Is the New Alaska Atmos Summit Card Worth a $395 Annual Fee?

Alaska Airlines just entered the premium credit card space with the release of the Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® Credit Card — and for the airline's frequent flyers, it could be a great deal. The card’s debut coincides with the merger of the Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines loyalty programs, dubbed Atmos Rewards.

For a $395 annual fee, you'll get a huge welcome bonus, eight lounge passes each year and a fast-track to elite status. You’ll also get benefits that are unique among premium airline cards, including bonus rewards on all foreign transactions and extra compensation for qualifying flight cancellations and delays.

Those perks are well-suited for Alaska Airlines loyalists who want to rack up Atmos points. But if you’re an infrequent Alaska flyer or don’t value these extras, you’d probably do better with the cheaper Alaska Airlines Atmos™ Rewards Ascent Visa Signature® Card (formerly the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card) or a general travel card.

Here’s how to decide if the Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® Credit Card is right for you.

Benefits of the Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® Credit Card

A $395 annual fee may seem like a lot, but it’s relatively low compared to the premium cards offered by Delta Airlines ($650), United Airlines ($695) and American Airlines ($595).

Here’s what you’ll get for that fee:

• A big welcome offer: 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.

• Category bonuses: You’ll earn 3 points per $1 spent on purchases made directly with Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines, all eligible foreign transactions (including those made in a foreign currency) and eligible dining purchases. Other purchases will earn 1 point per $1 spent.

• An annual Global Companion Award worth up to 25,000 points: Cardholders will receive one Global Companion Award worth 25,000 points when they meet the initial qualifying spend, and an additional award each cardholder anniversary date. The award is applied as a discount to the total points cost and can be used in any class of service across Alaska’s full route network, including flights on Hawaiian Airlines, Oneworld Alliance airlines and other global partners. That means you can use the award on a more expensive flight and use additional points to cover any remaining cost.

• A spend-based Global Companion Award worth up to 100,000 points: Earn an additional companion award worth up to 100,000 points by spending $60,000 or more on purchases in a card anniversary year.

• Instant $50 travel delay credit: If you’re flying with Alaska or Hawaiian and experience a flight delay of more than two hours, for any reason, or a flight is canceled by the airline within 24 hours of scheduled departure, you’ll automatically receive a $50 electronic voucher good for any purchases made within 48 hours.

• Free checked bags: Cardholders and up to six additional guests on the same reservation will receive a free checked bag on Alaska and Hawaiian-operated flights.

• Preferred boarding: Receive early group boarding on Alaska Airlines flights booked with the card.

• Eight Alaska airport lounge passes per year (two per quarter): Passes grant access to Alaska Lounges for one adult and up to two children under the age of 21.

• 10,000 status points every year: Receive 10,000 status points on your account anniversary, and an additional 1 status point for every $2 spent on purchases with the card.

• Access to hotel transfer partners: Cardholders can transfer their Atmos points to Marriott, IHG and Wyndham at a 1:1 ratio, Preferred Hotels and Resorts at a 1:2 ratio, and Shangri-La at an 8:1 ratio.

• TSA credit: Receive up to $120 in enrollment credit for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry every four years.

• Free points sharing: Cardholders can select up to 10 other Atmos Rewards members and transfer points back and forth, with no transfer fees.

• Waived partner award fees: Cardholders get up to $25 per person in fees waived on round-trip partner award flights.

The annual fee is worth it if…

You value Atmos points

The massive welcome offer on the Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® Credit Card can take you a lot of places thanks to Alaska’s domestic and international partnerships, including American Airlines, British Airways, Finnair and Fiji Airways. You can also use Atmos points to book multicity awards at no additional cost.

Earlier this year, I used 60,000 Atmos points to fly in business class on Finnair from Washington, D.C. to Amsterdam with a free stopover in Helsinki, a trip that would have otherwise cost over $5,000. If I were a cardholder, I would have also avoided up to $25 in Alaska charges when booking awards with partners.

You’re a frequent flyer with Alaska or Hawaiian

Frequent travelers with Alaska or Hawaiian will find a lot of ways to save money with the Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® Credit Card. You’ll get a free checked bag, preferred boarding and two lounge passes each quarter, valid for access to any Alaska Airlines lounge.

Those lounge passes are good for an entire travel day, so you can potentially access multiple lounges during your trip. Even better, you can bring two children up to 21 years old for free. Single-entry lounge passes normally cost $65 each, which could lead to big savings for travelers who value lounge access.

You’ll also earn an uncapped one elite status point per $2 in purchases and 10,000 elite status points every cardholder anniversary date. That anniversary bonus alone will get you halfway to Silver status in the Atmos program.

You travel with a companion

For cardholders who travel with a companion, the 25,000-point Global Companion Award could justify paying the annual fee. The award is applied as a discount to the overall award cost and can be used to book any class of service on flights by Alaska, Hawaiian and partner airlines, assuming there are two seats available. NerdWallet values Atmos points at 1.2 cents each, making the 25,000-point Companion Award worth $300.

But it gets better if you use the award as a discount on international partner flights.

Let’s use the flight I mentioned above from Washington, D.C. to Amsterdam, which cost 60,000 Atmos points. Since Finnair is a qualifying partner with Alaska, I could have used the Global Companion Award to book another person in business class for an additional 35,000 Atmos points (assuming a seat were available).

In this case, a two-person booking would have cost 120,000 points, but by using the Global Companion Award, the price drops to 95,000 points, for a savings of 21%. Each seat would have cost over $5,000 if you paid in cash, so that 21% savings would be a roughly $2,100 discount on the retail cost of the seat. Not bad for a $395 annual fee!

If you’re a big spender and put $60,000 on the card between each annual fee, you’ll also receive an additional Global Companion Award worth up to 100,000 points. Note that the discount is only on the companion portion of the fare. For the Finnair example, you’d receive a 60,000 point discount (the cost of one additional seat), not a full 100,000 point discount.

You get a credit for delays and cancellations

One of the most unique features of the Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® Credit Card is the $50 in compensation you’ll receive for any flight delay over two hours or cancellation made within 24 hours of your departure when you fly with Alaska or Hawaiian.

It doesn’t matter if the trip delay is due to aircraft maintenance, weather or anything in between. This credit is in addition to any other compensation you may receive from the airline in the event of a controllable delay.

You frequently travel abroad

Speaking of unique features, the Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® Credit Card is the first card we’ve seen that offers bonus rewards for all foreign transactions. Cardholders will earn 3 Atmos points per dollar spent outside the U.S., regardless of the currency of the transaction.

There’s also no foreign transaction fee, so if you travel abroad frequently, using the card could be a great way to pad your Atmos points balance.

Why you should pass on the card

While the Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® Credit Card comes with some valuable and unique benefits, it’s really built for Alaska Airlines loyalists. If you infrequently fly with the airline, don’t travel with a companion or won’t use the benefits that accompany the $395 fee, you might do better with another card.

For example, the Bilt World Elite Mastercard® Credit Card has a $0 annual fee and earns 5 points per dollar at Lyft, 3 points per $1 on dining, 2 points per $1 on travel and 1 point per dollar on rent (up to 100,000 points per calendar year) and other purchases.

Those Bilt Rewards are transferable at a 1:1 ratio to Atmos and over 20 other airline and hotel loyalty programs, which provide additional flexibility when redeeming your rewards.

Should you get the Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® Credit Card?

The Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® Credit Card offers a few unique features we haven’t seen on other airline credit cards, including a $50 trip interruption credit and bonus rewards on all foreign transactions.

I love the innovation, and think the card is worth a $395 annual fee if you value (and will use) Atmos points and benefits like lounge access and the annual companion pass. But if you prefer flexibility, you might do better with a card that earns transferable points.