I'm transferring all of my points to this airline

Good morning from my cozy bed in the sky in Cathay Pacific’s business class! 🥂

This also happens to be my 106th flight of the year, which is OFFICIALLY my new record for flights in a single year. 🥳

While I revisit all of my life decisions up until this point, here’s some end-of-week travel stuff:

• 💳 I’m transferring all of my points to one airline

• ✈️ A new way to book Hawaiian flights

• 🔄 Current Transfer Bonuses

💳 I’m transferring all of my points to one airline

Okay. So, earlier this year, I told you about how I was chasing Oneworld status.

I ultimately decided that the way I would do this would be through Cathay Pacific’s program.

But I’ve changed my mind completely and decided on a different option that I suspect many of you would consider, too.

And it involves sending over a crap load of points to a single airline.

You might remember a few months ago when I told you about how Alaska was revamping its program for 2025.

One of the BIG changes is that they will soon allow you to earn status from booking flights with Alaska miles, which is basically unheard of.

As a Oneworld member, this means that when I fly with airlines like Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways, British Airways, or American Airlines (all of which I currently have flights booked with), I can earn Alaska status whether paying cash or using Alaska miles.

Just a few days ago, I also told you about how Alaska announced a new premium card set to launch next year, which I very much plan on signing up for.

This is what put me over the edge for Alaska…

You see, Alaska has confirmed that this card will earn 3x Alaska miles on international purchases.

This means that literally every dollar of my spend (even when I’m at “home” in Canada) will earn 3x Alaska miles…

That’s freaking crazy.

That means that I’ll earn more miles than with any other card and be able to use those miles toward elite status.

So, as a result, I’ve decided to empty out my MR Points balance and transfer them to Hawaiian Airlines.

Woah woah woah…

What the heck does Hawaiian have to do with any of this…?

Don’t forget that, at least for now, you can freely transfer points between Hawaiian and Alaska at a 1:1 ratio, thanks to their recent merger.

Therefore, I can turn all of my MR Points into Alaska miles. Yay!

I’ve found some pretty solid redemptions, too.

For example, I can fly from Jakarta to Toronto next year (which I need to do anyway) for just 42,500 Alaska miles on Cathay Pacific.

By doing this, I’ll also earn around 10,000 Elite Qualifying Miles on Alaska, which already gets me 25% of the way toward Alaska MVP Gold status.

This level of status includes the REAL prize - Oneworld Sapphire status, which gives me access to business-class lounges around the world; even when flying in economy.

I suspect the new premium card will also include a way to earn EQMs through spending on the card.

Since the earning rates are so good, I’ll probably get very close to status from booking a few big award flights and spending on the card alone, which is… *chef’s kiss*

So here’s the bottom line:

We don’t know how long these airlines will allow these transfers from MR Points to Hawaiian to Alaska.

It presents a unique opportunity to earn a valuable status that can be used on some of the best airlines in the world, and 2025 is right around the corner, making right now the perfect time to start considering whether or not you might want to do the same.

✈️ A new way to book Hawaiian flights

Speaking of Oneworld airlines…

We woke up to an early Christmas present today when American Airlines started allowing us to book flights on Hawaiian Airlines using AA miles.

To be clear, this was already possible before now, but only on international flights - not between the mainland U.S. and Hawaii.

Because of the aforementioned merger between Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian, it seems that Hawaiian flights are now being more integrated into other Oneworld airlines’ systems.

This is great for anyone who loves flying on Hawaiian, but also because Hawaiian uses their nice widebody planes with lie-flat seats for domestic routes. 👇

You can fly from the mainland to various Hawaiian islands for just over 20,000 AA miles in economy or 55,000 miles in first-class, which is not a bad deal for those with large stashes of AA miles.

It also just means more connections and availability for award flights, especially for travel to Asia.

Flying between the U.S. and Japan with a short layover (or even a long overnight layover) in Hawaii is not the most inconvenient way to get across the Pacific!

The routing above would cost you just 35,000 AA miles in economy, which is pretty darn good!

So here’s the bottom line:

This isn’t the most groundbreaking update, but it’s another sign of just how quickly this Alaska/Hawaiian integration is moving.

Having more options to use points both domestically and abroad is always a good thing in my book!

That’s all for today, folks! I hope you enjoyed this week of travel goodness!

Before I miss my connecting flight, I must bid you adieu now.

See ya Monday,

22.3193° N, 114.1694° E