Why Hawaiian Airlines to End Partnership with Virgin Australia, JetBlue, Korean Air, China Airlines, Japan Airlines by June 30, What Do You Need To Know

Published on April 19, 2025

By: Tuhin Sarkar

Why Hawaiian Airlines is set to end its partnership with Virgin Australia, JetBlue, Korean Air, China Airlines, and Japan Airlines by June 30 is a question surfacing across the aviation industry, loyalty communities, and among frequent flyers who rely on interline access and travel perks. Hawaiian Airlines, in the midst of a major merger with Alaska Airlines, is undergoing a full loyalty program transformation that’s triggering the end of long-standing partnerships. By June 30, Hawaiian Airlines will no longer offer the ability to book award flights or earn miles with key global partners like Virgin Australia, JetBlue, Korean Air, China Airlines, and Japan Airlines—effectively signaling a strategic pivot in its network collaboration model.

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For years, Hawaiian Airlines passengers benefited from the ability to access global destinations via alliances with Virgin Australia, JetBlue, Korean Air, China Airlines, and Japan Airlines. However, as the integration with Alaska Airlines accelerates, June 30 has become the critical deadline for travelers to use HawaiianMiles for award bookings with these departing partners. This is a pivotal move not just for Hawaiian Airlines but also for loyalty members who want to understand what they need to know before the transition is complete.

With the upcoming June 30 cut-off, the Hawaiian Airlines–Virgin Australia, JetBlue, Korean Air, China Airlines, and Japan Airlines partnerships will be history. What do you need to know about this shift? It’s not just about miles—it’s about strategy, consolidation, and redefining global access in a post-merger airline landscape.

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The skies over the Pacific are seeing more than just air traffic these days—major changes are in flight for loyalty program members, travel partners, and airline stakeholders as Hawaiian Airlines announces a sweeping phaseout of major partnerships effective June 30, 2025. This pivotal shift comes amid its pending merger with Alaska Airlines and the broader realignment of the HawaiianMiles loyalty program into Alaska’s Mileage Plan ecosystem.

For many travelers, this is more than a branding or backend restructuring—it’s a fundamental redefinition of value, access, and long-term planning around airline rewards, redemption flexibility, and travel spending. Whether you’re a frequent flyer, a co-branded cardholder, or a travel industry analyst tracking loyalty economics, Hawaiian’s announcement is a major signal of how airline consolidation continues to reshape customer engagement across the board.

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The Final Countdown: Airline Partnerships Going Away

Effective June 30, 2025, Hawaiian Airlines will terminate award flight redemption partnerships with several of its global airline allies:

• Virgin Australia
• Virgin Atlantic
• China Airlines
• Japan Airlines
• Korean Air
• JetBlue

These partnerships have allowed HawaiianMiles members to access routes far beyond the airline’s native Pacific footprint, from Asia and Australia to Europe and North America’s East Coast. Through these agreements, Hawaiian expanded its loyalty value by connecting its members to global travel networks, often with competitive redemption rates and generous availability.

But come June 30, those miles lose global reach—at least temporarily. However, award bookings using HawaiianMiles can still be made on these carriers until that deadline for travel through February 28, 2026. This gives members a shrinking but critical window to lock in redemptions.

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Notably, JetBlue’s partnership offered valuable connectivity from Hawaiian’s New York JFK hub. With the A330 widebody jet often servicing the JFK–HNL route, the Hawaiian-JetBlue alliance provided seamless East Coast connections—a vital bridge that now faces collapse.

Retail and Dining Partners Also Sunset

This consolidation effort extends well beyond the tarmac. Hawaiian Airlines is also sunsetting a wide range of retail and lifestyle partnerships that had allowed customers to redeem or earn miles through everyday purchases. These include:

• Boyd Rewards
• Foodland
• Hele
• Koa Pancake House
• Kono’s
• Maui Jim
• The Alley

All of these will cease participation by June 30. However, Hawaiian Airlines has hinted that several of these partners may reappear later this year as part of Alaska’s Mileage Plan. While that may offer continuity for loyal HawaiianMiles users, the gap period—and uncertainty of which brands return—adds friction for users reliant on lifestyle redemptions.

Additionally, members can continue to earn HawaiianMiles through select partners until June 30, including:

• Rocket Mortgage
• University of Hawaii ‘Ahahui Koa Ānuenue (AKA)
• CARmel Car & Limo Service
• Island Art Store

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Inside the Strategy: Why These Changes Matter

From a strategic perspective, Hawaiian’s decision to consolidate comes as no surprise—loyalty programs are core revenue engines for modern airlines. By folding HawaiianMiles into Mileage Plan, Alaska Airlines strengthens its position in the premium travel space while consolidating backend systems, partner management, and member engagement tools.

Alaska’s Vice President of Loyalty, Alliances, and Sales, Brett Catlin, has been candid in media interviews about the roadmap. The merged Mileage Plan will reduce reliance on third-party points transfers and external loyalty ecosystems. That means tighter control, higher margins, and fewer variables in managing redemption liability.

For consumers, however, this likely translates to fewer redemption hacks. Currently, there’s a valuable (albeit unofficial) loop: Amex Membership Rewards can be transferred to Hawaiian Airlines, and thanks to the Hawaiian-Alaska instant transfer option, those points can be further transferred to Alaska’s Mileage Plan—giving American Express users indirect access to Alaska Airlines redemptions.

This workaround will reportedly be eliminated after the full loyalty program integration is complete—though a final cutoff date is still unknown.

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The Co-Branded Credit Card Question

Another major piece of the puzzle: Hawaiian’s co-branded credit cards, issued through Barclays. These cards have long been a popular vehicle for Hawaii-based or West Coast travelers seeking travel perks, companion fares, and miles acceleration.

But Alaska Airlines, which works with Bank of America for its Mileage Plan credit cards, has little incentive to maintain dual-branded financial products. Catlin has implied that the Hawaiian cards will be phased out, likely replaced with new offerings under Alaska’s ecosystem.

This could be disruptive to thousands of cardholders who’ve built their loyalty—and financial planning—around Hawaiian’s credit product. Transition benefits, retention bonuses, or new card migrations remain unconfirmed.

Hawaii, West Coast, Asia-Pacific

This move holds particular significance for regions where Hawaiian has long been dominant:

• Hawaii residents: Losing local retail mile-earning partners like Foodland and Koa Pancake House is more than symbolic—it directly impacts daily rewards potential.
• West Coast flyers: The Hawaiian-Alaska merger expands route options but reduces flexibility in loyalty redemptions, particularly for those used to flying JetBlue or Asian codeshares.
• Asia-Pacific travelers: Losing access to partners like Korean Air, Japan Airlines, and China Airlines limits redemption options from key Pacific Rim destinations into Hawaii.

However, the Alaska merger could result in improved connectivity through Seattle (SEA) and San Francisco (SFO) to Asia, thanks to existing Alaska global partnerships, including with oneworld alliance members.

The Bigger Picture: Consolidation and Customer Experience

This isn’t just a Hawaiian story—it’s part of the broader narrative of airline consolidation in North America. From JetBlue–Spirit’s regulatory battles to United’s capacity strategies, loyalty program shifts are often the first public indicator of deeper integration.

These loyalty changes serve as a cautionary tale: The freedom and flexibility consumers enjoyed through diverse partnerships may not survive long-term airline mergers. For the industry, it’s a strategic recalibration. For travelers, it’s a call to be more tactical—redeem sooner, diversify point balances, and closely track loyalty terms.

Conclusion: Navigating the Loyalty Crossroads

As Hawaiian Airlines sunsets its signature partnerships and moves closer to full integration with Alaska Airlines, the implications for travelers are vast. The loyalty ecosystem is changing—and while some redemptions may become more limited in the short term, new doors may open under a consolidated Mileage Plan.

For now, the message is clear:
Use your HawaiianMiles before June 30 if you’re aiming for redemptions with Virgin Atlantic, JetBlue, Japan Airlines, and others. Shop, dine, and earn while the existing non-travel partnerships last. And prepare for a post-merger world where Alaska Airlines takes the reins—not just on routes, but in rewards.

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