Instruction Manual for Achieving Pualani Elite Status with Hawaiian Airlines

Hawaiian Airlines has unveiled a series of updates to its Pualani Elite and Premier Club membership programmes, offering more benefits and perks to its loyal customers.

For Pualani Elite members, the new benefits include greater seat selection when booking online, discounts when booking award flights with Hawaiian Airlines miles, and access to an exclusive reservation line. The airline has two elite status levels: Pualani Gold and Pualani Platinum. To earn Pualani Platinum, members must fly 60 segments or accumulate 40,000 miles in one calendar year.

Pualani Platinum members receive all Gold benefits, plus three free checked bags, priority boarding in Zone 1, 100% bonus frequent flyer miles, access to The Plumeria Lounge at Honolulu airport, access to select international partner lounges, complimentary upgrades to first/business class on flights to neighboring islands, complimentary upgrades to Extra Comfort Seats on North America and international flights, two complimentary upgrade certificates for business/first class on longer flights, and additional upgrade certificates for reaching certain mileage thresholds.

Pualani Gold members receive a 50% miles bonus on revenue tickets, while Pualani Platinum members will earn a 100% bonus. All Pualani elite members will receive 500 bonus miles on intra-island flights. Pualani elite members will also have access to select international partner lounges in cities including Sydney, Australia; Tokyo, Japan; and Auckland, New Zealand.

Premier Club members receive some but not all of the perks of Pualani Elite passengers, including two free checked bags, express check-in, priority preboarding and security, Premier Club access, and two one-time passes to The Plumeria Lounge. Premier Club membership can be purchased for $299 or redeemed with 40,000 HawaiianMiles.

Existing members can renew their Premier Club memberships for $249 or 35,000 miles. It's worth noting that it generally doesn't make sense to pay for Premier Club membership if you already have Pualani Gold or Platinum status.

Hawaiian Airlines does not have a publicly-marketed status match program, but it's possible to request one. The requirements for obtaining Pualani Elite status include accumulating a certain number of flight segments or qualifying flight miles within a calendar year, and sometimes meeting additional criteria such as elite qualifying dollars spent on Hawaiian Airlines tickets.

Most Pualani Elite status members who held status in 2022 got their status extended through Feb. 29, 2024. If you have Pualani Platinum elite status, you and a guest have access to the Plumeria Lounge if flying on an international flight out of Honolulu, offering complimentary hot food, beer and wine.

Gold and Premier Club members can use the first class check-in lines with up to two guests, even if they only purchased airfare in the cheap seats. Pualani elite members will enjoy priority baggage handling, which means your suitcases will be the first to hit the luggage carousel.

The Hawaiian Airlines® World Elite Mastercard® offers two free checked bags on mainland-to-Hawaii and interisland flights booked directly with Hawaiian. This card can be a great way to earn miles and enjoy some of the benefits of Pualani elite status without having to fly a certain number of segments or miles each year.

In conclusion, Hawaiian Airlines has announced a series of updates to its Pualani Elite and Premier Club membership programmes, offering more benefits and perks to its loyal customers. Whether you're a frequent flyer or just taking a trip to Hawaii, these updates are sure to make your travel experience even more enjoyable.