MilesBuzz! - Looking for ideas to help get to Maui [from DEN]

Our family of four is planning a trip to Maui in about a year. Right now we have a Chase United miles card and have enough for one free round trip. We don't travel a whole lot, and we don't travel for business, so that's out. I plan on hanging around this forum and picking up some ideas, but I would appreciate advice on what else we should be doing to bank up miles over the next year or so.

I'd be interested in thoughts on whether we should look into a Hotel linked credit card? Right now we put almost everything on our United card to build up those miles.

I'd be interested in learning about other programs, bonuses, etc... And links to other blogs, sites that have tips too. Thanks and looking forward to learning more!

At a minimum, each person that is eligible should get the credit card and get the 60+K miles available.

Pretty much a newbie myself. You don't mention the airline you plan to use, nor the hotel chain you might stay with, but I'll assume United and that you're mostly looking to cover airfare.

For United you can of course apply for the credit card with the best up-front offer. Or cards actually.

So 25-40K miles on a United Mileage Plus Explorer from Chase (40K may be hard to get for more than one of you), and up to 40,000 miles on a Chase Saphire Preferred, which allows you to transfer points 1:1 to UA. Also get a Business version of the Explorer Card. Google for advice on how to fill in the application as an individual proprieter.

Repeat more than once per year. Repeat for each eligible person.

Remember to cancel the cards before the 1 year anniversary when you'll have to pay the annual fee.

Once you've satisfied the minimum spends on THOSE cards, you'll likely want to use different cards to put your actual spending on if you have any left. Optimize for the number of points you get for each type of spending.

There are probably other tricks as well. Not sure this will get you there though.

wharvey - which cards give me 60K?

Fanfoot - Yes, we have a United card now. As for the hotel chain, looking for thoughts there. We don't travel enough to have one chain we use. So we were thinking that we would just work on airline miles unless there was a good hotel card that would help us out.

Thanks for the thoughts so far!

I assume this trip is for you, your spouse, and your children? Maybe not, but I'm going to assume at least two people are old enough to get credit cards.

Each adult should apply for BOTH the Bank of Hawaii and the Bank of America Hawaiian Airlines Visa cards. You shouldn't have any trouble getting approved for both cards. Sometimes they will call and ask if you really want both, so just say you need them to separate reimbursable and personal expenses.

You get 20K miles on each card after your first purchase and another 15K miles on each card after spending $1,000 in four months. So if you two of you can spend $4,000 total in four months, then you'll have a total of 4 x 35,000 miles = 140,000 miles. It takes 35,000 miles to get a roundtrip ticket to Hawaii from the mainland, so each of the four cards will give you enough miles for one ticket.

Save the UA miles for something else. If you need a hotel room while on Maui, I highly recommend the Hyatt Regency, although the Andaz will open in about a year. Both are Hyatt properties. When you apply for the Hawaiian Airlines cards, on the same day you should each apply for a Hyatt Visa card from Chase. Each card comes with two free nights at any Hyatt hotel. But these nights expire in a year, so make sure you time it right so that you can actually use them. Or, look at Costco Travel for a discount package. 5 nights at the Hyatt and a car can cost anywhere from $1,500 to $2,500 or more depending on the season.

Scottrick - yes, the trip is for myself, wife and two kids.

While the Hawaiian airlines deal sounds great, they don't fly out of Denver (wish they did!) and we do have enough miles for one free round trip DEN-OGG on United, so we would prefer to stick with them through this trip.

How old are you kids?

I would probably think about flying United...so gaining the mileage should be what you want to focus in on...also you can just go and buy your tix and focus your credit cards apps towards the hotel stay

Like Scott said you want to get one of the chase cards....Preferrably the hyatt one...because the hyatt is pretty nice..and if each of you get one card..then maybe thats 8 nights free for a pretty expensive hotel.....

my second recommendation is getting marriot card(if the 70k is still avail) because you get 1 free night + the 70 points...which can get you a couple of days at the new courtyard in kahalului

lastly I would also recommend the fairmount card...which can get you 2 nights + breakfast at a pretty high end hotel..

sadly most of the things that will help you require that you get a chase credit card so don't over do it...

A pair of Chase Sapphires to go with a pair of UA Explorer Cards will go far to accumulate UA miles. Required spend can be done with opening deposits for DDAs.

Our family of four is planning a trip to Maui in about a year. Right now we have a Chase United miles card and have enough for one free round trip. We don't travel a whole lot, and we don't travel for business, so that's out. I plan on hanging around this forum and picking up some ideas, but I would appreciate advice on what else we should be doing to bank up miles over the next year or so.

I'd be interested in thoughts on whether we should look into a Hotel linked credit card? Right now we put almost everything on our United card to build up those miles.

I'd be interested in learning about other programs, bonuses, etc... And links to other blogs, sites that have tips too. Thanks and looking forward to learning more!

Scottrick - yes, the trip is for myself, wife and two kids.

While the Hawaiian airlines deal sounds great, they don't fly out of Denver (wish they did!) and we do have enough miles for one free round trip DEN-OGG on United, so we would prefer to stick with them through this trip.

I started accumulating miles in April on BMI, an airline that's never come close to flying out of my airport and that will soon go out of business. Why? Not real important here; it's more important to understand that playing this game requires creative thinking sometimes.

Although Hawaiian doesn't fly out of DEN, you can still make those miles work for you. Hawaiian has several partners on which their miles may be redeemed, including Delta, which does fly out of Denver. Why not just accumulate DL SkyMiles? Because DL will charge you 65K on many occasions to get to Hawaii from Denver; Hawaiian's partnership with Delta means that for a RT only 45K Hawaiian miles are required.

140K isn't enough for four tickets, but it is for three. You've already got your United ticket. I understand that flying together might be preferable, but keep in mind you're trying to get to a popular destination and trying to do so in a year. That sounds like a lot of time; given a popular destination and the limited number of award tickets that might be available, that may be barely enough time.

Figure you may need to look for award tickets no later than six months out for your trip--maybe more (of course, could be less, but the chances of that may be poor). You need to meet spending requirements to qualify for the miles, which could take anywhere from a month to six months. You need the miles to post once the spending requirements are met, which could take several weeks to a month. So, if you can get a quick solution, requiring your taking a flight on United while your wife and kids fly on Delta, it might be worth it so that you can widen your booking window.

If you're committed to doing all of this on United, the job gets harder but could be done with Chase applications by you and your wife for the Sapphire Preferred, the Freedom (extremely low 10K opening bonus currently, but quarterly spending category bonuses that could mean as many as 30K more Ultimate Rewards points, and thus eventually UA miles, per card per year), the Ink Bold, and another United card application should get you enough miles, but that's a lot of spending requirements to meet in comparison with the Hawaiian cards at $4000 total for four cards.

Good luck!

I'd be interested in thoughts on whether we should look into a Hotel linked credit card? Right now we put almost everything on our United card to build up those miles.

Thanks and looking forward to learning more!

Have you looked to see which will get you greater savings - airline or hotel? You may not be able to cover both in just a year ( though it is possible if you get your spouse in the game). But, lately there have been some great deals in Hawaii so you may be surprised. While you're planning Hawaii now, next year you may be kicking yourself because you "only" got $300 value for the points and your next trip your desired hotel or airfare is three times that, but the points are gone.

I would also suggest checking out VRBO and Home Away. I am a confirmed luxury hotel person, but in Hawaii prefer to rent a house. The prices are incredibly low (at least on the other islands) and locations are great. You have the advantage of cooking et al, and with two children it's an option to consider.

Thanks very much for the great ideas! I really appreciate all the posts.

When Scottrick mentioned Hawaiian Airlines, I went to their website to see if flying from Denver was an option. I didn't see an option for partner airlines (Delta) and when I put Den --> OGG in the search, it kicks Denver out. How can I do a search that includes partner airlines?

Have you looked to see which will get you greater savings - airline or hotel?
I would also suggest checking out VRBO and Home Away.

That's a great point! We don't need to stay in a nice resort. A condo where we can cook would be very handy. I guess I was asking about Hotels to see if there was something that would give us a bunch of points like some of the airline cards that have been posted, we would give it a look.

Thank you!

I guess I was asking about Hotels to see if there was something that would give us a bunch of points like some of the airline cards that have been posted, we would give it a look.
Thank you!

You could do something like two Hyatt cards (which would net you four nights, if available) and/or the SPG Amex (again, approximately 2 nights free per application if 12k points/night). But, the question is whether that is valuable to you? The Hyatt nights expire within a year, so you need to make sure they have availability. And, then you have the expense of staying in a hotel. If you value a high end hotel...then it's a great value. If not, then it's not - and you may have a cranky wife and children as you hotel hop :D

Now, I would still consider applying for the SPG as a diversification if you're in the game for the long run. SPG points are very valuable for European properties or to transfer to airlines. And, you can transfer SPG points within the household. So, apply for your card, refer your wife for the card (fee free first year) and you can transfer your wife's points to your account and cancel her card when the fee comes due. Then rinse and repeat in a few years.

Have you looked to see which will get you greater savings - airline or hotel?
I would also suggest checking out VRBO and Home Away.

That's a great point! We don't need to stay in a nice resort. A condo where we can cook would be very handy. I guess I was asking about Hotels to see if there was something that would give us a bunch of points like some of the airline cards that have been posted, we would give it a look.

Thank you!

Take a look at the below timeshare forum for ideas and last minute deals (45 days) on rentals.

http://tugbbs.com/forums/

Take a look at the below timeshare forum for ideas and last minute deals (45 days) on rentals.

http://tugbbs.com/forums/

Valuable link, thank you!

Because DL will charge you 65K on many occasions to get to Hawaii from Denver; Hawaiian's partnership with Delta means that for a RT only 45K Hawaiian miles are required.

If DL is charging 65k you've got no chance of using your HA miles for those DL tickets.

mknoebel:

I think your plan of sticking with UA miles is fine. To accumulate more, take AlohaDaveKennedy's suggestion. You may also want to consider accumulating AA miles as they fly to Hawaii and also partner with HA and AS.

BA miles can work very well for hawaii too, take a look at the BA card offers from Chase. Its 25k round trip from the west coast (LA, San francisco) to hawaii, you could use chase ultimate rewards points transferred to southwest to get from denver to one of those cities. Could work out better than 45k round trip if you get a good southwest price.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/milesbuzz/1330475-ua-mileage-explorer-card-offer-up-60k-miles-now-65k-50-statement-credit.html

wharvey - which cards give me 60K?

If you and your spouse qualify for the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature Card, you will get a $99 (+ taxes) companion fare for each card. AS has flights from DEN connection in SEA to the islands. The card is $75.

If DL is charging 65k you've got no chance of using your HA miles for those DL tickets.

mknoebel:

I think your plan of sticking with UA miles is fine. To accumulate more, take AlohaDaveKennedy's suggestion. You may also want to consider accumulating AA miles as they fly to Hawaii and also partner with HA and AS.

Obviously, but since the OP did not provide exact dates, I could only do a dummy booking on DL guessing on dates. The dates I put in returned 65K redemptions.

If the OP can make the spending requirements, especially as AlohaDaveKennedy suggests, Chase cards make sense. I've noticed, however, that a lot of newbies are a little less willing to accept "creativity" in funding credit card spending requirements than more experienced FTers. In addition, Chase will probably not allow him and his wife to get all the cards he may need at one time (depending on their creditworthiness), meaning that he may have to slide back his trip timetable. That may not be a problem, but I wasn't willing to assume too much flexibility on that.

OP, in order to redeem Hawaiian with partners, you have to call the HawaiianMiles Service Center toll free at 1-877-HA-MILES (426-4537) Mon-Fri 8-4 P.M. Hawaii time. Booking online is reserved for flights on Hawaiian metal.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/milesbuzz/1330475-ua-mileage-explorer-card-offer-up-60k-miles-now-65k-50-statement-credit.html

Oh, this looks nice! I'm reading through the thread to see if I will qualify for this card (I have the old version of the Chase United Miles card, but not the Explorer)

$.02 here

BA is way to finicky to try to land all the seats, especially if there is a fixed timeframe. Chase UR to SWA miles + (BoA Hawaiian Card + BoH Hawaiian Card to Hawaiian miles) is doable but the transfer at Vegas or LAX is a marathon distance apart and might be hard with a multiparty trip.

We are in HI now for 24 nights (3 islands) booked entirely using miles/points except for 5 nights in a rental condo ( we are here now).

Flew JFK - lax (stop 2 nights) - HNL using BA miles for AA flights. We had to split up (1 parent + 1 child per flight) even booking 11 months ago.

Hotels are:

Jw Marriott ihilani (it was amazing!!!!) - 5 nights for 120k - upgraded to deluxe ocean view for free

Embassy Suites Waikiki - using AA miles (upgraded to 2 bd 2 ba ocean view on top floor for free) 3 nights

Condo (in Princeville Kauai) 5 nights paid about $1300

Grand Hyatt kauai - 4 nights in suite upgrade (got diamond challenge before applying for CC, free nights in suite)

Fairmont kea lani - using 2 free nights from CC

Honua Kai Maui 1 bedroom condo - 5 nights using AA miles

For inter island flights we used Hawaiian miles.

Our goal was to spend as little $ as possible in order to make it a long trip & spend money on excursions, etc.

Best trip ever so far!!!

Haven't gotten to Maui part of the trip yet, but flying home OGG - lax (6 night stopover to visit family) - JFK

We are in HI now for 24 nights (3 islands) booked entirely using miles/points except for 5 nights in a rental condo ( we are here now).

Flew JFK - lax (stop 2 nights) - HNL using BA miles for AA flights. We had to split up (1 parent + 1 child per flight) even booking 11 months ago.

Hotels are:

Jw Marriott ihilani (it was amazing!!!!) - 5 nights for 120k - upgraded to deluxe ocean view for free

Embassy Suites Waikiki - using AA miles (upgraded to 2 bd 2 ba ocean view on top floor for free) 3 nights

Condo (in Princeville Kauai) 5 nights paid about $1300

Grand Hyatt kauai - 4 nights in suite upgrade (got diamond challenge before applying for CC, free nights in suite)

Fairmont kea lani - using 2 free nights from CC

Honua Kai Maui 1 bedroom condo - 5 nights using AA miles

For inter island flights we used Hawaiian miles.

Our goal was to spend as little $ as possible in order to make it a long trip & spend money on excursions, etc.

Best trip ever so far!!!

Haven't gotten to Maui part of the trip yet, but flying home OGG - lax (6 night stopover to visit family) - JFK



Wow, that's great jandmmom!! Great use of mile I think!! Enjoy the rest of your time on the Islands!!

I have applied for the new United MilesPlus Explorer card for 65K miles. I got a "we have to review this" message, so I'm guessing I will not get it because I already have the older Chase United Visa card. So now I'm waiting for some miles to show up in my wife's account (we did a MilesPlus dining - any idea how long those take to post?) After she gets miles I am going to apply for a card in her name.

Thanks again for the ideas!

I can ask this over on the American board if I need to, but I just got an email from American that my family's miles will expire at the end of this year. If I combine all of them with what I have, it would be close to a free ticket also. Is there any way to transfer miles for free? I saw on their website that you can transfer miles but it would cost around $100 from each of them.

We have stayed at the Mana Kai on Maui - condo - 2 bedroom directly on beach several times and loved it. great location and snorkeling in front of condo. They have 1 and 2 bedroom condos that can be rented from a few vacation companies OR check out VRBO.com and rent direct from owners. Location can not be beat. The front units do not have a/c - which at first I thought we needed. But we never did and had great ocean breezes to cool us. great for a small family.

How flexible are you with your budget for this trip. Ask yourself how much do I want to spend out of pocket. Me and wife normally settle for about 30 to 50% out of pocket. My suggestion, stick with United and try to accummulate 80K miles, then you and your wife try to apply for either a Chase Sapphire or the Citibank Thank You Premiere card, that have at least a 40K or 50K as a signup bonus. These points are worth 25% to 33% more when redeeming for airfare. The reason why I say this is because trying to redeem United miles for 4 people on one flight will kind of tough, not impossible but tough. But redeeming UA miles for two tickets and using your Chase or Citibank points to buy the other two tickets will guarantee all 4 of you will travel together on the same flight. And UA has pretty good availability to Hawaii. Better than Delta or American IMHO. Flights to Hawaii in the spring are going for about $650 right now. So 50K Sapphire or Citibank points will cover most if not all of that cost. Me and wife are going to Cancun this fall and using a combination of United miles, Citibank Thank You points, AMEX MR points, and Cap1 Miles. We are going to save approximatly $1600 on a $2600 10-day trip at an all-inclusive including a car rental. And we will still have enough points/miles leftover to take several more trips over the next couple of years.

I can ask this over on the American board if I need to, but I just got an email from American that my family's miles will expire at the end of this year. If I combine all of them with what I have, it would be close to a free ticket also. Is there any way to transfer miles for free? I saw on their website that you can transfer miles but it would cost around $100 from each of them.

if you add any miles to the account it will extend the life 18 months from last activity. you can use the shopping portal or aa idine to add some points ot each account for small purchases you would have made anyways

We live in Colorado as well and also travel to Maui 2x per year. I would suggest the following:



Establish an Aeroplan (Air Canada account for you and your wife)
Each of you apply for the latest AMEX Platinum card which has a 50,000 Membership rewards bonus for $3K spend in 3 months. (100,000)
Each of you apply for the AMEX Gold card which has a 25,000 MR point bonus for $2K spend in 3 months. (50,000)

If successful with the above you can transfer AMEX MR points to Aeroplan which is a United partner via Star Alliance. Air Canada only requires 45,000 points per coach ticket from DEN-OGG on the same United flights.

Book 2 RT tickets for your self and another using Aeroplan (90,000 Points)
Book 2 One way for the other two family members using Aeroplan (45,000)
Book 2 One way for the return flight for two using the United points (60,000)

Each of you apply for the Hilton cards from:


American Express 60,000 each (120,000)
Citibank 50,000 each (100,000)
Bank of America Virgin Card (up to 70,000 each) if you transfer to HHonors
Bank of Hawaii Hawaiian Air (70,000 each)


This would be around 720,000 Hilton Honors points - good for 12 nights at the Grand Wailea or two rooms for 6 nights at the Grand Wailea.

Good Luck

I know this might not be the option you were considering, but this is what we do..

Last year we flew AA one way and United back using miles. We have 3 people and it was hard to find 3 "milesaver" type fares in the summer with kids.

This year I decided to make a stop over on the west coast. Might not be your first choice, but I was able to sign up and get Hawaiian miles and also Alaska miles. I also signed up for a Southwest card for the bonus. We live in San Antonio and Hawaiian and Alaska do not service our area.

So we flew for free to the west coast, stayed overnight using points, got up the next morning and flew Alaska to Hawaii. (we actually used my hubbys AA miles for the Alaska flight). So it was 40K Alaska miles (which I got free for getting the card). And 22.5 AA miles or the flight....

On the way back I used 52.5K miles for 3 one way tickets back to San Fran. I got these miles by signing up for the Hawaiian card along with my husband. Had extra for our interisland flights...

I used miles from Southwest to get from the west coast back to Texas. You can get these either from getting a Southwest card or a Sapphire Preferred 50K bonus and transferring them....

Just some creative ideas... I also like taking a mid day flight back from Hawaii versus a red eye. Last year we flew Maui to Denver red eye and hated it. This year our trip was so much nicer with a stop over on the west coast, especially with kids!!!! We actually spent 2 days in San Francisco on the way back just to break up the trip!

Simply incredible thinking going on here. I'm definitely learning to think outside the box!

Simply incredible thinking going on here. I'm definitely learning to think outside the box!

I think you have to be creative! 3 years ago I was paying for 3 tickets to Hawaii. Last two years I have flown for free to Hawaii and already have a stockpile of miles for next year. Did I mention I am flying 3 people to Montana this month and then 3 people to Pittsburgh in November? For free??

I am a stay at home mom and my husband travels for business maybe twice a year. I read the FlyerTalk forums, and also follow people on Twitter that provide assistance. Most of my points and miles are all earned through credit card spend, dining programs (like MP and AA Dining). I also use either Chase Ultimate Rewards mall or airline shopping malls based on the best earnings. I have signed up for tons of cards over the last few years and have managed to get a ton of sign up bonuses.

My credit score is still outstanding...but I follow the golden rule of ALWAYS paying off my cards each month. I also spread the spending across cards based on what I earn on each card or if I need to meet a minimum spend....

After 2 years I now have tons of points and miles and not enough time to use them! It just takes time and research!

If I apply for two cards(bofa & boh), CAn I can buy two ticket in each card from NYC(is it same 35k mile from nyc). but in second card, Can I book the ticket for my spouse? is there any rule like ticket should be booked in card holder name?

Please advise.

I assume this trip is for you, your spouse, and your children? Maybe not, but I'm going to assume at least two people are old enough to get credit cards.

Each adult should apply for BOTH the Bank of Hawaii and the Bank of America Hawaiian Airlines Visa cards. You shouldn't have any trouble getting approved for both cards. Sometimes they will call and ask if you really want both, so just say you need them to separate reimbursable and personal expenses.

You get 20K miles on each card after your first purchase and another 15K miles on each card after spending $1,000 in four months. So if you two of you can spend $4,000 total in four months, then you'll have a total of 4 x 35,000 miles = 140,000 miles. It takes 35,000 miles to get a roundtrip ticket to Hawaii from the mainland, so each of the four cards will give you enough miles for one ticket.

Save the UA miles for something else. If you need a hotel room while on Maui, I highly recommend the Hyatt Regency, although the Andaz will open in about a year. Both are Hyatt properties. When you apply for the Hawaiian Airlines cards, on the same day you should each apply for a Hyatt Visa card from Chase. Each card comes with two free nights at any Hyatt hotel. But these nights expire in a year, so make sure you time it right so that you can actually use them. Or, look at Costco Travel for a discount package. 5 nights at the Hyatt and a car can cost anywhere from $1,500 to $2,500 or more depending on the season.

Update!
Well, this has been really fun! We now have a BOA Hawaiian Airline card, another Chase UA Mileage Card, and an SPG Amex Card! We are working on getting all of our bonus miles added but I think we should be good with all of them.

The plans may have also changed to Oahu. We have some friends that are going to travel with us and they are members of Disney travel, so we are going to stay at the Aulani resort there. Should be fun!

Anyway, we will be traveling about a year from now - October of 2013. As I've been watching airfare there doesn't seem to be many seats available for reward travel on United 11 months out. I see some available at some unpopular times. Now, if I am able to get free flights to Hawaii I am fine traveling whenever. But I am wondering if there is a certain time out where airlines release more of the flights for award travel? Is there any rhyme or reason, or just whenever? It's October, so I know that it isn't a huge travel time, but I also know that there is a limited amount of the freebies available.

United releases seats 330 days out so give it some time. How many UA miles will you have either way after this churn? If you only got the BOA Hawaiian card w/o the Bank of Hawaii card then kind of pointless in my book....

Right now I will have about 120K United Miles.

A pair of Chase Sapphires to go with a pair of UA Explorer Cards will go far to accumulate UA miles. Required spend can be done with opening deposits for DDAs.
What banks allow opening deposits with a credit card, and which card issuers process these as purchases instead of cash advances?