How to Fly to Hawaii for $11.20 (or the Caribbean for Almost Free): A Honeymooner’s Points Guide

How to Fly to Hawaii for $11.20: A Honeymooner’s Points Guide

A honeymoon in Hawaii can easily cost more than $1,000 in airfare for two people. But with airline miles or credit card points, it's possible to cover the airfare and pay as little as $11.20 per person round trip in government taxes and fees on certain domestic award tickets.

You still need enough miles to book the flight, and award prices vary by airline, route, and travel date. But a single credit card welcome bonus can sometimes provide enough miles for one or even two round-trip tickets.

Here's how it works.

Why $11.20?

When you book an award flight with miles, you still have to pay applicable government taxes and fees.

For many U.S. domestic award tickets, the minimum government charge is the September 11th Security Fee of $5.60 per one-way trip originating at a U.S. airport. Because Hawaii is part of the United States, a qualifying round-trip award can require as little as $5.60 each way, or $11.20 round trip.

For example, imagine a Hawaii flight normally costs $700 but is available for 35,000 miles + $11.20. Instead of paying $700, you could redeem the miles and pay the required $11.20.

The 35,000-mile figure is only an example. The actual number of miles required will depend on the flight.

How Many Miles Do You Need for Hawaii?

There isn't one standard price. Airlines may require very different numbers of miles depending on your departure city, dates, demand, and available award seats.

That's why the first step is to search the actual trip you're considering. If possible, check several dates and compare the cash price with the mileage price.

Suppose you find round-trip tickets for 35,000 miles per person. For two honeymooners, you'd need:

70,000 miles + applicable taxes and fees.

Now you have a target.

Could One Credit Card Bonus Cover Both Tickets?

Potentially.

If you need 70,000 miles for two tickets and find a credit card offering a 75,000-point or 75,000-mile welcome bonus, that single bonus could potentially provide enough rewards for both flights if those rewards can be used for your chosen airline.

In our example, two $700 tickets would normally cost $1,400. Using miles could potentially reduce the cash airfare to $22.40 total for two people on a qualifying domestic round-trip award.

For an engaged couple with several large wedding expenses coming up, meeting a welcome bonus requirement may be easier than it would be during a normal spending period. Venue deposits, photography, flowers, clothing, and other already-budgeted purchases could help you reach the requirement without adding unnecessary spending.

Which Points Can Get You to Hawaii?

There are two main approaches.

An airline credit card can make sense when you already know which airline you'll fly. You're earning miles directly in that airline's loyalty program.

Alternatively, flexible rewards programs such as Chase Ultimate Rewards®, Capital One Miles, and American Express Membership Rewards® can provide more options because eligible points can be used or transferred to participating travel partners.

Flexible points are particularly useful if you haven't chosen an airline yet.

Always Find the Flight Before Transferring Points

This is one of the most important practical rules for booking award travel.

If you have transferable credit card points, don't move them to an airline simply because you think you'll use that airline later.

First, find the award flight you want. Confirm that seats are available, verify the number of miles required, check the transfer ratio, and then transfer the points when you're ready to book.

Transfers to airline loyalty programs are generally difficult or impossible to reverse. You don't want to transfer 70,000 points and then discover that the flight you wanted is no longer available.

What About the Caribbean?

The same strategy can work for a Caribbean honeymoon, but don't assume your taxes will be only $11.20.

International destinations such as Jamaica, Aruba, the Bahamas, St. Lucia, and Turks and Caicos can have additional government, airport, tourism, arrival, or departure taxes. Miles can still potentially cover the airfare, but your cash portion may be higher.

Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are worth checking if you want a Caribbean honeymoon with potentially lower award-ticket fees because they're U.S. territories.

Always check the final taxes and fees before transferring your points.

Use Two People to Cover More of the Honeymoon

Couples can take the strategy one step further.

Instead of trying to make one welcome bonus cover the entire honeymoon, divide the trip into its two biggest expenses.

Partner 1: Flights

Partner 2: Hotel

If one partner earns enough miles for two Hawaii tickets and the other earns enough hotel or flexible points for several nights, you could reduce both of the largest costs of the honeymoon.

For example, imagine two flights cost $1,400 and seven hotel nights cost $2,100. That's $3,500 before food, transportation, and activities. Points and miles that cover the flights and several hotel nights could dramatically reduce that total.

Don't Go Into Debt for a "Free" Honeymoon

Travel rewards lose their value quickly if you're paying high credit card interest.

If a welcome offer requires $4,000 in purchases, make sure you can meet that requirement with expenses you can afford and were already planning. Don't add thousands of dollars of purchases just to earn a bonus.

The objective is simple: use planned spending to earn travel rewards, then pay the balance responsibly.

Start With the Trip

If Hawaii is your dream honeymoon, search the flights before choosing a card.

Find out what two tickets cost in cash and miles. If the flights you want require 70,000 miles, look for a rewards strategy that can get you approximately 70,000 miles. If you need 100,000, build around that number instead.

The Find My Card quiz at IDoLetsGo.com can help you compare cards based on your destination, spending, credit, and the number of miles you need.

A Hawaii honeymoon might normally require $1,400 or more in airfare. With the right rewards and available award flights, those tickets could potentially cost you miles plus as little as $11.20 per person in government taxes and fees.

Before paying cash, see what your points can do.

Plan your spending. Earn your rewards. Take the honeymoon.

I Do! Let's Go!

Award prices and availability vary by airline, route, and travel date. The $11.20 example represents the minimum $5.60-per-direction U.S. September 11th Security Fee on qualifying round-trip domestic award travel; additional taxes and fees may apply. International award travel can have higher taxes and fees. Credit card offers, transfer partners, and redemption values can change. Always confirm award availability before transferring points, and never spend more than you can afford solely to earn rewards.