Alaska Airlines Launches $395 Premium Card, New Atmos Loyalty Program
The new Atmos Rewards Summit card boasts a long list of valuable perks, including a new and highly versatile Global Companion Award benefit, plus 3x back on 'foreign purchases.'
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Bank of America® has added a second Alaska Airlines consumer credit card to its portfolio, targeting flyers seeking a more luxurious experience. At the same time, Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines are merging under one loyalty program, Atmos Rewards. The card and new loyalty program launch Aug. 20, 2025.
A new premium card, plus a name change for the old one
With an annual fee of $395, the new Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® credit card costs exactly $300 more than its little sibling, the Atmos™ Rewards Ascent Visa Signature® credit card — formerly known as the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card. Beyond that new name, the existing card's primary reward rates and perks aren't changing, but the new Summit card offers rewards and perks that you won't get with the Ascent:
Rich rewards
As part of the new loyalty program, both Atmos cards will earn points, not miles, in the also-new Atmos Rewards program (more on that below). As noted, the Ascent's rewards structure isn't changing, but the new Summit card will earn an unlimited:
3x points on Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines purchases.
3x points on foreign purchases, including purchases made in a foreign currency.
3x points on dining, which includes restaurants, bars, fast food and catering.
1x points on all other purchases.
A pile of perks
The new Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® credit card will also feature a lengthy list of benefits, including most notably a new "Global Companion Award," which will be applied as a discount on the total points price of a flight. (For example, if you have a 25,000-mile Global Companion Award and you find a 40,000-point flight, the flight would cost 15,000 points after the award is applied.) Crucially, a Global Companion Award may be redeemed for any service class on any flight in Alaska's full network, including eligible international partners.
Here's a fuller look at what the new card offers:
A rich welcome offer. For a limited time, new cardholders can earn 100,000 bonus points and a 25,000-point Global Companion Award by spending $6,000 or more on purchases within the first 90 days of opening the account. Redemptions start at 4,500 for a one-way ticket, so the bonus could get you at least 20 free flights.
Up to two Global Companion Awards per year. Each year, cardholders receive one Global Companion Award of 25,000 points or less. Cardholders can get another Global Companion Award of 100,000 points or less by spending $60,000 in an anniversary year.
The new Global Companion Award differs from the well-known Companion Fare benefit on the less-expensive Atmos™ Rewards Ascent Visa Signature® credit card. While the 25,000-point Global Companion Award is an automatic benefit each year, the Companion Fare on the Ascent must be earned by spending $6,000 on the card within the prior anniversary year, and it can be used only on economy flights. To fly someone with the Companion Fare, you’ll still have to pay a flat $99 plus taxes and fees.
Access to five hotel transfer partners. Your Atmos points will transfer to Marriott, IHG and Wyndham at a 1:1 ratio. The ratio for Preferred Hotels is 1:2, while Shangri-La is 8:1.
Eight Alaska airport lounge passes per year (two per quarter). One pass grants lounge access to one adult and up to two children under 21.
$120 credit for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry every four years.
$50 voucher for Alaska and Hawaiian airlines flight cancellations or departure delays of two or more hours. The $50 is automatically credited to the cardholder’s account and must be spent within 48 hours of receipt. Any amount that isn’t spent will be lost. Cardholders who need to reschedule same-day flights receive waived change fees.
Accelerated path to status. Earn 10,000 status points on every account anniversary, plus 1 status point for every $2 spent on the card.
Waived award ticket fees. Save up to $25 per person on every round-trip flight.
Eight in-flight Wi-Fi vouchers per year. Vouchers will be issued to premium cardmembers until Starlink WiFi is installed on the entire Alaska fleet. Once all planes have Starlink, all Atmos Rewards members will receive free in-flight Wi-Fi.
Some perks of the new Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® credit card — namely, free checked bags for the cardholder and up to six guests on the same reservation, and a 10% rewards bonus for cardholders with an eligible Bank of America® account — are also available on the Atmos™ Rewards Ascent Visa Signature® credit card.
Earn 100,000 bonus points and a 25,000-point Global Companion Award with this offer. To qualify, spend $6,000 or more on purchases within the first 90 days of opening your account.
Earn 80,000 bonus points and a $99 Companion Fare (plus taxes and fees from $23) with this offer. To qualify, spend $4,000 or more on purchases within the first 120 days of opening your account.
3 points per $1 spent on Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines purchases.
3 points per $1 spent on foreign purchases, including purchases made in a foreign currency.
3 points per $1 spent on dining, which includes restaurants, bars, fast food and catering.
1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
3 points per $1 spent on eligible Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines purchases.
2 points per $1 spent on eligible gas, EV charging, cable, streaming services and local transit, which includes ridesharing, trains, tolls and ferries.
1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
Global Companion Award: Each year, cardholders receive one Global Companion Award of 25,000 points or less. Cardholders can get another Global Companion Award of 100,000 points or less by spending $60,000 in an anniversary year. This award is applied as a discount on the points price of a flight and may be redeemed for any service class on any flight in Alaska's full network, including eligible international partners. Terms apply.
Companion Fare: Get a Companion Fare (good for Alaska economy flights) from $122 ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) each account anniversary after you spend $6,000 or more on purchases within the prior anniversary year. Terms apply.
Holders of the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card will receive the new Atmos™ Rewards Ascent Visa Signature® credit card when their current card expires. However, account numbers will stay the same.
One loyalty program
The new loyalty program — Atmos Rewards — features several important differences from Alaska’s Mileage Plan and Hawaiian’s HawaiianMiles. First, as noted above, the rewards currency is changing from miles to points, but the value of those points is staying the same. (NerdWallet values them at around 1.2 cents cents each.)
Also, what had been known as elite-qualifying miles (EQMs) are now called status points.
The number of points needed to achieve certain status levels is changing, too:
Silver: 20,000 status points, the same as Mileage Plan’s MVP level.
Gold: 40,000 status points, the same as Mileage Plan’s MVP Gold level.
Platinum: 80,000 status points, up from 75,000 EQMs for Mileage Plan’s MVP Gold 75K level.
Titanium: 135,000 status points, up from 100,000 EQMs for Mileage Plan’s MVP Gold 100K.
Starting in 2026, Atmos Rewards members can choose how they wish to earn points and status points from three options: distance traveled, price paid or segments flown. With the price option, you earn five points for every $1 spent on flights. For segments, you get 500 points per segment. Selections can be changed once a year.
On Aug. 20, 2025, Alaska Mileage Plan members will move to the Atmos Rewards program, and all Mileage Plan miles will convert to Atmos Rewards points. HawaiianMiles members and all of their miles will transition to Atmos Rewards on Oct. 1, 2025. Only HawaiianMiles members who have not linked their HawaiianMiles account to a Mileage Plan account will receive a new loyalty account number.
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