Virgin America has a 2-for-1 sale on San Francisco – Honolulu and Maui flights in economy for a limited set of dates, and it’s pretty good. (HT: One Mile at a Time)
That’s from San Francisco only, but you can actually get 2-for-1 tickets to Hawaii from 110 different cities and get them any day of the year you wish where flights aren’t sold out. I’ll explain how, after walking through the Virgin America promotion.
Virgin America’s 2-for-1 Hawaii Promotion
Virgin’s 2-for-1 Hawaii sale is available for bookings made by tomorrow February 7 and travel through March 6 on the airline’s San Francisco – Honolulu and San Francisco – Maui flights in economy using promo code MAHALO. Not all flights are eligible.
Terms and Conditions
* This offer ends on February 7th, 2016 at 11:59pm PT. This offer is valid for nonstop travel in SFO-HNL/OGG only; offer is not valid for any multi-city itineraries. Travel must occur between February 6th, 2016 and March 6th, 2016. One time use promo code is valid only in Main Cabin. No blackouts. Promo code applies to newly booked travel and may not be applied to prior bookings. Promo code discount will be deducted off of base fare. Base fares do not include Passenger Facility Charges of up to $9 each way, September 11th Security Fees of up to $5.60 per one way trip, where each one-way trip may include a connection or stopover between two domestic flights not exceeding 4 hours, and a Federal Segment Tax of $4.00 per domestic segment. A segment is a takeoff and landing. A stopover is a break in travel of more than 4 hours between 2 flights. Promo code may not be redeemed for cash. Promo code may only be used for bookings made on virginamerica.com and is only valid on itineraries of exactly 2 guests. Offer is not transferable and cannot be combined with any other offers. Seats are limited, subject to availability, and may not be available on all flights. If travel is changed or cancelled, promo code discount will become invalid. Changes or cancellations can be made for a $150 fee per guest through all channels, plus any increase in fare, if applicable. Any remaining balance will be placed in a guest’s travel bank, good for travel on Virgin America for one year from date of issue. Promotion code is not eligible for Elevate points redemption bookings. Guests who no-show without a change or cancellation prior to the scheduled departure time will forfeit the amount of this fare. In addition, any future flights booked in the same reservation will also be canceled and the fare will be forfeited. Tickets purchased from Virgin America through our reservation call center will cost an additional $20 per guest per itinerary. Any added cost associated with purchasing tickets from Virgin America through our reservation call center will be non-refundable. Fares will not be honored retroactively or in exchange for any wholly or partially used ticket. Fares, routes, fees and schedules are subject to change without notice. Virgin America will accept up to ten pieces of checked baggage, up to 50 pounds each, per ticketed guest traveling within the U.S. Additional fees apply to baggage exceeding these weight limitations, and other baggage restrictions may apply.
Alaska Airlines $99+tax Companion Ticket from Anywhere They Fly
As I explain in the 5 Best Deals to Hawaii with Miles or Money,
- Alaska Airlines has a companion ticket that comes with the Bank of America Alaska Airlines Visa.
- It’s good for any Alaska Airlines flights, from any city they serve to any city they service including Hawaii, and offers last seat availability in economy.
- The companion costs $99 plus tax.
- So one paid ticket, the second one a little over $100. It used to be an even better deal when these certificates were valid for first class. This is economy only.
No need to limit yourself to San Francisco flights or a limited set of flights with availability. No need to limit yourself to Honolulu and Maui.
If you live in an Alaska Airlines city, this remains one of the best deals in travel.
So… not for 2 for 1, but 2 for 1 + $130ish. I know you like to mislead your titles for the clicks, but come on!
Actually, over $200 once you factor in the $75 annual fee on the Visa.
A companion ticket is 2 for 1. The Virgin America ticket involves tax also. The $75 annual fee is more than covered by the signup bonus of 25,000 miles, and you can get a statement credit larger than the annual fee with $100 spend. So… hope your comment made you feel better!
So you are saying that it’s easy to get a statement credit every year? Are we talking Citi-level retention or Chase?
Not as easy as it used to be to get several cards at a time several times a year, but it’s still possible to get a new BofA Alaska card every year with signup bonus and statement credit.
Jeez Gary, nobody gets as annoyed as me at the trolls who look to be the first to jump on anything you say, but the Alaska cert is not 2 for 1. You can’t just say any “companion” ticket is 2 for 1. It’s a companion ticket with a co-pay. If it were a $500 co-pay do you think it would still be a “2 for 1”. Words matter. If this is just shorthand in a blog, no problem. If instead it’s tracking back to some affiliate link for which you get compensated then acting like the certificate is the equivalent of the Virgin promo is misleading and a bit of an erosion of credibility.
@Larry “If this is just shorthand in a blog, no problem. If instead it’s tracking back to some affiliate link for which you get compensated then acting like the certificate is the equivalent of the Virgin promo is misleading and a bit of an erosion of credibility.”
There is no affiliate link or compensation attached.
Gary is right- the criticism if the Alaska air 2 for 1 is accurate. The picky spin on what is 2 for 1 is way over the top by taking in other factors. So you pay some small fee that includes taxes which you always have to pay on award flights but get other benefits which you neglect to factor in. So you factor in a bunch of negatives extras but not any positive extras. Bush league. Go Gary!!
Opps one typo but an important one. The criticism of the 2 for 1 cert is INACCURATE. Gary is great and more accurate! I need to proofread before sending
I was going to forward the Virgin America offer to a friend with a family of four until I read the offer in detail and found “…is only valid on itineraries of exactly 2 guests”…that’s a deal killer for many of us. Whereas, last year I took 6 of us from PDX to HNL using two BoA Alaska Air Credit Cards, getting two $110+ Companion fares plus using $70 or so from “My Wallet” toward remaining two tickets using miles + $$$; all put together over the phone with a helpful AS Customer Service Rep. No extra charge for using the phone with AS. Thanks Alaska Airlines! Obviously the two Credit Cards are the deal for me. First card I had for years (even did the FC thing once) and second card I acquired as a result of reading Gary Leff’s blog about getting a second card. And as I read above, I may get a third card for the 25k signup bonus. Thank you Gary.
Isn’t actually 4-2? You have to buy four separate tickets of which 2 of them are free(ish…plus $130). Not to mention you have to have the alaska credit card. That’s like saying 2 for 1 to hawaii from anyway in America with your southwest companion pass. But not everybody has the southwest CP. And it’s still not to for one because you have to purchase two sets of tickets separately. This post just makes no sense.
Argh. I’m the a-hole for opening that clickbait title, thinking there may be a workaround for the Virgin America 2-4-1 Hawaii deal, only to find out its just a credit card pitch.
Jay, where is the credit card pitch? There’s no credit card link in the entire post. And the title doesn’t mention Virgin America so clearly not implying that. You are a moron.
Virgin is a great deal if you can fly at the drop of a dime – however he vast majority of us have families and kids in school during February so this is really a non-starter.
Contrast with the Alaska 241 is a great everyday deal though fares vary wildly throughout the year and typically rise during peak summer season. Yes the real cost is $75+$99+taxes but still a deal compared with UA’s peak fares. OAK and SJC are also more convenient than SFO for many of us in Bay Area.
Really like Virgin product but their pricing is very screwy – often worse than competitors for advance bookings and then nice last minute discounts. But most of us don’t play that game.
I appreciate the advice. Trying to go to KOH for thanksgiving and using miles or even paying look to be horrible. Glad to use the Alaska companion pass trick.