Good afternoon everyone, I hope your week is going well. Laura’s Barclays Hawaiian Airlines Credit Card statement just closed and the $99 annual fee posted. As of today, we are 99% sure she will close this card, but I wanted to get a second opinion from readers to make sure we’re not missing an obvious reason to keep the card open for another year. Since her statement just closed a few days ago, we have about 4 weeks to make the final decision.

Laura was instantly approved for this card in August 2024 when the sign up bonus was 70,000 Hawaiian Airlines Miles after your first purchase. Since we haven’t spent a penny on the card since earning the sign up bonus, I had to refresh my memory on the rewards and benefits. I went to the credit card landing page and was underwhelmed. The only two worthwhile benefits are:

• $100 annual companion discount for round-trip travel between Hawaii and North America on Hawaiian Airlines (after each account anniversary).
• One-time 50%-off companion discount for round-trip travel between Hawaii and North America on Hawaiian Airlines.

Neither of these benefits excites me, since we don’t have near-term plans to fly to Hawaii, and if we did, we would use one of our Alaska Airlines Companion Fares instead. Alaska’s version can be used on any flight and the companion ticket only costs $122.

Based on the lackluster perks, Laura plans on calling Barclays to cancel this card in the coming weeks. I doubt she’ll receive any type of retention offer since we haven’t spent anything on the card since completing the sign up bonus.

However… there is a 1% chance this credit card could become more valuable over the coming year. Here are the 3 possibilities I see:

#1 International Hawaiian Airlines Flights

If Barclays or Hawaiian Airlines relaxed the rules, the companion discount could apply on international routes such as flights to:

• Auckland, New Zealand (AKL)
• Osaka, Japan (KIX)
• Rarotonga, Cook Islands (RAR)
• Sydney, Australia (SYD)
• Tahiti, French Polynesia (PPT)
• Tokyo, Japan (HND & NRT)

#2 Usable on Any Alaska Airlines Flight

This would be a welcome change. Ideally, the Hawaiian Airlines Companion Discount would work more like an Alaska Airlines Companion Fare with a fixed $122 cost for the companion and valid on complex multi-leg itineraries.

#3 Converted into a Bank of America Alaska Airlines / Atmos Rewards Credit Card

This seems equally likely and unlikely. Barclays still issues the Hawaiian Airlines Credit Card today, but they are exiting parts of the airline co-brand space (selling their American Airlines portfolio to Citi). If a similar move happened here, it wouldn’t shock me.

If #1, #2, or #3 were announced in the coming weeks (maybe on October 1, when both programs merge into Atmos Rewards), we might reconsider. But if there’s no major announcement in early October, Laura plans to close the card.

As a sort of hedge, I was approved for the Barclays Hawaiian Airlines Credit Card in March 2025, so I have until March 2026 to see if there are any positive changes before deciding what to do with my card.

Do you foresee any other possible outcomes for this card in the coming months? If we don’t plan to fly to Hawaii in the next 12 months, is there any reason to keep this card open? Please share your thoughts and predictions in the comments below. Have a great day everyone!