I Could’ve Moved AMEX Points to Alaska via Hawaiian. Here’s Why I Didn’t

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If it hasn’t already happened, today was likely the last day you could transfer American Express Membership Rewards points to Hawaiian Airlines.

I’ve written about this before, since HawaiianMiles could be transferred to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan—giving you an indirect way to convert Membership Rewards points into Alaska miles.

But if you haven’t already made the transfer, you were either waiting until the very last second… or you may already be too late.

I Sat This One Out

Until now, I hadn’t transferred any of our points. That’s different from several bloggers who moved hundreds of thousands of points over, speculatively betting on the opportunity. I gave it one last look before the deadline but ultimately decided to take a pass. I’m keeping our points with American Express until I have a specific use for them.

Yes, I tend to procrastinate. But when I’m truly interested in a deal, I dive headfirst into the research. The fact that I waited this long? It tells me something. Deep down, I already knew this wasn’t the right play for us. I just needed to give it one final check to convince myself.

Why Alaska Miles Don’t Work for Us

As I dug a little deeper into why people love Alaska Mileage Plan miles so much, it started to make more sense, specifically why they just don’t work for us.

Alaska Airlines has some fantastic award redemptions if your travel patterns align with their routes and partners. For example, you can book business class to Japan on Japan Airlines for just 60,000 miles one way, or fly to South America in business class starting at just 35,000 miles—northern South America typically prices at 35K each way, while flights to places like Chile or Brazil go for around 50K. Those are solid values, especially considering how much other programs often charge for similar routes (AwardWallet, Frequent Miler, Miles for Family).

But for us? Most of those redemptions just aren’t realistic. We live in Florida and Alaska doesn’t fly much from the East Coast, so we wouldn’t be using our miles for domestic flights. We rarely fly to Hawaii, and when we do, we usually use other points or paid fares. And while partner redemptions sound great, they don’t match our current travel plans—or if they do, we have other programs that can get us there just as easily.

So why lock ourselves into Alaska’s program, especially with their chart changes likely on the horizon?

We’re Eyeing Asia—But Not With Alaska

Another reason I hesitated? The main situation where I’d need a large block of miles is for a return trip to Asia.

For our last big international trip, I flew us on Singapore Airlines to Vietnam and booked our return from Siem Reap, Cambodia. I was able to make that booking by transferring points from three different programs, including some from American Express Membership Rewards. That flexibility made it possible to piece together the flights we wanted, without locking us into a single airline program.

For our next major adventure, we hope to return to Japan. And while it used to be possible to find Japan Airlines business class awards through Alaska Mileage Plan at that coveted 60,000 or 75,000-mile level, those flights, particularly for two passengers, have become increasingly hard to find.

There’s also the simple reality of supply and demand. Even if partner redemptions remain available, we’re about to see a big wave of people sitting on hefty Alaska mile balances. Many of them know exactly which sweet spots to target. So even though there’s a fixed number of award seats out there, there’s now going to be a lot more competition to grab them. That makes it even less likely I’ll be able to find the award space I want, when I want it.

Final Thought

Don’t get me wrong—there are plenty of travelers who will get solid value from this transfer window and from collecting Alaska miles in general. But for us, it just didn’t feel like the right move. I’ve been burned before by sitting on miles I couldn’t use for years, like the last time I had a stash of Alaska miles just collecting dust.

So for now, our Membership Rewards points are staying put. Ready to be used when the right trip (and the right award space) comes along.

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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary