Here's why I applied for business and personal credit cards on the same day

17.01.2024 - 22:25 / thepointsguy.com / Hawaiian Airlines

I'm probably one of the most credit card-dependent members of the TPG team. I already have too many for most humans to keep track of, resulting in my need to use spreadsheets to keep up with all my benefits. In fact, at last count, I had more than 20 open cards.

Given how many cards I currently have, I haven't really been in the market for another card ... until Alaska Airlines announced it planned to buy Hawaiian Airlines back in December 2023.

While we have no idea if the merger will get approved, we do know that Alaska says it will continue operating Hawaiian Airlines as a separate brand but will combine Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan and HawaiianMiles into one loyalty program. That opens up the possibility that HawaiianMiles could eventually become valuable Mileage Plan miles ... or something similar.

It's admittedly a very speculative move on my part to open two credit cards based on a hypothetical situation. However, I place a lot of value in Alaska miles and feel confident there's enough of a chance of this hypothetical becoming a reality.

So, I decided to act.

I've taken various trips to Hawaii in recent years, so once I knew I was ready to consider adding a Hawaiian Airlines credit card to my wallet, I turned to my work desk drawer to see what card applications from flight attendants I had stored away.

Related: Why the Alaska-Hawaiian merger could be a win-win for frequent flyers

I decided the old adage "in for a penny, in for a pound" was appropriate here, so I applied for both the personal and business versions of the Hawaiian Airlines cards. That way, I could really maximize the sign-up bonuses that may eventually go away (or, at least, evolve away from their current state) if the loyalty programs did ultimately merge into one.

In my case, that meant an offer for 65,000 HawaiianMiles after making a purchase within 90 days of account opening for the Hawaiian Airlines® World Elite Mastercard®, as well as an offer for up to 70,000 HawaiianMiles after spending $2,000 and making a purchase with an employee card within the first 90 days of opening an account for the Hawaiian Airlines® World Elite Business Mastercard®.

The information for the Hawaiian Airlines® World Elite Mastercard® and the Hawaiian Airlines® World Elite Business Mastercard® has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Know, though, that you don't have to have a huge business for this strategy to work. If you have any type of small business — even one as small as an eBay store — you can apply for a business credit card with your name as the business and your social security number instead of an employer identification number.

Related: