Alert: Flights to Hawaii start at $299 and are available through late 2020

Beginning January 1, 2021, earn 5x points on airfare purchases up to $500,000 each calendar year when booked directly or via Amex Travel with the Amex Platinum card.

Hawaii has clearly requested that tourists refrain from visiting for the time being. It remains uncertain when it will be safe for leisure travel to the Aloha State, but dreaming, planning, and possibly even reserving tickets with flexible change and cancellation policies helps my family navigate our current situation.

Editor's note: Avoid booking travel unless you are fully aware of the penalties associated with changes or cancellations if the COVID-19 situation still requires such precautions later this year. TPG advises against leisure travel at this moment, but we are hopeful for travel opportunities later in 2020.

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If you're looking to book a trip or simply wish to daydream about travel, here’s a selection of round-trip flight deals we’ve spotted to Hawaii for the latter half of 2020. While some deals are for Lihue (LIH), most of the offers are to Honolulu, with fares available from now until October.

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Current flight deals to Hawaii

Dallas to Honolulu: $386 with Delta

San Francisco to Honolulu: $299 with United and Hawaiian Airlines

Los Angeles to Honolulu: $327-$347 with Sun Country, Alaska, Hawaiian, and American Airlines

Charlotte to Honolulu: $384 with Delta

Award flights on the same route start at just 30,000 miles round-trip:

Houston to Honolulu: $484 with United

Additionally, it's worth mentioning for Houston: Nearly every day until the end of September offers saver award availability on nonstop flights to Honolulu, costing 22,500 miles each way (or even better, 7,500 Turkish miles per leg, with Citi being the easiest transfer partner if you lack the miles):

Seattle to Honolulu: $346 with American Airlines

Portland to Honolulu: $308 with American Airlines

Tips for discovering your own flight bargains

What we see for Hawaii is just a glimpse, and your preferred routes may not be listed here. No worries if you're equipped to find your own flight bargains—here are some of our top tools to assist you.

Discover with Google Flights

Begin your journey at Google Flights. You can investigate flights to your desired destinations from various airports, allowing you to find the best offers. Alternatively, enter "USA" in the "Where to?" field to search flights from your location to any U.S. gateway, revealing a map of the cheapest flights to airports nationwide.

This map from Google Flights displays prices for trips from New York City to Hawaii. (Note that it covers the next six months, so the lowest fares might be for dates when leisure travel isn't feasible.)

Determine whether to pay with cash or points

Upon discovering a great airfare deal, you'll need to choose if it's better to pay with cash or points. This is a personal choice; saving cash may be wise right now. There's no definitive answer, but if you can use just 7,500-22,500 miles each way, as mentioned, that's quite favorable. Currently, the frequent flyer programs that are most dynamically priced tend to offer some of the best award rates to Hawaii.

Familiarize yourself with cancellation policies before purchasing a ticket

Before securing any airline ticket in today's landscape, ensure you understand the cancellation and rebooking policies of your chosen carrier. Airlines are modifying their policies to become more accommodating for future travel, but the specifics can vary between airlines and may depend on whether you paid with cash or miles. Although rebooking without a change fee is often possible, remember you'll still be responsible for any fare difference between your old ticket and the new one.

When booking an airline ticket with points or miles, consider these top strategies to avoid change and cancellation fees on award tickets. Additionally, using a credit card that offers robust travel insurance can be beneficial (but keep in mind, this coverage doesn't apply simply because you opt not to travel).

Key takeaways

No one can predict when travel will fully resume. The coronavirus situation remains uncertain, with no clear end in sight. If you're open to making speculative bookings for the latter half of this year, you might find yourself traveling and enjoying great experiences—or you may have to cancel or reschedule for a later date. Approach each booking with awareness and a solid grasp of the cancellation and rebooking policies.