Can You Get the Sign-up Bonus for the New Hawaiian Airlines Card If You Already Have the Old Version?

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Million Mile Secrets reader Brandon Goode asks on Facebook:

Any idea on what’s going to happen to those of us who have the Bank of America and Bank of Hawaii, Hawaiian Airlines cards?

Brandon is referring to a new bank (Barclaycard) issuing the Hawaiian Airlines credit card.  The Hawaiian Air card used to be issued by Bank of America.  There is also a Bank of Hawaii version that was issued by FIA Card Services (a subsidiary of Bank of America), but is now also issued by Barclaycard.

Can You Get The Sign Up Bonus For The New Hawaiian Airlines Card If You Already Have The Old Version
What Should Brandon Do?

The New Barclaycard Hawaiian Airlines Cards

Link:  Barclaycard Hawaiian Airlines personal card

Link:   Hawaiian Airlines Credit Card Review

Barclaycard will now issue 3 versions of the Hawaiian airlines card.

  • The Barclaycard Hawaiian Airlines personal card 
  • The Bank of Hawaii, Hawaiian Airlines personal card
  • The Bank of Hawaii, Hawaiian Airlines Business card

Note that the Bank of Hawaii, Hawaiian Airlines Business card appears to be the same card as the Barclaycard Hawaiian Airlines business card!

Folks who have the old Bank of America cards will be automatically switched to new Barclaycards.

This change is not good news because it was easy to get multiple cards with Bank of America.

Barclaycard is much stricter and you can usually count on only 2 Barclaycard cards in year, assuming you don’t have a lot of credit inquiries and spend some money on your existing Barclaycards.

But there may be a chance to cancel your Bank of America or Bank of Hawaii Hawaiian Airlines card and try to get approved for a new card from Barclaycard to get the 35,000 mile sign-up bonus.

What Happens If You Already Have the Personal Card From Bank of America or Bank of Hawaii?

Folks who have the old Bank of America and Bank of Hawaii Personal cards as of February 27, 2014, will automatically get the new card by April 28, 2014.  So Brandon can keep using his old Bank of Hawaii and Bank of America cards until April 28, 2014.  But he won’t get the 35,000 mile bonus for keeping the card open.

The Hawaiian Airlines website says:

Your account must be open and in good standing as of February 27, 2014 to be eligible to receive a new Hawaiian Airlines World Elite MasterCard.

However, it is unclear what happens if you cancel your old Bank of America card after February 27, 2014.  Will Barclaycard still send you a new card?

I suspect that Barclaycard will not send you a new card if you’ve cancelled your old Bank of America card after February 27, 2014.  That said, the closer you get to April 28, 2014 (with an open Bank of America or Bank of Hawaii, Hawaiian Air card), the more likely you are to get the new version of the Barclaycard Hawaiian Air card.  And less likely to be able to get the sign-up bonus on the new card.

However, there is no guarantee that he will be approved for the new Hawaiian Airlines card.  It is tough to get approved for new Barclaycards, especially if you have a lot of recent applications, do not have a long credit history with Barclaycard, or have multiple Barclaycards.

What Happens If You Already Have the Business Card From Bank of America?

According to Rapid Travel Chai, the Bank of America Hawaiian Airlines Business card will be changing to the Bank of America Travel Rewards Business Card.  This card will give Brandon 1.5 points per $1 spent with NO annual fee.

Brandon can keep using the old Hawaiian Airlines Business card until the end of his April statement.

Will You Get the 35,000 Mile Bonus?

Brandon’s existing card will automatically get converted to the new Hawaiian Airlines Personal credit card if he does nothing.  This usually means that you will NOT get the 35,000 mile sign-up bonus again.

But there could be a way around this.  Barclaycard appears to be sending out the new cards in batches.  So although it is past February 27, 2014, Brandon could try to cancel his old Bank of America Hawaiian Airlines card BEFORE it is converted to the new Barclaycard Hawaiian Airlines card and apply for the Barclaycard later.

If he is approved for the new Barclaycard Hawaiian Air personal card, he should be able to get the 35,000 mile sign-up bonus.

What Changes With the New Barclaycard Personal Card?

What happens if Brandon decides not to cancel his old Bank of America or Bank of Hawaii cards and they are automatically converted to the new Barclaycards?

1.   Credit for Checked Bag Fees

According to the FAQ page on the Hawaiian Airlines site, Brandon will now get a free checked bag with the new Hawaiian Airlines credit card.  If he is charged a checked bag fee on the old card between January 1, 2014, and April 28, 2014, he will get a statement credit.

He will receive the credit within 90 days of getting his new card.

2.   Credit For Foreign Transaction Fees

The FAQ page also says the new card does not charge a fee for purchases made outside the US.  So Brandon will get a statement credit for any foreign transaction fees he has received between January 1, 2014, and April 28, 2014.

He will receive the credit within 90 days of getting his new card.

3.   Keep Your Current Miles

Even though the card is changing, Brandon will NOT lose his miles.

Can You Get The Sign Up Bonus For The New Hawaiian Airlines Card If You Already Have The Old Version
You Won’t Lose Your Hawaiian Airlines Miles

4.   Keep Your Current Companion Certificate

If Brandon has a 50% off Companion Certificate from the old card, it is still valid until the 13 month expiration date.

Can You Get The Sign Up Bonus For The New Hawaiian Airlines Card If You Already Have The Old Version
You Also Won’t Lose Your Companion Discount

5.   Keep Your Credit Card Anniversary

Brandon’s current credit card anniversary stays the same with the new card.  He should keep this in mind if he plans on going for the spending bonus!

With the new Barclay’s personal card he will get 5,000 miles after spending $10,000.  I don’t think this is worth it for most folks, but could be worth it for Big Spenders.

6.   Higher Annual Fee

The new card has an $89 annual fee compared to the $50 to $79 annual fee on the old cards.  So Brandon will have to decide if the new card is worth the extra $10 to $39 per year.

7.   New Interest Rate

With the new cards the interest rate will be 15.99% to 24.99%.

I always say that you should pay off your balance, in full, each month to avoid paying interest.  There’s no point playing this game if you pay high rates of interest.  And you’ll never get ahead paying ~25% interest!

8.   Payment Changes

If Brandon keeps the new card, he should remember that after April 28, 2014, he will have a new account number.  So he will have to update any automatic payments he currently has set-up.

With the new card, he also needs to remember to send his payments to Barclaycard instead of Bank of America.

Can You Get The Sign Up Bonus For The New Hawaiian Airlines Card If You Already Have The Old Version
Remember to Change Your Payment Info So You Don’t Get Late Fees!

However, if Brandon has the Bank of Hawaii card he can still make payments in-person at his local Bank of Hawaii branch.

Bottom Line

The Hawaiian Airlines cards are now issued by Barclaycard.

Folks who have the old Bank of America Business card will be switched to the Travel Rewards Business card.

If you have the old Hawaiian Airlines Personal card, you will automatically receive your new card in the mail.  You can keep using your current card and earning miles until April 28, 2014.

When you get the card, you will have a new card number so make sure that you update your auto-pay accounts.  And don’t forget to send payments to Barclaycard instead of Bank of America!

The new cards will have a $10 to $39 increase in annual fee, so you will have to decide if the card is worth the increased fee.  You will NOT get the 35,000 mile sign-up bonus with the new card because you aren’t submitting a new application.

However, you can try canceling your Bank of America Hawaiian Airlines card before it gets converted to Barclaycard.  And then submit a new application for the Barclaycard Hawaiian Airlines card to get the sign-up bonus.  But there is no guarantee that Barclaycard will approve your application.

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