Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard vs. Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card offers transferrable miles you can redeem with a wider array of airlines, as well as a few hotel partners. For an annual fee of $95, a few dollars shy of the Hawaiian Airlines World Elite’s $99 annual fee, you earn unlimited 2X miles on general spending. The Venture Rewards card also offers a one-time bonus of 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within three months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel. This intro offer beats out the Hawaiian Airlines card once more, but the required spend for the intro offer is a few thousand dollars higher for a $50 increase in value. This difference could be marginal to some, so you may look to other card features to help you choose the best travel card.
One more significant difference between these two cards in particular is the rewards rate. While the highest earning category for the Hawaiian Airlines World Elite is 3X miles and limited to Hawaiian Airlines purchases, the Capital One Venture Rewards card will reward you 5X points on hotels and rental cars you book through the Capital One Travel portal. Both have certain restrictions you must adhere to, but the Capital One Venture Rewards gives you a bit more bang for your buck. Also, the base rewards rate for the Capital One Venture is one point higher than the base rate for the Hawaiian Airlines World Elite, making the Venture Rewards card a bit more lucrative overall. The Capital One Venture Rewards might save you a little more interest if you have to carry a balance, but it’s important to note that neither card has intro APR offers, so carrying a balance on either will be quite expensive.
Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard vs. Discover it® Miles
The Discover it® Miles is a no-annual-fee option represented among cards with annual fees. Though it charges no annual fee, it’s still a fairly flexible travel card. You exchange the annual fee for a lower, flat-rate rewards rate and no bonus categories, but this might be ideal for someone who doesn’t want a high-maintenance card that requires more strategizing to maximize the rewards. The ongoing APR range is also a bit more forgiving on the Discover it® Miles if you have to carry balances. The ongoing APR range starts fairly below the current average credit card interest rate at 16.74% to 27.74% Variable APR.
There are two sizable drawbacks for the Discover it® Miles. The Discover credit card network is not as widely accepted internationally, so this card might not be ideal for travel abroad despite its lack of a foreign transaction fee. Also, the miles you earn with this card cannot be transferred to any partner loyalty programs, which is one of the main perks of the Hawaiian Airlines World Elite.
Depending on what you’re after — no annual fee, flexibility with how you can redeem your miles, a 0 percent introductory purchase APR offer — you may want to consider a few different travel credit cards before landing on a final decision.
Best cards to pair with the Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard
If you’re a frequent flyer, you may want to pair your Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard with a no-annual-fee travel card such as the Discover it® Miles. You could use the miles you’ve accumulated with a general travel credit card to fly with a much larger array of airlines.
If you predominantly fly Hawaiian Airlines but not too often, you might consider a cash back card to balance out the rewards you’re getting for your purchases. The Chase Freedom Unlimited® card has no annual fee and offers 5 percent cash back on Lyft purchases (through March 2025) and travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards, as well as 3 percent cash back on dining and drugstore purchases and 1.5 percent cash back on general purchases.