Hawaiian Airlines is giving away more than 44 million Atmos Rewards points to holders of the Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard between February 1 and December 31, 2026, according to a joint announcement from Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines. The promotion, branded the Great Points Giveaway, is the largest loyalty sweepstakes Hawaiian has ever run, and it lands in the middle of one of the messiest co-brand transitions in recent airline history.

If you already hold the Barclays-issued Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard, the news is good. If you don't, getting in is harder than it was a year ago. Here is what is actually happening and what it means for cardmembers.

What the Great Points Giveaway Actually Is

The mechanics are straightforward and worth getting right, because most early coverage got the details wrong.

Every transaction made with a Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard during the promotional period counts as one entry. There is also a no-purchase-necessary mail-in option for entry, per the official sweepstakes terms posted at thegreatpointsgiveawaybyhawaiianairlinesmastercard.com.

Prizes break down as follows:

  • Seven weekly winners receive 100,000 Atmos Rewards points each.
  • One monthly grand prize winner receives 1,000,000 Atmos Rewards points.

That structure totals roughly 44 million points distributed across the year. Hawaiʻi resident cardmembers also earn a 50% bonus on points per dollar spent during the promotion, capped at 5,000 bonus points. That is a separate benefit on top of the sweepstakes entries.

The card is issued by Barclays Bank Delaware under a Bank of Hawaii partnership, and that issuer-and-partner arrangement is the reason the giveaway exists. Barclays and Bank of Hawaii are running it to keep existing cardmembers engaged through a year of program upheaval.

The HawaiianMiles-to-Atmos Backdrop

Hawaiian Airlines folded HawaiianMiles into Atmos Rewards on October 1, 2025, the combined Alaska-Hawaiian loyalty program. Members' miles and Pualani status converted one-to-one into Atmos points and the equivalent Atmos tier, Alaska confirmed in its October 1 transition announcement. HawaiianMiles account numbers were retired in favor of new Atmos numbers, and account access froze from September 26 through 30 while the systems migrated.

For cardmembers, the practical change was small: card numbers, CVVs, and expiration dates all stayed the same. The points balance earned on the Barclays Mastercard now sits in an Atmos Rewards account instead of a HawaiianMiles account. The earn rate did not change: three points per dollar on Hawaiian Airlines purchases, two points per dollar on gas, dining, and groceries, and one point per dollar everywhere else. The $99 annual fee, the free checked bag, and priority boarding all carried over too.

What did change is the issuer picture around the card.

Why the Card Is Harder to Get Now

On October 1, 2025, Barclays quietly removed both the Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard and the Hawaiian Airlines Business Mastercard from its application pages. Upgraded Points first flagged the removal, and Frequent Miler confirmed the Bank of Hawaii version still accepts new applications inflight and through Bank of Hawaii branches.

So the card has not been discontinued. It has been pulled from one application channel.

Meanwhile, Bank of America launched three new Atmos Rewards cards directly tied to the unified program: the Atmos Rewards Ascent Visa Signature, the Atmos Rewards Summit Visa Infinite, and the Atmos Rewards Visa Business. Those cards earn Atmos points natively, which is where Hawaiian's co-brand strategy is heading.

Existing Barclays Hawaiian Airlines cardmembers can keep using their cards. Whether and when those accounts move to a different issuer has not been announced. American Airlines cardholders on Barclays are transitioning to Citi in 2026, but the Hawaiian Airlines timeline remains unclear.

The takeaway: the 2026 sweepstakes is essentially a goodbye party for the Barclays product. Existing cardmembers get the upside, and new applicants face a narrower path to the card.

What This Means If You Hold the Card

The math on staying active in 2026 is simple. Every transaction is an entry, so the relevant question is whether you would have spent that money anyway. Re-routing recurring bills and everyday spending onto the card is the only optimization that makes sense. Manufactured spending or buying-things-you-don't-need to chase entries is a losing proposition against a sweepstakes with low individual odds.

Keep the account in good standing. Watch for official notifications from Barclays, since communications about winners will come from the issuer, not from Hawaiian directly. And if your card is approaching natural expiration, your replacement should still arrive on the Barclays Mastercard rail unless an issuer change is announced.

What This Means If You Don't

If you want to apply, the Bank of Hawaii channel is the path. Bank of Hawaii recently ran a 60,000-point welcome offer on the World Elite Mastercard, per Frequent Miler's reporting. The 70,000-point bonus referenced in earlier promotional cycles is not the current public offer.

If you want a card that earns Atmos Rewards points natively without the issuer uncertainty, the three Bank of America Atmos cards are the cleaner long-term choice. They do not include sweepstakes entries for the 2026 promotion, but they sit on the program's go-forward platform.

Looking Ahead

Atmos Rewards has more to come in 2026. Alaska has confirmed a choice-based earning model launching later in the year that will let members earn by distance, ticket price, or segments, and Huaka'i by Hawaiian members will receive a 50% bonus on points and status points for Neighbor Island travel.

The Great Points Giveaway is the most generous promotion Hawaiian's co-brand portfolio has ever offered. It is also, almost certainly, the last one of its kind under Barclays. If you hold the card, use it the way you were going to anyway and let the entries pile up.

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