Going nuts trying to figure out which miles/points I can use for inter-island flights
 

Apologies for asking a question that I really should be able to research by myself, but I am losing my mind trying to poke through all these websites. The situation: I am trying to get some inter-island flights using miles or points. I have a huge mileage balance on BA, about 25,000 Amex MR points, and 7500 stranded miles on UA Mileage Plus that I would love to be able to use.

I know that the Amex MR points can be transferred to HA. Can my MR points go to Aloha? Can either my BA or UA mileage balances be used to get inter-island flights on any carrier? I have (near-empty) accounts with AA, US, DL, Amtrak GR, Hilton HHonors, Marriott Rewards, and SPG that can be used for laundering purposes.

Thanks so much for your help. All I've managed to do so far is reserve one Premium award on HA. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

You can use 5,000 of your UA miles to get an inter-island RT on Aloha. That is your best option. Can you transfer your membership rewards points to United or Northwest? If so, that might be better than transferring them to Hawaiian, since Hawaiian wants twice as many points for an inter-island ticket.

Oh, I would LOVE to get rid of those United miles. I'm going to call right now and see what I can do here. Unfortunately, MR points don't go to NW or UA.

Hi travelmad! Just how "travel-mad" are you? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif If you're pretty mad, and have time, here's another idea that will allow you to exchange 5,000 Membership Rewards for an inter-island ticket.

1. Set up Continental OnePass account.

2. Transfer 5,000 from Membership Rewards to Continental.

3. Set up Amtrak Rewards account (Free).

4. Transfer 5,000 from Continental to Amtrak. This step can take weeks.

5. Transfer 5,000 from Amtrak to United.

6. Redeem 5,000 in United for Aloha airlines inter-island award.

There might be a faster way, but after a quick perusal of membership rewards, that's what I came up with.

anthonyanthony,

That's a great way to get an AQ award!

Thanks!

aloha

Devilish. Diabolical. I love it. I may not have time to do it, but it's fabulous. And I already have the Amtrak account!

Do you know how long it takes to transfer miles from Amtrak to United? It strikes me that I could transfer the 2500 miles I have at Amtrak into United, and then have 10,000 miles in the United account to get a RT award on Aloha.

[This message has been edited by travelmad478 (edited Jan 17, 2004).]

Thanks for the compliments...years of reading Flyertalk can enable one to concoct some pretty complex ways of moving points/miles around http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Moving 2,500 from Amtrak to United looks like it will be quick and easy. And when you get 10,000 United miles, you'll be able to redeem for 2 round trip inter-island tickets on Aloha!

I've never made the transfer from Amtrak to United myself, but from what I've read it usually only takes a few days, around 4 business days. And for the benefit of those who don't already know, Amtrak limits transfers out of their program to 25,000 per calendar year, or 50,000 if you're elite in their program.

The transfer from Membership Rewards to Continental can apparently be done in just a few business days as well.

Going from Continental to Amtrak is the tricky one. According to accounts I've read on Flyertalk, it can be as short as a few days to as long as four to six weeks.

May your transfers go well!

[This message has been edited by anthonyanthony (edited Jan 17, 2004).]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but miles can be transfered from Amtrak to UA only in 5000 miles increments (25,000 per year max)... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

Oh yeah, an oversight on my part. Thanks for the reminder honu. Speaking of minimums, I believe Continental also has a 5000 mile minimum to transfer to Amtrak. Membership Rewards has a 1000 minimum to CO. So you'll always be left with 2500 in your Amtrak account with these methods.

Well let's see...there are other ways...although it's not a good deal, if you have Hilton HHonors points, you can transfer 10,000 of those for 1,500 Amtrak points. Or, if you have Starwood SPG points, you can transfer, I believe, a minimum of 2,500 into Amtrak at 1 to 1, so that would be perfect...and a much better deal. Or, if you have the MBNA Amtrak MasterCard...charge up $2500.

[This message has been edited by anthonyanthony (edited Jan 18, 2004).]

Oh, rats. It's like someone at United is out to get me. If I could transfer those 2500 miles from Amtrak, I'd have exactly 10,000 miles and then I could be rid of my UA balance once and for all.