The Hawaiian Airlines® World Elite Mastercard®
Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported comparison service.
The offers that appear on this site are from companies from which Bankrate.com receives compensation.
This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site, including, for example, the order in which they may appear within listing categories.
Other factors, such as our own proprietary website rules and the likelihood of applicants' credit approval also impact how and where products appear on this site.
Bankrate.com does not include the entire universe of available financial or credit offers.
Bankrate has partnerships with issuers including, but not limited to, American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi and Discover.
Recommended Credit Score
Good to Excellent
(670 - 850)
A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a
person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for.
However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any
financial product.
A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.
- Annual Fee:
- $0 introductory annual fee the first year, after that $99.
- Purchase Intro APR:
- N/A
- Regular APR:
- 15.99%, 19.99% or 24.99% variable based on your creditworthiness.
Bankrate Rating
This card offer is currently unavailable on Bankrate. To see more cards in this category, please visit our airline category page.
Editor’s note: Some of the offers on this page may be expired. Check out our Best Credit Cards page for the most up-to-date offers for our favorite credit cards.
The Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard packs a big punch in the first year, but ends up on the ropes after that. Unless you frequently fly Hawaiian, you might find it challenging to make up for the annual fee while earning points in the long run.
Review
In the first year, new cardholders will be spoiled with solid bonuses that add quite a bit of value to The Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard. The big one is the extra 35,000 miles you can earn for spending just $1,000 within the first 90 days. In most cases, depending on travel dates, this is enough for the least expensive round-trip airfare from North America to Oahu, Maui, Hawaii Island and Kauai.
On top of that, this card comes with a one-time 50% discount toward a round-trip coach fare for a companion and an annual $100 discount on a companion ticket for round-trip coach travel between Hawaii and North America on Hawaiian Airlines. Plus, there’s a 0% introductory APR for 15 billing cycles for balance transfers posted to new accounts within 45 days of opening.
Even with the $89 annual fee, you’ll definitely get your money’s worth with just these bonuses alone. It gets trickier after the first year. The rewards system is unimpressive and falls behind the more competitive airline cards – especially since you need excellent credit to qualify for this card.
You’ll earn 2 miles per dollar on Hawaiian Airlines purchases and 1 mile per dollar on everything else. On the plus side, you can redeem points — without losing value — through its non-flight partners for hotel stays, goods and services. You can even transfer your miles to friends and family.
Who should get this card
In the long-term, Hawaiian Airlines frequent fliers should add this card to their wallet, especially if they check bags. With this card, the first checked bag for the cardholder is free, which is a savings of $25. If you take two round-trip flights with checked bags in one year, then you’ll have more than made up for the annual fee.
For everyone else, this card is worth considering for the first year since you can end up with one free flight and a major discount for a companion. Otherwise, there are certainly more generous travel rewards cards available for people with top credit scores.
Advantages
- The sign-up bonus is likely enough to get you a round-trip ticket to most Hawaiian Islands from North America.
- There’s an opportunity to earn 5,000 bonus miles each year.
- You can use this card outside of the country without paying a foreign transaction fee.
Disadvantages
- There is an annual fee of $89.
- Cardholders will have to use Hawaiian Airlines to get the maximum point value.
- The APR is on the high side, between 16.99% and 25.99%, depending on creditworthiness.
Fees and APR
- Annual fee is $89
- Pay a variable APR of 16.99% to 25.99% on purchases and balance transfers.
- There are no foreign transaction fees on purchases made outside the U.S.
- Cash advance APR is 26.24%.
- For 15 billing cycles, new cardholders will get a 0% introductory APR for balance transfers; after that it’s between 16.99% and 25.99%.
Extras, perks and using rewards
New cardholders will earn 35,000 bonus HawaiianMiles miles after spending $1,000 within the first 90 days. In most cases, this can get you a round-trip ticket from North America to most of the Hawaiian Islands in coach.
You must redeem your miles online at HawaiianAirlines.com; you can redeem them for one-way flights and upgrades.
The Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard has partnered with many companies so you can redeem your points in various places without losing value.
As a one-time perk, cardholders will get a 50% off companion discount for roundtrip coach travel between Hawaii and North America.
The first checked bag for the primary card member is free as long as they use their card to buy tickets directly from Hawaiian Airlines.
There are no blackout dates, so you can fly whenever you want.
Members will receive 5,000 bonus miles on their yearly anniversary if they spend $10,000 that year.
You’ll get special perks like 24/7 concierge, travel services and access to unique experiences.
The information related to the Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard has been collected independently by Bankrate and has not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.