That rocks!! ^ Late summer is another good time...we played Hapuna Prince, Mauna Kea, and one of the Hilton courses in Waikaloa (forget its name...one of the holes runs adjacent to the Ocean Tower at HWV) all in about 3 1/2 hrs a pop. Just my wife and I: nice to play as a twosome and hardly see anyone else out there. If I had been by myself, carrying my sticks, I could have broken 3 hours easily.

The Hilton course was 2 for $80 - the two courses up the road (MK and HP) were about $75 per person but outstanding tracks - best "resort course" I've ever played. All of these have crazy greens fees ($150-200/person) in the winter/spring.

In fact, I think we did all of this about 3 years ago this week... :) Man, I need to get back...

I booked my tickets back in April for Hawaii travel in February 07 (with UA/AC). Even back then, online inventory was scarce and I didn't care for the times or connections. I called the Aeroplan reservation desk - which cost $35 per ticket - but it was well worth it. There were all kinds of options to choose from and I got the exact itinerary I wanted. They told me on the phone they use the internet to "get rid" of less desirable times/connections and they "save" the better flights for the passengers who call in (and are willing to pay for the service).

Any company that cannot provide the same service online that they do when you call in deserves to go out of business.

In todays electronic world it just doesn't make financial sense much less common sense!!

Of course it may take a little work to find them and a CSR might be better at it than the normal customer, but the people that know how to navigate the web and find things should not be forced to call-in for better deals.....

Off my soap-box, but it really irritates me that computers are so advanced yet a lot of the airlines are still forcing us to call in when we ALL could save time and money by doing it online...

Hi,divilish, I think you may be surprised to learn that most, if not all, of those time and money saving features and benefits are available online, on the phone, and up close and personal, just RESERVED for the airline's highest tier Elites. Yes, divilish, all that you dream of WILL be yours, when you fly 40+K EQMs with your favorite airline!

Maybe on Hawaiian, but the true benefits for other carriers come after crossing that 50k threshold (into mid-tier elite)... and even more past the 75/100k thresholds.

It is amazing the discrepancies that I've found on nwa.com vs. calling in to the Gold elite line for NW. The Plat/Gold line is simply amazing at being able to pull up standard awards out of nowhere.

Re: OP. My own best luck has been in late April and early May. Though nowadays with a number of airlines flying in to OGG and KOA from the mainland and interisland prices dropping, you would seem to have more seats and better odds on some airlines, like NW.

A nice thing about early May if you're going to HNL is the Cazimero Brothers' annual May Day concert at the Waikiki Shell. Definitely go see if you get a chance.

I also don't feel very sorry for the interisland carriers like AQ and HA, as I've found them in the past to combine Hong Kong courtesy with Polynesian efficiency on the interisland routes, making the experience slow and irritating. No wonder so many people are flying to just one island at a time and staying put.

This varies widely by airline. On airlines where it really does have some effect (on award availability, that is), the benefit is usually seen at the 100,000 mile level.

Another subtle HA advantage.: Top Tier Elite Status (Pualani Platinum) at 40K; AQ 50K; AA, UA, CO, DL, NW, 100K?

:confused: That's barely apples-to-oranges. It's more like apples to...I don't know...meat. ;)

Thru the years I've earned a total of approx 3M FF miles and the lion's share of those miles have been used for free tickets for travel between the mainland and HI: at least 75 free tickets, all coach, all saver. I've redeemed multiple tickets on all of the major players (UA, DL, AA, NW, CO, and even a couple on Pan Am and about a dozen on TWA) and my experience has been that the airline with by far the best coach saver award availability to/from HI is AA hands-down, no other airline comes even close.

Good morning! Let me unconfuse you. Our friend divilish was bemoaning his fate of not finding a satisfactory inventory of reasonable award tix to Hawai'i, plus airline websites lacking certain features and benefits in general. I posted that the inventory and features he wishes for in a website ARE available on-line, just RESERVED for ELITE STATUS holders. Most airlines' top tier benefits are roughly equivalent, so I see HA as offering a substantial discount to other carriers vis a vis top tier status for 40K, vs. 100K for the rest. Let me clear everything up: divilish: You will see award tix availability go up as you gain status with your airline.

This statement is so far from correct I don't even know where to begin. Do you even know what benefits UA 1K's or AA ExPlats receive? I don't mean to sound like I'm flaming you...just do a little research.

I really wouldn't even attempt to compare HA Plat to a major mid-tier. Again, HA itself isn't trying to make this comparison...why are we? They aren't even in the same league.

Gee, umm, 100% bonus miles, admittance to the club, free and discounted upgrades to F, more on line award availability. These are all comparable top tier benefits across the board. I wouldnt compare UA Million Mile Global Services to HA Pualani Platinum, ;) , but, imo, for West Coast to Hawai'i air travel, an interested party may consider that HA offers a very nice Platinum discounted upgrade to F, available when you hit only 40K EQM! But we digress! divilish: You will find that as your status grows with the airline of your choice, the on-line award ticket availability also increases!

Don't you fret, divilish. Believe it or not, all these inconveniences start to dissappear as you gain status levels with your airline!

I concur with sportychick: definitely call. You might also want to check out other redemption tips on gleff's blog.