After quite a break, the Hawaiian Airlines-branded credit card has made a quiet comeback, though the way it’s returned has only added to the ongoing confusion surrounding it.
Your card will be returned to you.
Applications for the Hawaiian Airlines Bank of Hawaii World Elite Mastercard are back open, offering 60,000 Atmos Rewards points when you spend $2,000 within the first 90 days (annual fee of $99). There’s also a business version available, which grants 50,000 points after spending $4,000, bringing the Hawaiian-branded card back to full availability.
This feels a bit familiar, and rightly so. This is the same card that essentially vanished last fall when HawaiianMiles was replaced by Atmos Rewards, leading travelers to puzzled links and unclear directions.
What we were told at the time.
Back then, Barclays and Hawaiian assured users that the credit cards would not be discontinued, even as the application page returned a 404 error, leaving cardholders uncertain about their status. We reported extensively on the disruption, but for a while, not much changed—just an uptick in uncertainty.
While the card is back, the situation remains muddled. When we first noted the card’s absence last year, Barclays reached out with a statement from Doug Villone, the head of cards and partnerships, declaring that the Hawaii credit card program “will remain in place for several years to come.” That might still hold true, but the odd disappearance and reappearance of application links hint that things aren’t quite as settled as that statement would suggest.
An overview of credit cards in Hawaii.
Though Barclays is still the issuer, the card is now being channeled through Bank of Hawaii, adding another layer to an already intricate setup. For those familiar with the landscape in Hawaii, it’s tough to determine whether this signifies an actual return or if it’s just a shift in behind-the-scenes roles.
This distinction matters because Alaska Airlines has a lucrative credit card partnership with Bank of America, which is considered one of the most valuable aspects of their business, perhaps even rivaling the aviation side of things. When Alaska acquired Hawaiian, many speculated that Hawaiian’s card offerings would eventually mirror that of Bank of America.
The card floats in the air.
So far, none of that has transpired. Instead, the Hawaiian-branded card exists in a sort of limbo, earning Atmos points instead of the previous HawaiianMiles and coexisting with Alaska’s own card. There’s no clear timeline for how long this arrangement might last.
For those focused on accumulating points, there are other more appealing offers out there, such as significant bonuses with Alaska’s Atmos Card. For residents of Hawaii who value consistency, branding, and the remnants of the old Hawaiian ecosystem, this feels more like just a pause rather than a fresh start.
The card is back on the scene, but the uncertainty that has followed it since the merger still remains.
