We are in the SAME DILEMMA! It has been about 3 days from approval, but the card won't arrive for about 7 days supposedly.
Then you must wait 1 billing cycle to spend $1,000 to get the mileage. Right now, we can get via United from Newark $715 RTrip revenue paying...Of course we want a "free ticket" once we get the mileage, but we run two risks here. I checked "reward" mileage and the super saver reward level is not available for our days.. Right now it is showing that it takes 40,000 miles for one round trip ticket on the same flight as the remaining "revenue paying" seats in our traveling party. We run the risk that in about 5 weeks, he 40,000 reward seat is not there. If that be the case, in 5 weeks the $715 flight could very well be $825 or so....
We decided that we will pay for everyone traveling in our family as revenue paying and "save" the mileage for spring, summer of 2015!
Never know how these things go...our luck would be waiting 5 weeks or so to be able to "use the mileage" and the reward mileage is not available and the price the ticket has jumped by $100 or so!
Good Luck in your decision making..As a suggestion, check Newark...Not bad coming from Ct..Stay overnight in a reasonable hotel at the airport and be "good to go" with a 9:15 flight out of Newark on United to Honolulu! Only non stop flight from Newark gets in at 11:45AM...Plenty of time to drive back to CT..I'm sure you are no more than 3 hours!
Enjoy Aulani! WE CAN'T WAIT!