The new Alaska Airlines card

Based out of Seattle’s Sea-Tac airport, Alaska Airlines is one of the largest U.S. airlines by passenger volume. In September 2024, the company acquired Hawaiian Airlines. While these carriers primarily offer routes along the West Coast, even those who live elsewhere in the U.S. could benefit from the Atmos™ Rewards Ascent Visa Signature® Card.

It offers a companion pass — a valuable perk that sets it apart from many other airline credit cards — plus, you can redeem your points with Alaska or Hawaiian Airlines and their oneworld Alliance partners. However, a general travel credit card might make more sense if you aren’t based near an Alaska Airlines or Hawaiian Airlines hub.

• $99 annual Companion Fare: If you spend $6,000 on your card in a given cardholder year, you’ll get an Alaska Airlines companion fare. With the companion pass, you can get one $99 round-trip fare (plus taxes and fees) for a family member or friend traveling with you.

• Free checked bag: When you use your card to book Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines flights, you’ll receive a free checked bag for you and up to six people on the same reservation.

• Preferred boarding: You receive priority boarding on Alaska Airlines flights you’ve booked with your card.

• 10% rewards bonus: If you have an eligible Bank of America account, you receive a 10% rewards bonus to any points earned from card purchases.

• 2025 status points: During 2025, you earn one status point for every $3 spent on purchases, up to 30,000 status points total.

• 20% back on in-flight purchases: Receive 20% back on all Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines in-flight purchases.

• Alaska Lounge+ Membership discount: Receive a $100 discount on an Alaska Lounge+ Membership when you pay with your card.

• No foreign transaction fees: You aren’t charged foreign transaction fees when making purchases from a foreign merchant. For example, you can use your card while traveling abroad without having to worry about foreign transaction fees.

You can maximize your earning potential with the Atmos Rewards Ascent Visa Signature by making flight purchases on Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines. Every dollar spent with the airline will net you a generous 3x points.

This card also offers a decent earnings rate of 2x points in popular categories like gas, cable, streaming services, and local transit. If you have an electric car, purchases at EV charging stations will also earn you 2x points.

You’ll get 1x points on every other dollar you spend. There’s no cap on the number of miles you can earn.

Other Atmos Rewards earning opportunities include:

• Partner flights: You can earn Atmos Rewards points by booking partner flights through Alaska Airlines.

• Credit cards: You can earn Atmos Rewards points with all three Atmos Rewards credit cards, including the Atmos Rewards Summit Visa Infinite Card and the Atmos Rewards Visa Business Card.

• Travel partners: Hotel, cruise, and car rental partners, like Choice Hotels and National Car Rental, let you earn points when making eligible purchases or bookings.

• Shopping: The Atmos Rewards Shopping program lets you earn points online and in person when shopping at over 1,100 popular retailers, including Nike and Apple.

• Dining: The Atmos Rewards Dining program lets you earn bonus points when paying for food at restaurants included in the program.

• Other partners: You can earn Atmos Rewards points through everyday partners like 1-800-Flowers.com, The Opinion Terminal, Bilt, Teleflora, Greenlight, Harry & David, and more.

• Lyft: Linking your Atmos Rewards account to your Lyft account lets you earn 2x points on everyday rides and 3x points on airport and eligible elevated rides.

You can redeem Atmos Rewards points for various purposes, including airfare, stays, rental cars, and experiences.

You can book award flights online with Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, and partners. You typically only have to pay $5.60 in taxes and fees on one-way domestic flights, but international award tickets often cost more. Atmos Rewards members can redeem points for award travel to over 1,000 destinations, and redemptions start at 4,500 points one-way.

You can book stays with your Atmos Rewards points by visiting the Stays by Alaska Vacations website and searching for your desired dates, location, and number of rooms. The number of points varies depending on the stay.

You can book car rentals with your Atmos Rewards points through the Alaska Car Rentals website. The number of required points varies by booking.

The Atmos Rewards Unlocked website lets you browse different types of experiences and redeem points for any you’re interested in. Note that you can either redeem points directly for an experience (this is a “buy now” package) or redeem points to bid on an experience (this is an auction experience).

Possible experiences include:

• Tickets to a Broadway show in New York City

• Tickets to a concert

• Taking a tour in Zion National Park

• Fly fishing in Rocky Mountain National Park

• Tickets to a professional soccer game or other sporting event

Since the majority of Alaska Airlines’ and Hawaiian Airlines’ routes depart from the West Coast, this card could be a great option if you live or frequently travel in that part of the country. With a reasonable annual fee and rewards in common categories outside of air travel, it could be an especially lucrative opportunity for travelers who live near Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines hubs like Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Honolulu.

While it might be a better choice for West Coasters, it could also work if you live in another part of the U.S. and fly Alaska or Hawaiian Airlines just once or twice annually. If that’s the case, the money-saving companion pass alone makes this card worth considering.

Related: Best airline credit cards

• Generous welcome bonus

• Can earn an annual companion pass

• Priority boarding and a free checked bag

• Savings on in-flight purchases and lounge membership

• No foreign transaction fees

Related: Best no-annual-fee credit cards

The Atmos Rewards Ascent Visa Signature card is widely accepted worldwide, so you likely won’t need to worry about payment issues when traveling. Visa cards are accepted in over 200 countries and territories.

Credit card payments

Bank of America

PO Box 15019

Wilmington, DE 19850-5019

Bank of America issues the Atmos Rewards Ascent Visa Signature card. You can reach their customer service team by calling 800-732-9194 or the number on the back of your card. You can also log in to your online account to track your transactions, make a payment, and more.

Why we like it: The Chase Sapphire Preferred is a general travel rewards card. You aren’t locked into only redeeming points through the combined Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines loyalty program. With Chase Ultimate Rewards points, you choose when, where, and how you want to travel, whether you live on the West Coast or not.

Read our full Chase Sapphire Preferred Card review

Why we like it: The Capital One Venture Rewards is another general travel rewards card that makes earning and redeeming miles easy. You can use your miles to cover any eligible travel purchase, redeem for flights and hotel stays through Capital One Travel, or transfer your miles to over 15 travel partners. In addition, the 2x base earning rate makes racking up travel rewards a walk in the park.

Read our full Capital One Venture Rewards review

Why we like it: The Atmos Rewards program is appealing, but it’s not the right fit for everyone. If you’re more of a Delta loyalist, consider the Delta SkyMiles Platinum Amex. This card also provides an annual companion ticket, though there’s no spending requirement for the previous year. In addition, you get a free checked bag on Delta flights, a 15% discount on Delta award flights, and multiple travel-related credits.

Read our full Delta SkyMiles Platinum Amex card review

Atmos Rewards is the new combined rewards program for Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines. You can join for free and start earning Atmos Rewards points through travel, shopping, and dining, as well as by using the Atmos Rewards credit cards. Atmos Rewards points can be redeemed for flights, hotel stays, rental cars, and more.

Yes, the Atmos Rewards Ascent card has a $95 annual fee.

Bank of America issues the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature Card, which is now known as the Atmos Rewards Ascent Visa Signature Card.

With the introduction of the new Atmos Rewards program, the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature card was rebranded as the Atmos Rewards Ascent Visa Signature card. Existing cardholders continued with their same accounts and account information without any interruption.