7 BEST Credit Cards for Hawaii Travel: Free Hotels & Flights

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I visit Hawaii several times a year, but it wouldn’t be possible without strategically using credit cards to book my hotels and flights for free!

In this guide, I’m sharing seven excellent credit cards for Hawaii travel, most of which I’ve personally used to book flights and resorts in Hawaii! I also share the top-rated hotels and resorts on O’ahu, Maui, Kaua’i and the Big Island that you can book with these cards!

Best Credit Cards for Booking Travel to Hawaii

I’m organizing these seven Hawaii travel credit cards in two categories: cards best for booking hotels in Hawaii, and cards best for booking flights to Hawaii.

You absolutely don’t need all of these credit cards. Just earning the welcome bonus for a single card could save you thousands on a trip to Hawaii by allowing you to book a resort for free.

However, I’m including all these options so you can choose the credit card that makes most sense to you. And if you travel often like I do, you might end up signing up for more than one—my husband and I have four of these seven cards.

Best Credit Cards for Hotels in Hawaii

Booking your accommodations in Hawaii with miles and points is the best way to save money on a Hawaii vacation!

Hawaii hotels are notoriously expensive, and when you pay with cash, you have to pay all the taxes and fees (which can sometimes double the nightly rate—not kidding!)

My husband and I recently spent 7 nights in Kona, Hawaii by transferring 105,000 of our Capital One Venture Miles to Wyndham Rewards and booking a condo at the lovely Kona Coast Resort.

If we would have booked that same resort in cash we would have paid a total of $3,162.51, including the $383 nightly rate, plus $68.79 a night taxes and fees (not including parking or a resort fee)! And this is actually one of the more affordable resorts in Hawaii, so you can get an idea of how expensive hotels can get.

Since we booked with our Capital One miles, we didn’t pay a penny, which left much more in our budget for all of our fun Big Island adventures like night snorkeling with manta rays and a catamaran snorkeling tour.

1. Capital One Venture Rewards (Best for Beginners)

If you open the Capital One Venture Rewards card and spend $4,000 in the first 90 days, you’ll earn 75,000 miles AND a $250 travel credit (limited time bonus)—plus 2x miles for every dollar you spend. So, that’s at least 83,000 miles if you spend the $4k for the welcome bonus.

And you’ll earn more miles quickly if you use this card for your everyday spending, especially since you get 2 points per every dollar spent.

Then, you can easily transfer the points to Wyndham Rewards and book 5 nights at several highly rated resorts in Hawaii for FREE! (Well, $95 if you count the credit card’s annual fee).

Wyndham has a variety of resorts in Hawaii, and many of them can be booked for only 15,000 points a night for a one-bedroom condo, or 30,000 miles per night for a two-bedroom condo.

There are several Wyndham properties you can book in Hawaii with Capital One miles, but you’ll find the most options on the Big Island and Kaua’i. These are the highest rated Wyndham resort that I’d recommend checking out:

• Princeville, Kauai: Club Wyndham Bali Hai Villas (15,000 miles/night) – usually $350-550/night PLUS taxes and fees
• Hilo, Big Island: Kona Coast Resort (15,000 miles/night) – usually $250-350/night PLUS taxes and fees
• Kapaa, Kauai: Kauai Coast Resort at the Beachboy (15,000 miles/night) – usually $350-450/night PLUS taxes and fees
• Waikiki, Oahu: Club Wyndham at Waikiki Beach Walk (15,000 miles/night) – usually $200/night PLUS taxes and fees

Oh! And one perk of all of these Wyndham properties is that they’re condos rather than hotel rooms, so you have a full kitchen to cook some of your own meals and save even more on your Hawaii trip.

The Capital One Venture X is the bigger and better version of the Capital One Venture Rewards card. You get the same 75,000 welcome bonus after spending $4,000 in the first 90 days, which can be redeemed for 5 nights at a Wyndham resort in Hawaii.

The difference is, the Venture X has a higher annual fee of $395, with a variety of added perks that, in my opinion, make it worth it. Here’s a quick overview of the added benefits for the Venture X:

• 75,000 mile welcome bonus (after $4,000 spending in the first three months)
• 10,000 mile anniversary bonus annually
• $300 annual travel credit
• Complimentary lounge access
• TSA PreCheck/Global Entry credit
• Up to 10x miles for spending on travel; 2x miles on regular purchases

So, in addition to using your welcome bonus miles to book 5 days in Hawaii (or more if you earn even more miles), you can use your $300 travel credit for a rental car or flights. And travel more efficiently with access to airport lounges and TSA PreCheck!

My recommendations for Hawaii hotels that you can book with this card are the same as for the Capital One Venture Rewards:

• Princeville, Kauai: Club Wyndham Bali Hai Villas (15,000 miles/night) – usually $350-550/night PLUS taxes and fees
• Hilo, Big Island: Kona Coast Resort (15,000 miles/night) – usually $250-350/night PLUS taxes and fees
• Kapaa, Kauai: Kauai Coast Resort at the Beachboy (15,000 miles/night) – usually $350-450/night PLUS taxes and fees
• Waikiki, Oahu: Club Wyndham at Waikiki Beach Walk (15,000 miles/night) – usually $200/night PLUS taxes and fees

3. Chase Business Ink Preferred (My Second Favorite)

The Chase Business Ink Preferred is a business credit card—but don’t let that scare you. You don’t need an LLC to apply, you just need some sort of business, which could be a side hustle (anything from reselling furniture on Facebook marketplace to teaching piano lessons!)

I have this Chase card for my travel blogging business, but I can still use the rewards to book personal travel! For instance, my husband and I using my Chase points to stay at a luxury Hyatt resort in Puerto Rico for our five year anniversary later this year.

The card has a 90,000 points welcome offer, which is the highest welcome offer for any Chase card! It only has an annual fee of $95, and you earn 3x points on every dollar spent on travel, plus 5x points on Lyft, which really adds up!

If you meet the spend requirement for the welcome offer, you’ll end up with at least 98,000 points—more if you have some travel purchases or Lyft rides in there.

Let’s say you get to 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points—that’s enough to book 5 nights at a luxurious Hyatt resort in Hawaii. Earn some more points and you can easily end up with enough for a whole week for free!

Here’s an overview of the highest rated Hawaii resorts you can book with Chase Ultimate Rewards via transfer partners:

• Poipu, Kauai: Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa (35,000 points/night) – considered one of the best resorts in the world to book with points, usually $800-1,500+/night
• Wailea, Maui: Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort (45,000 points/night) – one of the highest rated resorts on Maui, usually $800-1,200+/night
• Waikiki, Oahu: Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach (18,000 points/night) – low points in a walkable area of Waikiki, usually $300+/night
• Hana, Maui: Hana Maui Resort (35,000 points/night) – stay in serene Hana at the end of the famous Road to Hana, usually $400-600+/night

You’l notice that these resorts cost more points per night compared to the Wyndham properties I book with my Capital One cards. But keep in mind that the Hyatt properties cost more in cash, and are much more luxurious than the Wyndham properties.

So if you’re planning an anniversary trip or honeymoon to Hawaii on a budget, booking a Hyatt property with a Chase credit card might be perfect!

4. Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

If you don’t qualify for the Chase Business Ink Preferred or don’t want to open a business credit card, the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is another great way to earn valuable Chase Ultimate Rewards points for a trip to Hawaii.

You’ll earn 60,000 bonus points by spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of opening this card, and those points can be transferred to a variety of travel partners, including Hyatt.

After earning the welcome bonus, you’ll have enough points to book 2-3 nights at a luxurious Hyatt in Hawaii. That’s perfect for a long-weekend getaway to Hawaii, or if you want to spend a few nights at a luxury resort on a longer Hawaii trip, and spend the rest of your vacation at a different hotel booked in cash or through another hotel rewards program.

Of course, you can always earn more points for hotels in Hawaii by spending on the card—you earn points more quickly with 2x-5x points on travel purchases, 3x points on dining and streaming services, plus 1x points on all other spending.

You’ll also get a 10% points bonus at the end of each year to go towards future travel redemptions. Plus, an annual $50 credit for hotels booked through Chase Travel℠.

Overall, this card is a good option if you want access to Chase Ultimate Rewards to book luxurious Hyatt properties, as long as you’re realistic about the amount of nights you’ll be able to book. Overall, you’ll earn more free nights more quickly if you go with the Capital One Venture Rewards—but you’ll be staying in a less luxurious resort.

Bonus: More Travel Credit Cards for Hawaii Hotels

You can also earn free nights in Hawaii with hotel credit cards, like the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card, and the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card. But in my experience, you’ll earn more free nights more quickly if you go with a Chase card or Capital One card.

That said, one perk of booking rewards nights through Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors is their 5th night free policy! If you reserve four nights through points at a Marriott or Hilton, they add on an extra night for free.

And, Hilton and Marriott own some of the most luxurious properties in Hawaii, like the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel on the Big Island, Turtle Bay Resort on Oahu’s North Shore, and Koloa Landing Resort at Poipu on Kaua’i and The Ritz-Carlton Maui.

Best Credit Cards for Flights to Hawaii

Using airlines miles and/or companion passes to book free flights to Hawaii is another excellent way to use travel Hawaii on the cheap!

Most airlines have their own credit cards with perks like bonus miles after reaching a minimum spend, and companion passes that allow you to bring a travel buddy for free (or cheap).

In this article I’m recommending three main airlines cards for flights to Hawaii: branded cards from Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, and Southwest Airlines.

When choosing an airline credit card, think about which airlines fly between your home airport and Hawaii most! And of course, which airlines you prefer to fly with.

For instance, I’m based out of Seattle and have both the Alaska Airlines card and Hawaiian airlines card. The Southwest Rapid Rewards card is tempting to me, but I don’t live near a Southwest hub!

7. Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card

If you live near a Southwest Airlines hub, you’ll definitely want to consider a Southwest Airlines credit card as they offer two valuable ways to book affordable flights to Hawaii!

For a limited time, the famous Southwest Airlines Companion Pass is a part of the welcome bonus for this credit card. This pass can be used numerous times to fly a companion for free (plus fees and taxes).

The welcome bonus also includes 30,000 miles, which can be used for booking flights to Hawaii, too! You also get free checked bags, no flight change fees, and bonus points on your cardmember anniversary.

Since I don’t live near Southwest Airlines hub, I haven’t used this card—but I’ve heard great things from folks who do! You can fly direct to Hawaii from several airports including LAX, PHX, LAS, and more!

Hawaii Travel Credit Cards FAQs

What’s the best credit card for free hotels in Hawaii?

There are several great credit cards for free hotel stays in Hawaii, depending on your preferred hotel brand. The Capital One Venture X and Capital One Venture Rewards are best for booking Wyndham resorts for as little as 15,000 points a night.

Meanwhile, the Chase Sapphire Preferred offers excellent value for Hyatt properties in Hawaii. Co-branded hotel credit cards from specific hotel chains are also good options if you have a strong preference for a certain brand.

Which credit card offers free flights to Hawaii?

You can book free flights to Hawaii with points and miles from several credit cards. Alaska Airlines Visa Signature and Hawaiian Airlines Mastercard are two great options since these cards both offer 70,000 bonus miles and both airlines have a large selection of flights to Hawaii.

Other options include the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Sapphire Reserve, which offer flexible point transfers to United Airlines and Southwest Airlines. The Southwest Rapid Rewards Card is another popular option if you can take advantage of the Companion Pass for two-for-one flights. Finally, you can transfer miles to Hawaiian Airlines from a variety of Amex credit cards like the The Platinum Card® from American Express.

Can I book a Hawaii Airbnb with credit card points?

Yes! The Capital One Venture X and Chase Sapphire Reserve both allow you to redeem points for statement credits on Airbnb stays. However, you will usually get more value from your points if you book a hotel with transfer partners.

Can you book tours and activities in Hawaii with points and miles?

The Chase Sapphire Reserve and Capital One Venture X allow you to apply statement credits to travel purchases, including tours. You can also use Hawaiian Airlines miles for a variety of experiences like helicopter tours and luaus.

How many miles do you need for a free flight to Hawaii?

• Alaska Airlines: 17,500–25,000 miles one-way
• Hawaiian Airlines: 20,000–30,000 miles one-way
• Southwest Airlines: 10,000–25,000 points one-way
• United Airlines: 22,500+ miles one-way
• American Airlines: 20,000–30,000 miles one-way
• Delta Airlines: 25,000+ miles one-way (varies with demand)

How many points do you need for free hotel nights in Hawaii?

• Hyatt: 15,000–45,000 points per night
• Marriott: 35,000–85,000 points per night
• Hilton: 40,000–95,000 points per night
• Wyndham: 15,000–30,000 points per night
• IHG: 40,000–70,000 points per night

Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.