Update: As of November 17, 2015 the Hawaiin Airlines MileFinder’s search function has been discontinued.
Those of you who use the Hawaiian Airlines MileFinder for the purpose of keeping your account active may be glad to know it’s now available on Safari. This makes it more convenient for Mac users who don’t like using Firefox and had to download it solely for this purpose. While you no longer have to utilize a separate web browser, the new Hawaiian Airlines Safari MileFinder has a slight disadvantage to its Firefox counterpart.
I downloaded the MileFinder to test it out and initially thought it wasn’t installed properly. There is a Hawaiian Airlines icon next to the address bar. Which I initially assumed meant that Hawaiian’s search tool became the default. However, that’s not the case. In order to earn miles for searching, you need to click on the Hawaiian Airlines icon. At that point, the search bar pops out. Then you need to type whatever you’re searching for, after which you’ll be directed to a page displaying search results. This extra step of having to click on an icon doesn’t sound significant, but when you’re trying to generate 1,000 searches, it’s a little annoying and drags out the process.
The Hawaiian Airlines MileFinder isn’t the gold mine it used to be. Back in the day you could earn 5,000 miles per month with the search function, with every 3 searches resulting in 1 mile earned. I did really well, earning at least 10,000 miles per month by searching under different accounts – it’s how I paid for my stay at the Hilton Sydney a year and a half ago (Note: Back then Hawaiian Miles transferred to Hilton points at a 1:2 ratio). The MileFinder was downgraded in November 2012, with earnings being capped at 1,000 miles per month. It’s still a good way to kill time at work earn extra miles through casual use. The search engine is powered by Yahoo, so search results are fairly reliable. If you’re already using Yahoo as a search engine, then you might as well get rewarded for it.
Nowadays, I use the Hawaiian Miles MileFinder strictly to keep my account active. I rarely hit the maximum 3,000 searches and treat it more like a game to round off my Hawaiian Miles account balance. I wouldn’t recommend using the Hawaiian Airlines toolbar for shopping purposes, since it has a terrible tracking function. In the past I’ve had issues getting miles credited to my account. Even after providing proof, so I recommend you steer clear of it for that purpose.
Have you used the Hawaiian Airlines toolbar for Safari yet?
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I’m glad to see your post. I used the Hawaiian Airlines MileFinder consistently up through February, and then it stopped working. I’ve tried to reload it on firefox and internet explorer, but the search bar never comes up. I’m stumped! I never made a lot of miles, but it was good while it lasted.
I’d try re-installing it. Sometimes when you update your software, issues like this happen.