Deal of the day: Fly nonstop to Hawaii for just 35K miles

Citi is a TPG advertising partner.

The Citi ThankYou Rewards program just added American Airlines as a new transfer partner, and according to TPG’s July 2025 valuations, it’s one of the most valuable airline loyalty currencies.

You can now transfer your Citi points to the American Airlines AAdvantage program at a 1:1 rate, meaning AAdvantage miles have just become much easier to earn.

To celebrate the exciting new transfer partner, we’ve found a great redemption option to tropical Hawaii. Here’s how you can redeem AA miles to book a nonstop Hawaiian Airlines flight from the East Coast to the Big Island.

Note that prices and availability were accurate at the time of writing.

TPG’s deal of the day basics

A Hawaiian Airlines jet at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport — KEVIN CARTER/GETTY IMAGES

Airline: Hawaiian Airlines

Routes: John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL), HNL to JFK and BOS

Best way to book: American Airlines AAdvantage program

Price: 35,000 miles plus $5.60 in fees and taxes

Retail price: $319 to $1,160 each way

Travel dates: September 2025 to June 2026

How to find and book TPG’s deal of the day

We used the time-saving Seats.aero tool to quickly find award availability between the northeast and Hawaii. This tool makes it easy to see which dates are available to or from your desired airport.

While cash rates for nonstop flights can be reasonable on some dates with low demand, you can get excellent value from your AAdvantage miles or Citi points by redeeming them for flights on dates where cash prices are higher. For this particular flight, the cash rate is $581, which means by redeeming American miles, you’d get a value of 1.64 cents per mile. Since TPG values AA miles at 1.55 cents per mile, this is a good redemption value.

AAdvantage screenshot — AMERICAN AIRLINES

Note that TPG does value Citi ThankYou Rewards points at 1.85 cents per point, per our July 2025 valuations. Therefore, for this particular example, if you transferred your Citi points to AA, you would lose some value. However, if you want to fly you and your family to Hawaii, this deal can be a great way to cut back on out-of-pocket expenses.

Overall, with East Coast flights to Hawaii stretching up to 11 hours one-way, redeeming AA miles can be a great way to fly on a spacious wide-body aircraft on some of the longest domestic flights in North America for just a few dollars in taxes and fees.

How to earn the points or miles required for TPG’s deal of the day

Here are some great cards that earn American Airlines AAdvantage miles or offer the ability to transfer points to the AAdvantage program via the Citi ThankYou Rewards program:

Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (see rates and fees): Earn 80,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first three months from account opening.
Citi Strata Premier® Card (see rates and fees): Earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening.
Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® (see rates and fees): Earn 70,000 American Airlines Advantage bonus miles after spending $7,000 in the first three months of account opening.
Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard® (see rates and fees): Earn 65,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first four months from account opening.

Bottom line

If you’ve been dreaming of a Hawaiian escape, this new Citi ThankYou Rewards transfer option to the American Airlines AAdvantage program offers a great redemption opportunity that’s hard to beat.

With award rates starting at just 35,000 American Airlines miles plus minimal taxes and fees, you can fly long-haul nonstop to paradise from major Northeast cities. This is an especially great deal on dates where cash prices are high.

Continue planning your vacation to Hawaii:

Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.