The US Department of Transportation (DoT) announced that, before the merger of Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines, it is requiring certain “binding, enforceable public-interest protections.” The most important one is that HawaiianMiles must be converted to Alaska miles at a 1:1 ratio. Other protections include:

  • Miles earned under the old programs will not expire: Before the new combined loyalty program is launched, all HawaiianMiles and Alaska miles will not expire.
  • 1:1 mile transfers: Members can transfer HawaiianMiles and Alaska miles at a 1:1 ratio before the new combined loyalty program launches. Every unused HawaiianMiles and Alaska mile must be converted into miles in the new loyalty program at a 1:1 ratio, ensuring that all members have the same number of miles before and after the conversion.
  • Preserving mileage value: The merged airline may not take any action that could devalue HawaiianMiles. It must preserve the value of each unredeemed Hawaiian mile earned before the merger closes, honor all HawaiianMiles promotions tied to activities before the merger closes, and continue to award HawaiianMiles at equivalent or greater value. The merged airline must also maintain a minimum dollar value for all miles in the new loyalty program, measured by the customer-facing value of redeeming miles for flights operated by the airline.
  • Match, maintain, or upgrade elite status: Under the new combined loyalty program, the merged airline must match and maintain the status level held by members in the HawaiianMiles program, and match and maintain Alaska Mileage Plan elite tiers and benefits. The goal is to ensure that members of the existing loyalty programs receive the same or better treatment with respect to status, including by matching or upgrading elite status in the new combined loyalty program, so that members of each existing loyalty program are not treated worse than they are today for the rest of the applicable program year.
  • No new junk fees: The merged airline may not charge change or cancellation fees on award tickets for flights it operates.

For full details, see the link below: