Is an Alaska Airlines Atmos Credit Card Worth It?

If you want to use points to fly Alaska Airlines, one way to earn more Atmos points is through credit card spending. Atmos Rewards, the joint loyalty program of Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines, has a set of co-branded airline credit cards that could help you achieve that goal.

These cards are likely to be a good fit for Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines frequent flyers, but the Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® credit card may also be valuable to points and miles travelers more broadly who want to book award flights on Alaska’s partner airlines as well.

Comparing Alaska Airlines Atmos cards

The new Atmos Rewards credit cards consist of two personal credit cards and one business credit card, all of which are Visa cards issued by Bank of America®. All three cards share a core set of benefits:

• First checked bag free for the cardholder and up to 6 guests on the same reservation traveling on Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines flights purchased with the card.

• Earn 3 points per dollar on Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines purchases.

• Priority boarding on Alaska Airlines (and Hawaiian Airlines beginning this fall).

• 20% discount on Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines inflight purchases.

• 10% bonus on all points earned from card purchases with an eligible Bank of America® account.

• No foreign transaction fees.

But there are a few key differences between the Atmos cards, including annual fees, companion fares and airport lounge benefits.

The best cases for getting an Atmos credit card

You pay for bags, food or drinks on Alaska or Hawaiian regularly

Atmos credit cards are most likely to be worthwhile if you fly Alaska Airlines or Hawaiian Airlines at least a few times each year, especially if you tend to pay for checked bags or make in-flight purchases.

You want to boost your elite status qualification

All three Atmos credit cards earn status points from spending, which creates opportunities to earn Atmos Rewards elite status even if you wouldn’t qualify based on flight activity alone. Both the Atmos™ Rewards Ascent Visa Signature® credit card and Atmos™ Rewards Visa Signature® Business card earn 1 status point for every $3 spent (up to a maximum of 30,000 status points in 2025, but no maximum in 2026). For example, spending $30,000 on the Atmos™ Rewards Ascent Visa Signature® credit card in 2025 would earn you 10,000 status points. Combining that with 10,000 points from flying would be enough to earn Atmos Rewards Silver status.

The Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® credit card provides a greater boost to elite qualification with a bonus of 10,000 status points each year beginning on your first account anniversary. Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® credit card holders also earn status points at a better rate of 1 status point for every $2 spent, with no cap on the number of status points you can earn from spending. After your first year as a cardholder, putting that same $30,000 on the Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® credit card in a calendar year would earn you 25,000 status points. Combining that with 15,000 points from flying would be enough to reach the 40,000-point threshold for second-tier Atmos Rewards Gold status.

You frequently travel with others

Both the Atmos™ Rewards Ascent Visa Signature® credit card and Atmos™ Rewards Visa Signature® Business card continue to offer Alaska’s $99 Companion Fare to cardholders who meet the annual $6,000 spending requirement. These Companion Fares are valid on both Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines flights within North America, including to and from Hawaii. With this benefit, you can bring a companion with you even on expensive, multicity itineraries for $99 plus applicable taxes and fees, so the savings can easily outweigh the annual fee on both cards.

The Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® credit card has Global Companion Awards, which allow you to book a companion on an itinerary paid for with points. Cardholders get a 25,000-point Global Companion Award upon meeting the card’s initial spending requirement and again after each card anniversary. A 100,000-point Global Companion Award can also be unlocked by spending $60,000 on the Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® credit card in a year.

Both Global Companion Awards can be redeemed toward flights across Alaska’s network, including partner airlines, and are valid in any class of service, including business class and first class. It’s the only companion benefit among U.S. airlines that can be redeemed for premium cabins on international long-haul flights on partner airlines.

The Global Companion Awards function like a discount; for example, you could redeem the 25,000-point companion award against a ticket that costs 30,000 points and pay the remaining 5,000 points from your Atmos Rewards balance. Global Companion Awards can’t be combined and you’ll still have to pay applicable taxes and fees for companion fares.

Apart from companion awards, the Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® credit card also facilitates group award travel by allowing cardholders to share points with up to 10 other Atmos Rewards members. Points can be moved both to and from the cardholder with no transfer fees, so you can send them where they’re needed to book awards efficiently.

Lastly, when you use your card to book an Alaska Airlines flight, all three Atmos credit cards provide a free checked bag and preferred boarding for you and up to 6 additional passengers traveling on the same reservation. Alaska Airlines charges $35 per person for the first standard-sized bag, so maxing out the checked baggage benefit on Alaska could save you as much as $245 on a single one-way flight.

You book a lot of Alaska Airlines partner awards

Alaska Airlines boasts a compelling roster of airline partners, including Oneworld carriers like Japan Airlines and Iberia, and non-alliance partners like Aer Lingus and LATAM. However, the Atmos program charges partner award booking fees of $12.50 per person each way. Those fees are charged even for awards on domestic partner American Airlines, and unlike the mileage portion of an award, they’re non-refundable unless you cancel within 24 hours.

While these nuisance fees unfortunately persist in the revamped Atmos Rewards program, Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® credit card waives partner booking fees on award itineraries on up to $25 per person, per round trip. You’ll still be on the hook for carrier-imposed surcharges and government taxes and fees, but the fee waiver makes it less costly to take advantage of Alaska’s airline partnerships.

Beyond immediate savings, this benefit means that even if your plans are uncertain, you can book refundable awards without having to pay for the privilege.

You want to maximize spending outside the U.S.

One novel benefit of the Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® credit card is that it offers uncapped earnings of 3 points per dollar on foreign purchases. Unlike credit cards that offer elevated earning rates in select categories like gas or groceries, the Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® credit card bonus applies to any purchase that would normally be eligible to earn rewards, so long as it’s processed outside the U.S. That means you can earn 3 points per dollar on dining, hotels, rental cars, tourist activities and more.

Based on NerdWallet’s valuation of 1.2 cents per point for Atmos Rewards, the Summit card effectively offers a 3.6% return on all eligible foreign purchases. Paired with the card’s lack of foreign transaction fees, that makes it a strong option for spending abroad.

Note that ineligible transactions like cash advances or balance transfers still won’t earn rewards even when they’re processed in a foreign country.

Alaska Airlines credit cards aren’t a good fit for everyone

If you fly Alaska Airlines regularly or match one of the scenarios described above, then an Atmos Rewards credit card is likely to be useful to you. If not, then these cards may not provide sufficient value to be worth adding to your wallet. Consider alternatives if:

• Your home airport isn’t well served by Alaska Airlines or its partners.

• You want lounge access beyond the limited network of Alaska Airlines lounges.

• You prefer to earn rewards you can redeem with a variety of airlines and hotels.

In all these cases, you may get better value from other travel rewards cards.