Hawaii is a place on many people’s travel list because of everything it has to offer. Business class flights to Hawaii are just the icing on the cake.
You’ve got the ruggedness of Kauai in the north. You pick up the bigger city feel of Honolulu on Oahu. Find world class diving and surfing in Maui. Check out the volcano near Kona on Hawaii.
The list is limitless of things to do in Hawaii and that only further bolsters the reason why it’s such an incredible place.
In this post, I’ll show you how to book business class flights to Hawaii with minimal out-of-pocket spend. It’s really something everyone should take advantage of.
How To Earn Etihad Miles
Etihad has quickly become one of my new favorite frequent flyer programs. It’s an under-the-radar program that has a ton of upside, in this case with business class flights to Hawaii, if you know where to look.
With respect to this redemption, focus on transferable point programs to earn Etihad miles.
Amex, Citi, Capital One, and Marriott all partner with Etihad. What this means is that the points that you earn can be directly transferred to Etihad for an award flight.
By focusing your spend on credit cards in these programs, you’ll have a continuous flow of Etihad miles at your disposal.
How to Use Etihad Miles
The Etihad Guest program is structured similar to Virgin Atlantic in that it has award charts for each of its airline partners.
It does take time to familiarize yourself with the sweet spots in each chart, business class flights to Hawaii being one of them, but when you do you will find the time spent worth the effort.
One of my favorite Etihad partners is American Airlines because the mileage pricing is competitive.
When the time comes to transfer Etihad miles to a partner, the process is easy! Simply link your Etihad account with your transferable point account, and transfer the points over.
Citi and Marriott transfer times can be long (think 5-7 days) so I’d recommend transferring points from Amex and/or Capital One as both are within 24 hours.
In short, not all airline partners transfer miles instantly when you are looking to use Etihad miles.
How to Book Business Class Flights to Hawaii
Etihad has a number of airline partners including American Airlines. What this means is that Etihad miles can be used to fly on a partner airline flight.
For business class flights to Hawaii, work backwards from your Hawaiian destination to an American Airlines hub for direct flights. The American hubs to focus on are Kona (KOA), Honolulu (HNL), Maui (OGG), and Kauai (LIH).
With your route selected, search British Airways for American Airlines award space. When you find award space, call Etihad at 877-690-0767 and feed the flight information to them.
Etihad will then confirm the space, at which point, you’ll transfer miles from Amex or Capital One. If transferring from Amex, stay on the line until the agent sees the miles in your Etihad account.
The agent will then book the award flight with the miles, and then ask for a credit card to pay for the taxes and fees.
When I booked 2 one-way business class flights, the taxes and fees came to $63. Not bad for 2 seats from Dallas (DFW) to Kona (KOA)!
All in all, the process should take no more than 20 minutes, or at least it did in my case. I found the Etihad agent knowledgeable and willing to help.
Credit Cards to Use to Book Business Class Flights
Chase has one of the most restrictive credit card policies so it’s best to apply for its cards first. While Chase isn’t the program to use for business class flights to Hawaii, it’s an all-around great program.
For any travel-related expense, consider using the Chase Sapphire Reserve. It earns 3x points on travel and also has excellent travel coverage. The Platinum Card from American Express (Learn More Here) earns 5x points on flights booked with the airline, however, the travel coverage is subpar.
If you have a business, use the Chase Ink Business Preferred. It 3x points on travel, but it lacks travel coverage. The Business Platinum Card from American Express (Learn More Here) 5x points on flights booked on amextravel.com, but it too lacks travel coverage.
Conclusion
The Etihad Guest program continues to fly under the radar and that’s fine by me. If there continues to be business class flights to Hawaii with award space, I’ll take it.
I appreciate that its program has a learning curve forcing you to spend time to understand it.
On the downside, not being able to book partner award flights online is a huge pain. I’d rather not have to call to book a flight, if I can help it.
All in all, consider using Etihad and its airline partners, particularly if you have access to Amex, Citi, Capital One, or Marriott points.
