Have been going to HI for the past 4 years.

My experience has been to get 5K interisland awards (around a time you wish to fly) one needs to book as soon as possible to lock in.

Many flight times I wanted were not available every time I tried. Availability for me got worse the closer to my trip.

Also, be aware that at least for redeeming UA miles, there is a 24 hour window of approval from Aloha that needs to occur, and they have to be issued as paper tickets, so last minute may not work.

I always try for the award space, but if not available or not the times I want, I'll simply go online and purchase from an interisland carrier.

An interesting side note, I had wanted to fly late afternoon/early evening from one island to another using an award, most interisland flights route through HNL. Seeing as the last flight from the island I'm traveling from gets into HNL too late to catch a flight to my destination island, I was "awarded" a free stopover in HNL for the day. I was concerned I would have to use an additional 5k for the flight next morning to my destination island.

If interested, there are good discussions in the UA forum on redeeming for interisland awards.

One word of caution, after booking your award w/the carrier you have miles with, CONFIRM your reservation w/the actual interisland carrier you have the award on.

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