{"id":8479,"date":"2024-09-06T21:19:47","date_gmt":"2024-09-06T21:19:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/travelaffiliatewebsite.com\/mer\/a-gamble-on-alaska-miles-why-i-applied-for-2-hawaiian-airlines-cards-on-the-same-day\/"},"modified":"2024-09-06T21:19:47","modified_gmt":"2024-09-06T21:19:47","slug":"a-gamble-on-alaska-miles-why-i-applied-for-2-hawaiian-airlines-cards-on-the-same-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travelaffiliatewebsite.com\/mer\/a-gamble-on-alaska-miles-why-i-applied-for-2-hawaiian-airlines-cards-on-the-same-day\/","title":{"rendered":"A gamble on Alaska miles \u2014\u00a0why I applied for 2 Hawaiian Airlines cards on the same day"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I’m probably one of the most credit card-dependent members of the TPG team. I already have too many for most humans to keep track of, resulting in my need to use spreadsheets to keep up with all my benefits. In fact, at last count, I had more than 20 open cards.<\/p>\n

Given how many cards I currently have, I hadn’t really been in the market for another card … until Alaska Airlines announced it planned to buy Hawaiian Airlines<\/a> back in December 2023.<\/p>\n

Alaska says it will continue operating Hawaiian Airlines as a separate brand but will combine Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan<\/a> and HawaiianMiles<\/a> into one loyalty program. That opens up the possibility that HawaiianMiles could eventually become valuable Mileage Plan miles … or something similar. That made me want to get some HawaiianMiles banked as soon as possible.<\/p>\n

Related: Hawaiian-Alaska Airlines merger: What we know (and want to know) about the future loyalty program<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The proposed merger cleared a major milestone in August 2024 when the Department of Justice said it wouldn’t move<\/a> to block the deal. It still needs the signoff of the Department of Transportation. In a statement, Alaska Airlines wrote the merger, ” … remains subject to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) approving an interim exemption application for the transfer of international route authorities.” The DOT has not given a timetable for its decision.<\/p>\n

Still, the DOT approval is widely seen as the lesser of the two major hurdles to approval of the deal.<\/p>\n

Either way, I decided on my credit card strategy late last year, well before the regulatory process started.<\/p>\n

Admittedly, opening two credit cards based on a hypothetical situation is a very speculative move on my part. However, I place a lot of value in Alaska miles and feel confident there’s enough of a chance of this hypothetical merger becoming a reality.<\/p>\n

So, I decided to act.<\/p>\n

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I’ve taken various trips to Hawaii in recent years, so once I knew I was ready to consider adding a Hawaiian Airlines credit card to my wallet, I turned to my work desk drawer to see what card applications from flight attendants I had stored away.<\/p>\n

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