Los Angeles to Kona in Economy

The sharpest math on this route runs through British Airways Avios, but with an important geographic note. The 5,000 Avios sweet spot applies to Hawaiian Airlines inter-island flights, meaning it covers segments like Honolulu (HNL) to Kona (KOA), not the mainland-to-Hawaii leg from Los Angeles. If you are routing through Honolulu, that inter-island hop can be tacked on for just 5,000 Avios, against a cash price typically around $130, producing a redemption value of roughly 2.6 cents per point. That is a meaningful premium over our 1.5¢ valuation for Avios, and it is the clearest above-baseline opportunity on any itinerary that touches this route.

For the LAX to KOA segment itself, the first programs worth searching are those with partnerships covering Hawaiian Airlines directly. British Airways Avios is the standout here, since Hawaiian Airlines is an Avios partner and Avios pricing for West Coast to Hawaii flights is distance-based, often landing in the 25,000 Avios range one-way in economy. a transfer partner and Flying Blue do not partner with Hawaiian Airlines, so they are less useful unless you are considering an interline or codeshare path on a carrier like Alaska Airlines, which does operate LAX-KOA service and sits within the Oneworld adjacent universe for some purposes. Search Alaska's own MileagePlan for LAX-KOA award rates as a parallel option.

Economy saver availability between Los Angeles and Kona is real but not uniform across the calendar. Off-peak shoulder periods, particularly spring and fall travel outside of school holidays, tend to show more open award seats. Summer (June through August), Thanksgiving week, Christmas, and the weeks surrounding spring break are genuinely constrained. Hawaiian Airlines seats fill early on these dates, and award inventory follows. Building in a search window of at least 60 to 90 days before your travel date gives you a more honest picture of what is actually bookable.

On transfer paths: Avios can be moved from Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, and Capital One miles, all at a 1:1 ratio to British Airways Executive Club. That means 5,000 Chase UR points become 5,000 Avios, sufficient for the inter-island leg if you are connecting through Honolulu. For the full LAX-KOA redemption via Avios, you would need to confirm award space on Hawaiian Airlines through the British Airways portal before initiating any transfer, since points moved across programs are not reversible.

The conservative framing matters here. At our 1.5¢ per point valuation for Avios, a 5,000-Avios inter-island redemption represents $75 in expected value against a cash ticket that often runs closer to $130, which is why this particular sweet spot clears the bar worth pursuing. A larger Avios redemption for the full mainland-to-Hawaii segment needs to be stress-tested against the actual cash price on the day you search, since fares between LAX and KOA can be competitive enough that the CPP advantage narrows. Always pull the cash price first, divide it by the Avios cost, and check that result against 1.5¢ before committing your points.

Find space first, then transfer.