Barclaycard Hawaiian Airlines World Elite MasterCard and Business MasterCard Review
Updated October 11, 2021.
This review covers both the personal and business versions of the Hawaiian Airlines co-branded MasterCards.
The Facts
Barclays Hawaiian Airlines WEMC (Personal)
Barclays Hawaiian Airlines Business MasterCard
The Math
Personal Hawaiian MasterCard: There are several ways to cancel out the $99 annual fee or even come out ahead after the first year: make use of the $100 companion discount, the discounted awards travel, waived bag fees, or if you are already an Pualani Gold or Platinum member the $100 in-flight credit. However, as the 5K annual bonus for $10K spending is gone, the card won't have a chance to be recommended for general spending. As for its improved bonus category rewards, there are just too many better competitors, such as Chase Sapphire Reserve, Citi Prestige WEMC, and Amex Gold.
Business Hawaiian MasterCard: when you spend exactly $50K or $100K, your rewards for general spending will be 1.4 miles per dollar spent. To beat 2% cashback offered by Capital One Spark Cash which carries a similar annual fee, you will need to value Hawaiian miles at about 1.4 cents per mile. In our opinion, this valuation is not easy to achieve. Also bear in mind that our "King of Business Cards" Amex Blue Business Plus offers 2x points on everything and the points can be transferred to Hawaiian miles in addition to many other partner programs.
The Conclusion
After becoming the new issuer, Barclaycard made the Hawaiian Airlines card a great card to keep after the first year, especially for Hawaiian travelers. However, we generally recommend other cards for spending.
This review covers both the personal and business versions of the Hawaiian Airlines co-branded MasterCards.
The Facts
Barclays Hawaiian Airlines WEMC (Personal)
- Annual Fee: $99
- Signup Bonus: up to 80,000 miles (60,000 miles after spending $2,000 within 3 months of new account opening & additional 20,000 miles after spending $4,000 within 6 months) & a one-time 50% companion discount for roundtrip coach travel on Hawaiian Airlines between Hawaii and North America upon account approval. Historical best bonus: 80,000 miles + one-time 50% companion discount 2021; 70,000 miles + one-time 50% companion discount 2021.
- Application Landing Page
- Rewards: 3x Hawaiian Airlines purchases, 2x gas | dining | groceries, and 1x everywhere else.
- The Best Use of HawaiianMiles: HawaiianMiles is the frequent flyer program of Hawaiian Airlines. Even though Hawaiian Airlines is not a member of any alliance, it does maintain partnership with several airlines including American, ANA, Korean Air, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Australia, etc. HawaiianMiles are generally valuable when redeemed for travel on Hawaiian Airlines and its partners.
- Other Benefits: (1) An annual $100 companion discount for roundtrip coach travel on Hawaiian Airlines between Hawaii and North America upon each anniversary. (2) Discounted awards travel on Hawaiian Airlines. (3) Waived 1st checked bags for primary cardholders when traveling on Hawaiian Airlines. (4) For the current Pualani Gold and Platinum members, up to $100 statement credit towards in flight purchases made by the card; however, there is a $10 cap per day for this benefit. (5) Waived foreign transaction fees with an embedded EMV chip.
- World Elite MasterCard Benefits: MasterCard Luxury Hotels & Resorts (a collection of 2,000+ luxury hotels worldwide that offer complimentary breakfasts for two, room upgrades upon availability, early check-in, late check-out, and a special amenity such as a certain amount of hotel credit up to $100 per stay, free internet, or welcome gift, etc.), MasterCard Travel & Lifestyle Services (offers for hotels, airfare, private jets, airport concierge, car rentals, chauffeured cars, cruise lines, tours, vacation packages, golf, sports and entertainment event tickets, etc.), complimentary ShopRunner membership (free two-day shipping and returns at participating stores), complimentary DoorDash benefits (3 months of complimentary DashPass membership & $5 off first two orders per month through 9/30/2022), monthly $5 Lyft credit after 3 rides each month, 5% discount for every HelloFresh order, $5 rewards for every $20+ Fandango purchase, the Dining Program (special amenities at participating restaurants), the Nightlife Program (exclusive access to and recognition at participating night clubs), Priceless Cities, Priceless Surprises, Priceless Causes, Priceless Golf, 24/7 World Elite concierge service, MasterCard Cellular Wireless Telephone Protection (up to $800 for a stolen or damaged phone as long as you charge your monthly cellphone bills to the card), MasterCard ID Theft Protection, etc.
- The Facts: BofA was the issuer of Hawaiian Airlines credit card before late 2013. The reason why we did not even bother to review that product is because we think the card was mediocre when compared to competitors. After Barclays became the new issuer, it actually made this credit card an attractive product by giving it several valuable perks. In July 2018, Barclays took away the annual 5,000 miles bonus after $10K spending, but increased gas, grocery, dining, and Hawaiian purchases by one point.
Barclays Hawaiian Airlines Business MasterCard
- The business card is very similar to the personal version; most features are the same including $99 annual fees. Here we will just highlight the differences as below.
- The business version is currently offering up to 90,000 miles (50,000 miles after you spend $1,000 within 3 months of new account opening & additional 40,000 miles after you spend $6,000 within 6 months) plus a one-time 50% companion discount as the signup bonus (60,000 miles after spending $1,000 within 3 months of new account opening and an additional 10,000 points after the first purchase is made with an employee card). Historical best bonus: 90,000 miles + one-time 50% companion discount in 2021; 70,000 miles + one-time 50% companion discount in 2019 and 2020.
- Application Landing Page
- The business version offers gas | dining | office supplies (instead of groceries) as the 2x bonus categories.
- In lieu of the annual $100 companion discount, the business version offers an annual miles booster as following: earn 20,000 bonus miles after spending $50,000 each year, or 40,000 miles after spending $100,000 each year.
The Math
Personal Hawaiian MasterCard: There are several ways to cancel out the $99 annual fee or even come out ahead after the first year: make use of the $100 companion discount, the discounted awards travel, waived bag fees, or if you are already an Pualani Gold or Platinum member the $100 in-flight credit. However, as the 5K annual bonus for $10K spending is gone, the card won't have a chance to be recommended for general spending. As for its improved bonus category rewards, there are just too many better competitors, such as Chase Sapphire Reserve, Citi Prestige WEMC, and Amex Gold.
Business Hawaiian MasterCard: when you spend exactly $50K or $100K, your rewards for general spending will be 1.4 miles per dollar spent. To beat 2% cashback offered by Capital One Spark Cash which carries a similar annual fee, you will need to value Hawaiian miles at about 1.4 cents per mile. In our opinion, this valuation is not easy to achieve. Also bear in mind that our "King of Business Cards" Amex Blue Business Plus offers 2x points on everything and the points can be transferred to Hawaiian miles in addition to many other partner programs.
The Conclusion
After becoming the new issuer, Barclaycard made the Hawaiian Airlines card a great card to keep after the first year, especially for Hawaiian travelers. However, we generally recommend other cards for spending.