Thanks to Amex, Hilton, and Marriott points, I'm reaching my goal of visiting one Hawaiian island per year
- Hawaii doesn't have to be an expensive destination if you use credit card rewards to cover your flights and hotel stays. I'm using rewards to visit one Hawaiian island each year, beginning with Maui last year and continuing with Kauai in 2020.
- My boyfriend and I are using Amex points from the Platinum Card® from American Express and the American Express® Gold Card to book flights to the islands via the British Airways loyalty program.
- Hotel credit cards like the Hilton Honors Aspire Card from American Express and the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card have helped us earn the requisite points to book award stays.
- Click here to see Business Insider's list of the best rewards credit cards »
When I moved to the West Coast last year, one of the first things I did was plan a trip to Hawaii. While the Aloha State is worth the trek from any locale, from where I now live - Portland, Oregon - it doesn't take any longer to get to by plane than it does to reach the East Coast. With that in mind, I set a goal to visit one Hawaiian island each year for four years, beginning with Maui and continuing with Kauai, the Big Island, and Oahu.
Hawaii, though, is not exactly known for being a budget-friendly destination - particularly if you're looking to stay at resorts. Here's a look at how I used credit card rewards to vacation on Maui last year, and how I plan to use them to fund a trip to Kauai in 2020.
Keep in mind that we're focusing on the rewards and perks that make these credit cards great options, not things like interest rates and late fees, which will far outweigh the value of any points or miles. It's important to practice financial discipline when using credit cards by paying your balances in full each month, making payments on time, and only spending what you can afford to pay back.
Using Amex points to fly to Hawaii
One of the best ways to get to Hawaii using credit card rewards - particularly from the West Coast - is to leverage British Airways' distance-based award chart. If you use Avios, the rewards currency of the British Airways Executive Club loyalty program, to book a ticket on partner Alaska Airlines, for example, you'll spend just 26,000 Avios for a round-trip flight from West-Coast cities including Portland, Seattle, and Los Angeles.
One of the best parts is that Avios are easy to rack up, as British Airways is a transfer partner of Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy.
Ahead of booking, I applied for the Platinum Card from American Express and my boyfriend applied for the American Express Gold Card. We each met our respective welcome bonus minimum spending thresholds, which at the time earned us a combined 125,000 Membership Rewards points - well above what we needed for the two round-trip tickets.
Click here to learn more about the Amex Platinum »
Looking ahead to this year's trip, I'm planning to use the same British Airways sweet spot I used last year, this time to go from Portland to Kauai.
While I currently have enough Amex points in my account to cover the trip, I'm still thinking of adding the Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express to my wallet. It earns 2 points per dollar spent without category restrictions up to $50,000 (then 1 point per dollar) all without an annual fee.
Click here to learn more about the Blue Business Plus card »
Maui was a perfect place to use my Hilton Aspire card benefits
The Hilton free weekend night certificate that comes with the Hilton Honors Aspire Card from American Express is one of my favorite credit card perks of all time, and I love the challenge of trying to use it at as nice a hotel as possible.
For that reason, I had my sights set on the Waldorf Astoria Grand Wailea, where rooms can easily go for close to $600 per night. In addition to the free night certificate, I also used 380,000 Hilton Honors points - earned in part with the Hilton Aspire card's 150,000-point welcome bonus (after I spent $4,000 in the first three months) -to book a six-night stay in total.
Marriott points will come in handy for our Kauai trip
While I generally prefer Hilton hotels (in part because of the major points-earning opportunities that come along with the Hilton Aspire card), on Kauai, Marriott has way more hotel options.
I particularly like the looks of the Koloa Landing at Poipu, part of Marriott's Autograph Collection. The hotel is a Category 7 property, meaning that at peak times, it can jump to 70,000 points per night. Unlike the certificates Hilton offers, Marriott's free-night certificates won't cover its priciest rooms, so for a six-night stay, I may need as many as 350,000 points (factoring in Marriott's fifth-night-free policy when booking with points).
To get there, I'll be moving some of my paid stays over to Marriott this year and putting them on my Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card, which earns 6 Bonvoy points per dollar at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels.
Click here to learn more about the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex »
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