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Pay Fewer United Airlines Miles for Certain Flights to Hawaii and Visit More Islands for Less!

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    Dreaming of a trip to Hawaii?  Good news!  United Airlines has stopped charging extra for inter-island flights on award tickets from the mainland US.

    It will now only cost you 45,000 United Airlines miles to fly round-trip from the mainland US to Hawaii in coach, even if you have to transfer between 2 different Hawaiian islands.

    Before, you’d pay 57,000 United Airlines miles for a round-trip coach award ticket that included an inter-island leg.

    You Can Relax Knowing You’ll Spend Fewer United Airlines Miles on Your Trip to Paradise

    I’ll explain what this means for you.  And remind you of other ways to fly to Hawaii with miles & points!

    Save United Airlines Miles on Flights to Hawaii

    Link:   United Airlines Award Chart

    In the past, United Airlines charged 6,000 United Airlines miles MORE for award flights from the mainland US that included an inter-island leg.

    For example, if you were flying from Newark to Maui in coach, but you could only find an award flight with a stop in Honolulu, you’d pay 22,500 United Airlines miles for the flight between Newark and Honolulu.  And an additional 6,000 United Airlines miles for the leg between Honolulu and Maui on Hawaiian Airlines.

    Island Hop in Hawaii for Less!

    That’s a total cost of 28,500 United Airlines miles one-way, or 57,000 miles round-trip.

    Now, you’ll only pay 45,000 United Airlines miles for that same flight!  Because United Airlines is no longer charging for inter-island legs on award tickets from the mainland.  This saves you 12,000 United Airlines miles on a round-trip coach flight (57,000 miles – 45,000 miles).

    You Will NOT Be Charged Extra for an Inter-Island Leg on Flights to Hawaii From the Mainland US

    Plus, you can use this new rule to essentially add a free stopover to your trip with with United Airlines’ “Excursionist Perk,”.  Meaning you can fly from Newark to Honolulu, spend a few days there, then fly to Maui for a couple of days.  Then home to Newark.

    Visit a Second Hawaiian Island for FREE!

    Just use the multi-city search tool on United Airlines’ site.  You can read more about how to search for United Airlines award tickets here.

    Is This a Good Deal?

    This is great news for folks who like earning and using United Airlines miles.

    But don’t forget, it’s still cheaper to use Singapore Airlines miles to fly on United Airlines to Hawaii.  It will only cost you 35,000 Singapore Airlines miles round-trip in coach.

    Did You Know You Can Get From the West Coast to Hawaii for Just 25,000 British Airways Avios Points Round-Trip?

    Or you could use British Airways Avios points to fly to Hawaii from the West Coast.  Because you’ll only pay 25,000 British Airways Avios points round-trip in coach on American Airlines and Alaska Airlines award tickets.

    And if you can find award seats on Delta, you’ll spend fewer miles using Flying Blue miles (30,000 Flying Blue miles round-trip in coach) to fly from the mainland US to Hawaii.  Or using Korean Air miles, you’ll only spend 25,000 miles round-trip in coach, for a flight between the mainland US and Hawaii.

    But you can’t add a free stopover or inter-island flights to these tickets.  And Delta doesn’t make it easy to find low-level award seats. 😉

    Earning & Using United Airlines Miles

    Link:   Chase United MileagePlus Explorer 50,000 Mile Offer

    Don’t forget to read my Ultimate Guide to earning & using United Airlines miles.

    And consider applying for the increased offer on the Chase United Airlines Explorer card, with a 50,000 United Airlines miles sign-up bonus after completing minimum spending requirements.

    Bottom Line

    United Airlines is no longer charging for inter-island legs on award tickets from the mainland US to Hawaii.  They used to charge an extra 6,000 United Airlines miles if your trip included a flight between 2 different islands.

    This new rule will save you 12,000 miles on a round-trip coach flight from certain US cities!

    Editorial Note: We're the Million Mile Secrets team. And we're proud of our content, opinions and analysis, and of our reader's comments. These haven’t been reviewed, approved or endorsed by any of the airlines, hotels, or credit card issuers which we often write about. And that’s just how we like it! :)