How to use Amex Membership Reward Points to fly to Hawaii on United
Let's talk travel! Getting away has always had a positive effect on my mindset and general overall perspective. I grew up a few hours outside of New York and we would go in to see Broadway shows here and there and I was always so captivated by all of it: the grit, the diversity, the shopping, the lavish lifestyles. It was very, very different from rural Pennsylvania - and I loved that. Drive a few short hours and you're in an entirely different universe.
I did this study abroad program in college which took me all over Europe and had the coolest experiences in London. And made a total rock star friend - a creating a lifelong friendship. At one point in my twenties I was a book publicist (feels like a lifetime ago) which required a lot of travel - and I thought it was awesome to get to move around so much and see so many parts of the country. Traveling gave me the courage to quit that job altogether and pick up and move to Telluride, Colorado and then on to Denver.
Last year I went to Hawaii for the first time ever - and to say that it was love at first sight is pretty much the under-statement of the century for me. Everything you've ever heard about Hawaii - how awesome it is, how beautiful it is, how calming it is - it's all TRUE.
I had read a few posts on American Express Membership Rewards and how you can really capitalize on using these points for travel. It just took a little digging, a few phone calls to some airlines and voila: just like that I had a well-laid plan on how to get to Hawaii for under $10!! No joke. Here's how I did it:
I signed up for the Premier Rewards Gold Card which came with the 50,000 reward points after I spent $2000 within the first three months of having that card. I used this card to go to Hawaii the first time, last September. I booked my flight with this card which gave me triple points for the price of the ticket (which was $650 round trip from Denver) and I also used Amex Travel to book the hotel - for which I earned double points. (Awesome side note: Amex Travel will honor any lower rate found online before your trip. I found the hotel $100 cheaper per night on Trip Adviser and Amex Travel honored the lower price and I still got double the points). I also got double points on the restaurants I visited on Maui.
When all was said and done, I had spent the $2000 within the first month of having the card and I walked away with not only the 50,000 reward points but another 6,000 points (give or take) from the charges I placed for the airfare, hotel and restaurants. Hawaii was so amazing I knew immediately that I wanted to use the points to get back there again, ASAP!
Once your points are in your American Express account you'll notice that you can't transfer them directly to United using their Membership Rewards portal. I wanted to use United because they offer a ton of nonstop flights to Hawaii from Denver. A little loop hole is that Singapore Airlines' frequent flyer program KrisFlyer partners with United - and you can transfer points directly from American Express to Kris Flyer. The best part is that KrisFlyer requires less miles for a round trip non-stop ticket than United does so it's a win-win.
To find the flight you're after you need to make sure that United is offering reward travel for the times and dates you want to go to Hawaii. Go to their site and choose the dates you're after and be sure to select Search for award travel like shown below.
Next, you need to see Saver Award above the flight you're after (note: if you choose to not fly nonstop you'll see a lot more options). You'll notice some of the flights are only 22.5k miles - totaling 45k miles for a round trip ticket. When I booked this through KrisFlyer it was only 35k miles - which was SO.AWESOME. (Some people are really good at figuring out the dollar ratio or difference between a membership reward point and a mile through an airline. I am definitely not one of those people! I just wanted to get to Hawaii for free. lol ).
Now that you know United is offering Saver Award flights on the dates and times you want you'll need to set up a KrisFlyer account which you can do here. After you've done that call their membership services number: 312-843-5333 press 2 and tell them that you want to book a flight from Denver to Hawaii on United. Their automated system will tell you a million times that if you can do something on their site that they'll charge you $50 to speak to a representative. Just ignore this - because you can't book their partner airlines on their site so you need to speak to a representative.
They only have a limited number of seats per United flight so it's best to be a little flexible with your dates. Plus, keep in mind that flying mid-week will always require less miles. Ask the agent how many miles will be required for your ticket (you do this so you know how many miles to transfer into your KrisFlyer account). She or he will then tell you that it takes a month for miles to show up in your KrisFlyer account. It took my Amex membership reward points less than 24 hours to show up in my KrisFlyer account (and I now have done this twice) so I think they're overestimating for some weird reason.
Once you know how many miles it'll take for you to purchase your ticket - you need to connect your American Express Membership Rewards account to KrisFlyer. Login to your American Express Membership Rewards account click on Transfer Points and choose Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer from the list. Now that you know how many miles are required to get your ticket through KrisFlyer you can transfer the points directly into your KrisFlyer loyalty program. You'll need your KrisFlyer account number to do this (which is why you need to set it up before you get to this step).
Once your miles show up in the KrisFlyer account (again, mine only took 24 hours) you call that membership services number back: 312-843-5333 and ask to purchase the ticket. There is a slight chance that they could have sold out which is why you have to be a little flexible with this whole thing. But in the end, you only pay the taxes which were SEVEN DOLLARS for a roundtrip, nonstop ticket to Hawaii! You'll get your confirmation from Singapore Airlines and you can use the booking number to add it into your United account.
I hope you guys find this helpful! I love tricks like this - and I also love getting to Hawaii as much as possible!
