportional, etc?

I've earned a lot of HA miles from HA but have also done Amex transfers in the past. I' curious whether this would affect the number of HA miles I could transfer to Hilton if I wanted to.

I'm also curious how they track transferrable miles. What happens say, if I exchange my SPG converted miles with someone's HA credit card bonus miles (unlimited sharing allowed for CC holders) ? Do I then end up with "good miles" I can transfer to HH and they end up with my untransferrable miles?

It seems like a really complicated system to keep track of.

According to the Webflyer Mileage Converter, you can convert them directly from SPG to Hilton.

Where do you see the direct conversion? I only see through Hawaiian (which apparantly is not allowed) or a really unfavorable exchange through Virgin or Mexicana.

Where do you see the direct conversion? I only see through Hawaiian (which apparantly is not allowed) or a really unfavorable exchange through Virgin or Mexicana.

I apologize, I must have been looking at something else.

Does anyone know how this restriction is applied in practice?

Does an agent "eyeball" your account history or is there some counter of "bad" amex miles versus "good" HA miles?

While I don't have a definitive answer, I infer my experience that there probably is indeed some eyeballing going on. It's a two-stage process. You make your request by phone, and then a few days later an HNL-based (non-outsourced, iow) agent calls you and reviews your request.

When I last did it, I had the distinct impression that she was indeed eyeballing my account, because she made mention of the 5K HA miles that had been transferred into my account by my, coff, "brother-in-law" and she noted how nice that was for him to do for me.

I know one of the OP's stated it took just over 3 weeks. I requested mine on Jan 2nd and still nothing (just over 2 weeks) I am just wondering if maybe they all post at the end of the month or every 1st and 3rd weeks? Is there a data point out there?

I also requested mine on Jan. 2 and still nothing. The website says 10-15 business days and when I call they tell me 2-4 weeks but we are past both of those.
For the last few days they have been telling me that they sent Hilton a message and are just waiting to hear back. I called Hilton and they said they have no record of any transaction/transfer attempt or any correspondence with HA.

Frustrated.

I got mine posted on Feb 2nd... one day less than a full month, but it took me calling Hhonors demanding they research it, then I demanded Hawaiian to research it, they gave me the standard language about two to four weeks, but I knew that my stuff wasn't going to post. Finally the posted. It seems to be more on Hiltons end rather than Hawaiian. Hawaiian sent it over to hilton two weeks after I requested it....the rest of the time was waiting for hilton to post.

I had the same experience with AA and Hilton a few months ago. I had also transferred from HA and they posted without a problem.

I requested that Hawaiian Airlines move points to Hilton Hhonors on February 2. They showed up in my Hhonors account today, February 20.

I requested that Hawaiian Airlines move points to Hilton Hhonors on February 2. They showed up in my Hhonors account today, February 20.

Mine were requested on 2/8 and also showed up today, February 20th....

Must be that they send them over in "batches"... or process them that way...

Anyone had recent experience with this? I transferred mine (including the call from Hawaiian confirming the transfer) on Feb. 29th and they haven't posted yet in my HH account.

Anyone had recent experience with this? I transferred mine (including the call from Hawaiian confirming the transfer) on Feb. 29th and they haven't posted yet in my HH account.

I did this back in January and I remember the HA agent telling me it may take 4-6 weeks for the transfer to finalize. They told me I would receive a call to verify the transfer, which I did the following day. Overall I believe it did take the full 4 weeks to transfer. I wouldn't worry, you should be getting the points very soon.

Ok, thanks!

I did this back in January and I remember the HA agent telling me it may take 4-6 weeks for the transfer to finalize. They told me I would receive a call to verify the transfer, which I did the following day. Overall I believe it did take the full 4 weeks to transfer. I wouldn't worry, you should be getting the points very soon.

Superb prediction! When I checked last night, the points had posted. Thanks again.

I know HA points have to transferred to the same account holder at HH, but has anyone transferred points for a kid (under 18). Both mine have 5,200 and 7800. I supposed I could get them each a HH account and then transfer their HH points to mine, but it sure would be more expeditious if I could transfer them to my HH directly.

I know HA points have to transferred to the same account holder at HH, but has anyone transferred points for a kid (under 18). Both mine have 5,200 and 7800. I supposed I could get them each a HH account and then transfer their HH points to mine, but it sure would be more expeditious if I could transfer them to my HH directly.

The problem you would have is that you can not transfer HHonors points between members.

I recently put in a request to transfer HA->HH from person A to person B. A and B have different first and last names. I got an email from HA saying that HH has rejected my transfer due to name mismatch. I was under an impression that names do not matter (even though the names are supposed to match as per the policy). Is this a more recent change? FYI, I did transfer HA to HH from my own HA to HH account a few months back.

I recently put in a request to transfer HA->HH from person A to person B. A and B have different first and last names. I got an email from HA saying that HH has rejected my transfer due to name mismatch. I was under an impression that names do not matter (even though the names are supposed to match as per the policy). Is this a more recent change? FYI, I did transfer HA to HH from my own HA to HH account a few months back.Anybody who had a recent experience, pls do share. TIA.

Anybody who had a recent experience, pls do share. TIA.

I'm interested in this as well. Alternatively, would miles obtained via transfer from another HA member be eligible for transferring out to Hilton? They would be miles earned through HA alone...

I'm interested in this as well. Alternatively, would miles obtained via transfer from another HA member be eligible for transferring out to Hilton? They would be miles earned through HA alone...It seems like HH enforces name match vigorously. As for HA miles transferred from another HA member, they are indeed eligible for transferring out to HH. So if A earns HA miles (some of them could even be from AMEX as it is difficult to verify for them beyond one level) and transfers to B, B can transfer some or all the HA miles to HH. Hope it helps. As always YMMV ..

Update:

It seems the Hawaiian agent put my transfer through today. She said 1-2 weeks. It was only 5000 pts to my Hilton account at a 1:2 conversion.

The good news was that 1000 of those points was transferred in from AMEX and 2500 of those points was transferred in from SPG. The remainder was from their shopping portal. So it appears that I was able to convert Hawaiian pts to Hilton Honors even though they came from outside sources. Will post back to see how long it actually takes to show up in my account. One indication was 11 business days. We will see.

Edit: Received my 10000 Hilton points today. So it only took a total of 5 days for the transfer.

My recent transfer took less than a week. Called to transfer, received a re-confirmation call in the next 15 minutes - at this point miles were taken from the HA account. During both calls was told that it takes 2-4 weeks, but check HH site in a week and points were already there.

Guys please help. I have a big problem. 2 months ago I transferred 50,000 HA miles which gave me 100,000 HH points. All that went smooth and well. Problem is, I just received another 100,000 HH points for the transfer. I know this is impossible because I didn't have anymore HA miles left in my account, so it seems that there was an error and they did the same transaction again, 2 months later!

What should I do? Should I just wait it out and see if they will remove it? Or should I call them and say something? Not quite the same as a bank error where they deposit money in your account that they shouldn't have, but it's the same concept.

What should I do? Should I just wait it out and see if they will remove it? Or should I call them and say something? Not quite the same as a bank error where they deposit money in your account that they shouldn't have, but it's the same concept.
Yes it is the same concept, so it's up to you and your conscience. 100k HH points is the equivalent of a lot of money in free rooms.

Guys please help. I have a big problem. 2 months ago I transferred 50,000 HA miles which gave me 100,000 HH points. All that went smooth and well. Problem is, I just received another 100,000 HH points for the transfer. I know this is impossible because I didn't have anymore HA miles left in my account, so it seems that there was an error and they did the same transaction again, 2 months later!

What should I do? Should I just wait it out and see if they will remove it? Or should I call them and say something? Not quite the same as a bank error where they deposit money in your account that they shouldn't have, but it's the same concept.

Transfer 100,000 back to HA. They'll lose most of their value and you won't have to feel guilty. ;)

Otherwise, go to the Hilton Paris Arc de Triomphe. :D

Looks like they caught on and removed the 100,00 HH Points from my account. :( Oh well, maybe next time.

I called last week to request transfer of HA miles to Hilton. I was told that I will be contacted by email to confirm the request.

While I was out of home, HA left 2 messages on my home phone to confirm my request.

I called the number that was left on the answering machine and talked to a clueless agent who thought I wanted to transfer Hilton points to HA. After explaining, I was transferred to another line.

I have been on hold for 1 hour and 5 minutes and counting as I am writing this as I am on hold. My client just walked in for an appointment so I need to abandon this call.

Is this normal?

It is normal for Hawaiian's call center to be terrible at any but the simplest tasks. They're a great airline once you get to the airport, but the call center is awful and IT is limited.

Not being able to transfer miles from amex to HA to hilton rule still applies?

Yes..

It is normal for Hawaiian's call center to be terrible at any but the simplest tasks. They're a great airline once you get to the airport, but the call center is awful and IT is limited.

I wouldn't go that far, but they do get you where you're going on time.

Does the name on the Hawaiian Airlines account and the HHonors account have to be the same?

Dear lord, trying to transfer my HA miles to HH has been an exercise in incompetence, inefficiency, and frustration.

I initially called HA on Monday to initiate a transfer of a measly 5k HA miles to my HH account to top up for a redemption. I have done this before and knew about the follow-up call they need to make in order to "advise you of certain restrictions." This follow-up call is complete useless and unnecessary, and serves the sole purpose of making the transfer of miles more difficult in order to discourage people from transferring their HA miles to HH.

An important thing to note: I am a full-time student and spend nearly the entire day in class or in a library studying, and thus I am unable to take incoming phone calls 99% of the time during the week. This is relevant because I have received 6 or 7 voicemails now from HA requesting that I call them back to confirm the transfer and again "advise me of certain restrictions." And herein lies the problem, because when I am able to call them back, I end up with a clueless agent who either doesn't know what I'm talking about, OR who tells me that the ONLY way I can talk to the department I need to talk to is for THEM to call ME, and not vice versa. Since I am almost never able to take incoming calls, especially during HM's Service Center's limited business hours, I am essentially unable to transfer miles from my HA account to my HH account. This is entirely, 100% due to HA's ridiculous, unnecessary policies requiring a follow-up phone call that can ONLY occur as an incoming call to the account holder.

The icing on this insanity cake is that every voicemail I've received asks me to call them back at 800-713-1220. So I call, and I am told that I have to wait for them to call me again. Please tell me, what is the point of leaving a voicemail telling me to call them if my call results in absolutely nothing being done?

I am so unbelievably frustrated and annoyed with the way this is being handled. Thank god this will essentially drain my HA account of any useful amount of miles.

I understand your frustration and I know how you feel. That stuff happens in this game. The most challenging part of this frequent flyer game is jumping over the hurdles (aka idiotic customer service people who have no clue what you're trying to do, but think they are smart enough to know that you are breaking laws)!

I'm in the same boat.
I want to transfer over b/f the devaluation from my wife's HA to my HH since I have AXON.
Problem is, I don't have the HA cc, so she can't transfer them into my HA account.
Do you think that begging is an options? Alternatively, I can sign up for cc's today, hope to be approved, and then transfer to my HA, and then to my HH.

What's the latest estimate of transfer time from HA to HH? Still 10-15 days?

Any advice?

I'm in the same boat.
I want to transfer over b/f the devaluation from my wife's HA to my HH since I have AXON.
Problem is, I don't have the HA cc, so she can't transfer them into my HA account.
Do you think that begging is an options? Alternatively, I can sign up for cc's today, hope to be approved, and then transfer to my HA, and then to my HH.

What's the latest estimate of transfer time from HA to HH? Still 10-15 days?

Any advice?

Just had points transferred. Requested the transfer on 2/25 and the points showed up this morning. So the "batches usually on Monday" comment above may no longer be accurate?

Don't know about others but I've transferred miles into my HH account several times before without any issues or delays.

HA is taking a lot longer for the transfer process and they seem to be flooded with these. Earlier I used to get a callback for confirmation same day, while it took a few days this time. So anybody considering transfer may want to do it sooner than later.