Using a small trick with Expedia can get you a huge discount on flights from Amsterdam to Hawaii with Star Alliance including luggage! You can book flights from as low as €609 by booking them through Expedia in connection with a ho(s)tel stay. This will make it possible for you to book a so called tour operator fare.
Once booked, you actually do not have to stay at the hostel. But of course you can also utilize this and directly book the hotel you want to stay in anyway. Maybe still just one night and for the rest of the time, you use the cheapest source, f.e. booking.com. Then you let the hotel connect the bookings.
At first you will fly either with Lufthansa or SWISS via their hubs to California. Your journey then continues with United to Honolulu.
Alternatively, you can also book flights operated by Air Canada which will fly via London and Vancouver.
Fare Rules
How long this offer is available, is unfortunately unknown as the fare rules are not publicly visible.
However, availabilites are good in the following months:
- January to May, 2020
- Mid of August to September, 2020
Since this is not a light fare, gold status holders can check in up to 2 pieces of a maximum of 23 kg. United status holders should even be able to reserve eco plus seats with more leg room.
Search & Book
Since this a tour operator fare, booking it is slightly more complicated than usually but still only takes a few minutes to figure out.
Time needed: 5 minutes
How to book a tour operator fare via expedia.nl
- Select flight & hotel search on expedia.nl
When opening expedia.nl, the standard selection is “Vlucht” which means flight. We wanna switch this to “Vlucht + Hotel”.
- Enter travel dates
Enter departure and arrival airports and travel dates. “Vertrek vanaf” is departure airport, “Bestemming” is arrival airport, “Vetrekdatum” is outbound flight date, “Retourdatum” is inbound flight date. “Reizigers” is the amount of travellers and “kamers” the amount of bedrooms. - Different hotel dates
In order to book your flight the cheapest possible way, just one hotel night in the cheapest hostel is needed. Of course it may also make sense to book a night in the hotel you wanted to stay in anyway. But check the price increase (compared to cheapest hostel price) versus the price you would anyway pay before booking! You actually may not save any money this way! - Choose ho(s)tels
You can select your preferred hotel and hostel from an extensive selection. As mentioned earlier, if you want to book the flight the cheapest possible way, sort the search results by price and choose the cheapest option. Prices shown are per person. - Select flights
In the next step you can select your flights. You will only have a few options here at that price point but checking these flights regarding their routing can help save a few hours of extra travel time (unless you want that).
- Confirm & pay
In the last step, all information is listed again. You can then go ahead and pay with your preferred payment source at no extra cost.
Availabilities are a bit hard to figure out, since Google Flights doesn’t display the tour operator fare correctly. If there are no availabilities for your preferred dates, the only option is to manually try to find other dates that work.
This only works on the Dutch Expdia website. The other countries do not have this tour operator fare available.
Mileage
The tickets will most probably be issued in booking class K. IF you are flying with Air Canada via Vancounver to Honolulu, this will be the mileage accrual:
- 7,916 Miles on Thai Royal Orchid Plus
- 7,916 Miles on Aegean Miles+Bonus
- 7,666 Miles on Copa ConnectMiles
- 7,646 Miles on ANA Mileage Club
- 7,646 Miles on GOL Aéreos Smiles
- 7,646 Miles on TAP Miles&Go
- 4,206 Award Miles + 280 Points on Miles&More
- 3,956 Miles on Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
- 3,956 Miles on Asiana Club
- 3,956 Miles on EVA Infinity MileageLands
- 3,856 Points on SAS EuroBonus
- 3,822 Award Miles + 764 PQP on United MileagePlus
- 3,822 Miles on Avianca LifeMiles
- 3,822 Miles on Singapore KrisFlyer
- 3,822 Award Miles on Azul TodoAzul
- 3,822 CV Points on Vistara Club Vistara
- 3,822 Award Miles on Air Canada Aeroplan
- 3,822 Award Miles on Etihad Guest
- 3,822 Miles on Egyptair Plus
Hotels
Hotels in Honolulu and Hawaii in general are not a cheap affair. Comparing prices makes sense and can save you a lot of money if you put enough effort into it. We would recommend using booking.com to compare prices:
Also check out our hotel coupons and vouchers. Who knows, it may help you save a good amount of money:
Information & Tips for USA
The USA offers many sights, natural wonders and cultural significance. Thanks to numerous airlines offering flights across the Atlantic, it is always pretty inexpensive to get there. Alternatively, you can also cross the Atlantic by boat.
Immigration, ESTA & Visa Requirements
The USA has one of the strictest entry regulations in the world. Most EU citizens, among others, are lucky to be able to participate in the so-called Visa Waiver Program. If you get an electronic entry permit (ESTA) for approximately €20, you don’t need a visa for entry.
The Best Time to Visit
Due to its sheer size, the perfect time to visit the USA varies greatly from region to region. In winter, Florida is very popular due to the mild temperatures. In the summer the West and East Coasts are flooded by tourists which drives up the prices for hotels and flights and during the Indian Summer in late autumn New England is a very popular destination. The hurricane season between July and September can be dangerous in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. Florida and the southern states are regularly struck by these tropical storms. Blizzards occur from the East Coast to the Midwest during the winter months and regularly put air traffic and public life on hold.
Currency
The US dollar is widely used throughout the world and accepted as a currency in most tourist hotspots worldwide. That being said, carrying cash isn’t necessary in the US, all you need is a credit card! These are very common in the USA and are accepted pretty much everywhere without any issues. If you already have a credit card in your wallet, you should make sure that it does not charge a foreign currency fee if possible. Carrying a few dollars in cash doesn’t hurt though. You might need cash e.g. for the bus ticket if you want to buy it directly from the driver. Most of the time you even have to give exact change.
Finding the Best eSIM Plan
We’ve compared various eSIM providers, such as Knowroaming and Ubigi. To see which plan is best for your travel needs, and which network offers the best coverage, feel free to read our detailed guide:
The Best eSIM Plans for the USA 🇺🇸 Compared
→ All Dealz for USA
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