Need advice on Airline to Hawaii and using frequent flyer miles

[mbeach89]

So many knowledgeable people here at TUG, so where else would I go to get advice on use of frequent flyer miles and an airline recommendation for a trip to Hawaii?

I am planning 1-2 years in advance for a 10-14 day trip to Hawaii for a family of 6. Our 4 kids will be approx 18, 12, 9, and 7.

I have over 300,000 Marriott Rewards points that I plan to use for lodging on 2 different islands. I have no experience at all using my points.

I am considering obtaining a rewards credit card specific for accumulating frequent flyer miles to help pay for all or some of the airfare.

The long flight with kids has me kind of concerned. I rarely fly, and was wondering if one airline would be better than another comfort/entertainment wise for such a long trip? Are most airlines/planes equipped with the option to watch movies?

So, my questions:

1) Which 2 islands/Marriott resorts would you recommend for a family of 6? I think I have a good trader in MOW so exchanging for a week instead of just using points is an option too.

2) Do you have a favorite travel rewards credit card? We charge almost everything on credit cards ...about $40,000/year. So hopefully I can rack up some significant frequent flyer miles.

3) I have no clue how frequent flyer miles work, or how many I will need flying from Dayton, OH to Hawaii. Do I need to choose an airline ahead of time?

4) Recommendations for airline. Good / Bad experience with any particular airline?

5) What time of year to go? With school age kids, summer is the obvious choice. One thing I would like to see with the family are the whales.

Thanks in advance for your recommendations! Mark

 

[MommaBear]

1) Which 2 islands/Marriott resorts would you recommend for a family of 6? I think I have a good trader in MOW so exchanging for a week instead of just using points is an option too. Depends on what you like... Oahu is busier, has more historic sites. Maui is moderately commercial, has wonderful beaches and interesting landscapes, hikes. Big Island (Hawaii) has volcanos, great scenery, waterfalls, but you end up driving long distances between places. Kauai is smaller, has great variety of topography and lots to do. It depends on what your family is like and how much time you want to sightsee versus enjoy a resort. Remember, you will pay for flights between each island, which will add quite a bit of money to your travels. Others will give you better advice on the different resorts than I can.

2) Do you have a favorite travel rewards credit card? We charge almost everything on credit cards ...about $40,000/year. So hopefully I can rack up some significant frequent flyer miles. Sorry, I don't. I have American Express card for Delta and Mastercard by Usairways. I tend to use the mastercard more often. If you and your wife and maybe your 18 year old could all sign up for seperate United cards, you would each get 40,000 miles with your first year's use. I haven't looked carefully at their ads, so do not know if there is a minimum you have to spend to get those points.

3) I have no clue how frequent flyer miles work, or how many I will need flying from Dayton, OH to Hawaii. Do I need to choose an airline ahead of time? You are extremely unlikely to find any airlines that will have 6 frequent flier seats on any given flight. Each ticket is about 65,000 miles. If you wait until the last minute, it could be as much as 125,000 per ticket for coach. You will need to target one airline to earn miles on and book 330 days ahead to get the flights that take the fewest miles, which (if you are extrememly lucky) might be as few as 40,000 miles..

4) Recommendations for airline. Good / Bad experience with any particular airline? We generally fly USAirways, United or Delta because those are the major airlines out of our local airport. We find them all to be about equal for service. I know nothing about American Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines or Air Tran. Southwest does not fly to Hawaii right now.

5) What time of year to go? With school age kids, summer is the obvious choice. One thing I would like to see with the family are the whales. If whales are your goal, they have gone back to Alaska for the summer. Maui December through April is the best bet. Summer is the hardest to trade into and will take the most freqent flier miles, because that season is is the highest demand. It is still very possible since you are planning so far ahead.

Thanks in advance for your recommendations! Mark

Have a great time! I wish I had had the money to take my kids when they were your kids ages. We traveled a lot on the East Coast and visited family on the west coast so they got to travel. They have also all gone to Hawaii as adults and find the same joy there that my husband and I do. 44 days untilmy two weeks on Kauai!

 

[cissy]

Im going to Oahu in June on ff tickets from American Airlines. First class seats at good times took 37,500 ff miles each way. I think I got 35,000 for getting the AAdvantage credit card. I booked my flights at the end of November for June, and just changed my home bound flight to extend my stay last night, so tickets need not be booked that far in advance. There is no fee to change flights as long as the route is the same. There were seats at 20,000 ff for coach, but it's such a long flight (for me, from Boston), I recommend getting first class if at all possible.