There is just not a lot of information on using HA miles for VS. I think I've read that trying to get HA customer service to understand how to book partner awards is a challenge, and I've also seen speculation that HA does not seem to have access to (or claims not to have access to) the same inventory that appears on VS.

If you have dates you need and it shows availability, give it a shot and report back. If you were to discover a way to book to US to EU on VS without paying tax using HA miles, you would be a hero.

Right! At least for the West Coast folks.

A while back I called HA to check on this topic - what I was told was that ALL charges VS would have on its awards would then be applicable to HA award. If someone actually can redeem VS flights without paying YQ, (as versus just an interpretation of the wording in the rules) then this would put HA miles in a totally different light (other than what most are doing for the converting value to HHonor.)

While the blogger is talking about LAX-LHR-NBO possibility, none of the posters including the blogger himself, has actually done the redemption...

It would be far more beneficial to read about someone ACTUALLY HAS DONE IT.

I actually really like HA miles when used in their "sweet spot" -- flights to HI on HA in coach. If you have the credit card, it's easy to transfer among family members to avoid getting thwarted by odd balances. Also, the credit card gives you a discount on the number of miles needed. Availability is great, and HA's version of an anytime award is not unduly punitive in terms of how many miles are required. Taxes and fees on awards are $5 from the mainland to US. And, if you're booking for a family-sized group, cancellations and miles redoposits are priced by PNR, not by passenger.

Avios' distance based chart is something of a game changer for those who want to fly coach from the western US to HI. But HA miles still have utility. If you want to fly more than one person to Maui for X-mas without paying $2000, Avios aren't going to work, and you'd pay 90k for AA anytime awards and 80k for UA. With the credit card, you'll have a good choice for 50k to 60k on HA, and it's actually a pretty decent Y product to be in for 6 to 8 hours. AS is comparable at 75k, but not as convenient depending on whether you can connect in SAN or the pac northwest.

I have zero miles and no plan to book VS anytime soon. I have been researching the options. Someone suggested to check availability on VS website, which I did and found quite a lot of dates open for next 30 days. VS also shows ~$1K per ticket at fuel+taxes.

The blogger at MileValue does seem to say no fuel surcharge with HA miles.

"The answers I’ve gotten after some long hold times are LAX to Heathrow roundtrip is 100,000 Hawaiian Miles and $288 in Upper Class. JFK to Heathrow roundtrip is 100,000 Hawaiian Miles and $278 in Upper Class."

I'd like to know the answer to this as well from someone who has successfully churned them. Anyone?

Looks like the BoH link may be dead now. Spent about 15 minutes trying to look for alternate working links, but none found. I was going to pull in both of these today, but looks like I may need to rethink now that the one is dead.

"This application may be unavailable for maintenance, development improvements, or this offer may have expired."

BOA/FIA routinely phases out links and updates them so the offer should be back soon. Especially since this is their regular offer not something super etc.

Phew, thanks for that! I'll just have to be patient.

Applied for BoA version for my wife last night during a churn then BoH link didn't work on multiple machines. Ended up having to have her call to apply and had to specifically ask for BoH card "even though a citizen of Texas" ha.

I would like to take my wife to Hawaii in First on HA JFK-HNL in summer 2013...is there any sense in signing up for HawaiianMiles with this offer to accomplish that? Or would it make more sense to go with AA (or another airline program card) and redeem on HA?

It seems like this would be an ideal offer for you and your wife. The two cards will yield 70k miles (plus 2k in spend), which puts you only 8k short of the flight. Repeat for your wife. Worst case scenario, you can buy the remaining 16k points for ~$450. Including the annual fees, you're looking at just over $600 for $5,600 worth of flights.

Alternatively, you and your wife could both get the HA cards and an AA card. Use the HA miles for 3 of the flights and the AA miles for the 4th flight.

I would be interested in this card, however I currently have a Bank of America card. Would they ever consider transferring my account to Hawaiian Airlines BOA card so I can get the miles?

This thread is for a BOA and a similar BOH card. You can get both cards, many people have.

I understand that. Just wondering if others already having a BOA card have been approved - or if I need to cancel my current one first. Just curious about how it all worked out for others.

Ahh, gotcha. BTW, hello from another Coloradoan. :)