The Department of Transportation on Tuesday finally cleared a path for the Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines merger to take off – and it could be finalized later this week, according to Alaska. And tucked inside that merger agreement is some great news for points and miles aficionados.
First unveiled late last year amid Hawaiian's ongoing financial struggles, the carriers' merger will be an odd one: Both airline brands would continue running separately … at least in name. But behind the scenes, Alaska is acquiring Hawaiian in a $1.9 billion takeover and will call the shots. Combined, the two airlines could strengthen Alaska's dominance in Seattle (SEA) while expanding to a second hub in Honolulu (HNL) and even give Alaska Airlines a long-haul international presence.
Along with the Department of Justice's decision last month not to sue to block the proposed merger, Tuesday's word from the DOT clears the path for the merger to move ahead – a surprising development after the Biden administration shot down JetBlue's acquisition of Spirit while also forcing JetBlue and American to give up on their partnership.
The acquisition is expected to be formally finalized on Wednesday. But that still comes with strings attached … and that's great news for travelers looking for an easier way to earn ultra-valuable Alaska Mileage Plan miles.
Once complete, Alaska's mileage program is expected to take over for both carriers. The merger agreement with the DOT stipulates that HawaiianMiles must convert to Alaska Mileage Plan on a 1:1 basis. What's more, the two airlines have agreed to allow the transfer of miles between the two programs until their combined loyalty program is up and running. Alaska Airlines said that functionality is coming “later this month.”
That will open an easy avenue to turn Amex Membership Rewards points from cards like the *amex gold* or *amex platinum* into Alaska miles … because while Alaska isn't an Amex transfer partner, Hawaiian Airlines is. While Alaska itself is now a Bilt transfer partner, those points are far harder to earn than the likes of American Express.
Back when there was a HawaiianMiles transfer bonus from American Express last month, we urged fans of Alaska's MileagePlan program to (carefully) consider making such a transfer. With final word today, we're betting many readers will be happy they did!
Federal regulators are also looking to protect travelers with Alaska and Hawaiian miles from devaluations that could occur after the merger. It's a new focus of Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and the Biden Administration, which recently launched an investigation of the mileage programs of the nation's largest airlines … but notably excluded Alaska and Hawaiian. Now, we know why – the details of their new joint program were formalized in this merger agreement.
The agreement states Alaska has to “maintain the value of each unredeemed HawaiianMiles mile at the value earned prior to Closing [of the merger],” as well as “continue to award HawaiianMiles at the same or greater value,” and “honor all active HawaiianMiles promotions for which HawaiianMiles members registered prior to Closing.” Redacted in the agreement is exactly how cents per mile Alaska and Hawaiian will be allowed to charge for refundable award tickets. That restriction does not apply to Alaska's “Saver” fares or redemptions on partner airlines – one of the main sweet spots of Alaska's mileage program.
Whether you fly Alaska frequently or not at all, Alaska's Mileage Plan program is incredibly valuable thanks largely to its amazing array of international partner airlines like Japan Airlines, Aer Lingus, Fiji Airways, and more. But even if you're just looking to fly domestically, there are plenty of valuable ways to fly for a bargain using Alaska miles.
Alaska has pivoted to a new, distance-based award chart that determines how many miles you need to book a particular flight. Although some of the best deals to book business or first class on Oneworld partner airlines to Asia or Australia have disappeared, it's still fairly easy to find good deals for domestic and international flights with Alaska and on partner flights.
Status holders on both airlines will also be brought in to the new program under “equivalent status levels” at the time of launch.
In addition to the loyalty program requirements, Alaska and Hawaiian have also agreed to continue operating “robust” service in the Hawaiian Islands and all of Alaska's Essential Air Service flying that connects people in remote communities with its mainline network during the merger period. The agreement with the DOT also requires both carriers to continue operating all existing routes, including routes where the two airlines currently overlap. Plus, they each must retain all interline agreements either airline has with other airlines until the final merger goes is approved, too.
Hawaiian must also immediately meet Alaska's score on the DOT's Customer Service Dashboard by guaranteeing seats for kids 13 and under next to an accompanying adult at no additional cost, issuing credits or miles when flights are delayed or cancelled, and rebooking passengers on other airlines when complications occur.
To comply with the new agreement, Alaska Airlines announced an interim Honolulu leadership team to help ease the combination between the two carriers.
Bottom Line
After several unsuccessful mergers, federal regulators have cleared the runway for the merger of Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines. And in doing so, there's a big win for points and miles fanatics.
Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines have agreed to allow travelers to transfer miles between the two programs at a 1:1 ratio until their new, combined loyalty program is finished – at which time all the points will be combined at the same ratio anyway. That opens an easy way to earn ultra-valuable Alaska miles.