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THE CREDIT CARD OFFER(S) DISCUSSED IN THIS POST HAVE EXPIRED. FOR THE MOST CURRENT LIST OF CREDIT CARD BONUSES, SEE OUR MAIN MENU. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT BOOKING A TRIP TO HAWAII, SEE OUR FULL GUIDE TO HAWAII.
Have you always dreamed of that trip to Hawaii? Does it just seem out of reach because it’s so expensive to fly there? Let me tell you a little secret: you can actually go for – wait for it – FREE!!! What magic formula could possibly get your two free tickets to Hawaii? Let’s find out!
Step 1: Apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. This is a fantastic card, and I use it personally for my everyday spending. It earns two Chase Ultimate Rewards (UR) Points per dollar spent on travel and dining, and one UR point per dollar on everything else. That’s all nice, but it may take a while to get to Hawaii at that pace. However, this card currently offers a 40,000 UR point bonus when you spend $4,000** in the first 3 months. You can also earn an additional 5,000 UR point bonus for adding an authorized user (spouse, parent, trusted friend, etc). So, after meeting the bonus, you will have a minimum of 49,000 UR points (45,000 from bonus and 4,000 from spending). You will likely have more points because of the 2x bonus on travel and dining. With just a bit of additional spending, you will easily reach the 50,000 UR points needed for step 2.
**If you need help meeting the $4,000 spending bonus, see our guide to manufactured spending.
Step 2: Search seat availability on Delta. Look for round trip tickets from your closest airport to Honolulu (HNL). The seats you’re searching for will cost 45,000 Delta Skymiles each. No need to worry about that. There is, of course, a loophole! Once you have identified available seats, mark down the date, time, and flight number.
Step 3: Transfer your 50,000 UR points to Korean Air. Yes, that’s right – Korean Air! Delta and Korean Air are both members of Skyteam Alliance, and therefore offer the opportunity to book seats on each other’s flights. In 2014, Korean Air updated their partner award charts to allow less expensive redemptions. They also added Honolulu to the North America region, reducing the requirement to 25,000 miles round trip! Now you are starting to see the magic!
Step 4: Call Korean Air to book the tickets. These tickets cannot be searched or booked online. Using the information you wrote down in step two, call Korean Air at 800-438-5000, and book the tickets.
There you have it! Using the bonus from the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, you and a companion can fly round trip from anywhere Delta flies within the US, Mexico, Canada, or Puerto Rico! Happy travels through the loophole!
