Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines’ revamped mileage plan and its premium card- the Atmos Summit- are giving top-tier travel cards a run for their money.
A friend reached out to me the other day and asked if she should be upgrading her Alaska Airlines Visa card to the new Atmos Rewards Summit card. I told her I didn’t think so- she already gets better lounge access through her Chase Sapphire Reserve.
But I decided to use the opportunity to dig in a bit, and I was humbled at what I learned.
IN A NUTSHELL
- Atmos Summit has undeniable value for frequent flyers of Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian and Oneworld partner airlines
- Atmos Rewards offers one of the quickest paths to elite status- even without flying
- Lounge access with Atmos Summit is lacking compared to Priority Pass credit cards like Venture X, Chase Sapphire Reserve and Amex Platinum
- Visa Infinite affiliation provides premium travel insurance and purchase, return and warranty protections
- 3X on Dining and International purchases rivals other premium credit cards
Original Alaska Visa Signature and Mileage Plan
I’ve had the Alaska Airlines card for almost 20 years, but it’s been a long time since it’s actually been in my wallet.
While the Alaska Airlines mileage plan has always been revered as one of the best in the industry, admittedly, the card itself has had rather abysmal earnings when compared to many of the credit cards on the market. While earning 3X points for Alaska flights and 2X for gas and EV charging are decent, all other categories have earned a measly one point per dollar.
The main benefits, as most cardholders will attest to, have been the free checked bag and the annual companion pass, but limited only to when making the purchase with the card.
There has been plenty of room for improvements.
Atmos Rewards- The Lovechild of Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines
The new points program that merges Alaska and Hawaiian airlines loyalty programs has been rebranded to Atmos Rewards that currently offers 3 tiers of cards:
- Atmos Rewards Ascent Visa Signature ($95 annual fee)
- Atmos Rewards Visa Business ($70 annual fee, and $25 each additional card)
- Atmos Rewards Summit Visa Infinite ($395 annual fee)
The Atmos Rewards Ascent (the rebranded Alaska Airlines Visa Signature) and the Atmos Rewards Business (previously Alaska Visa Business) cards go virtually unchanged from their previous iterations. For a more detailed review of these cards, please visit the Atmos site here.
The Atmos Rewards Summit Visa Infinite, however, is a whole new animal, showcasing premium features never before included in the Alaska Visa network of cards.
There are an eye-popping number of benefits added to the original features that cardholders have known and loved:
Atmos Rewards Summit Visa Infinite
- $395 Annual Fee
- Free authorized users (same as old Alaska/Ascent)
- 100k Introductory Bonus Miles (after spending $6,000 in first 3 months)
- Visa Infinite Network
- Comprehensive travel insurance
- Extended warranty, purchase and return protection
- Access to concierge services and luxury hotel collection
- 3X Points Earning Multipliers
- Dining
- Alaska and Hawaiian airline tickets
- Foreign purchases
- Free checked bag for you and 6 guests (same as old Alaska card/Alaska Ascent)
- 10k Annual Elite Points on card anniversary
- 25k annual international companion pass
- Valid on Alaska, Hawaiian, and Oneworld airline partners
- Earn 100k international companion pass if spend $60k+
- 8 Annual Alaska Lounge passes
- 1 Elite status point per $2 spent
- 8 Wifi passes
- $120 every 4 years for TSA precheck or Global Entry
- Partner award fee waiver
- Free points transfer to hotel partners
- Free points sharing between up to 10 Atmos members
Sneaky Perks of the Atmos Summit Card
With so many features to this card, I want to call out the most noteworthy elements that really move the needle. While I typically would advise away from airline-specific co-branded cards due to their lack of flexibility, these features have me changing my tune:
- Affiliation with the Visa Infinite Network
- 10k Elite points annually on card anniversary
- 3x on Dining
- 3X on International Purchases
- Free Authorized Users
Visa Infinite Network
The new Atmos Summit card is in the Visa Infinite network which includes a stable of luxury protections akin to premium travel credit cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve and the Venture X.
This addition will be a game-changer for many, as the lack of travel protection has been one of my biggest pain points when booking flights with my Alaska card.
While I’ve been unable to find specifics regarding the travel insurance and additional protections-each card within the Visa Infinite network may have small differences- the Atmos website lists the following protections that should excite prospective card holders:
Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver- Primary auto rental coverage
Extended Warranty Protection- Automatic extension of product warranties
Return Protection- Extended and more flexible return policy
Purchase Security- Purchase protections from unexpected loss or theft
Travel and Emergency Assistance Services- 24/7– Emergency assistance while traveling
Travel Accident Insurance- Payouts for accidents and death while traveling
Trip Cancellation/Trip Interruption- Reimbursements for prepaid fares for covered reasons
Trip Delay Reimbursement- Covers additional costs incurred when your flights are delayed (additional meals, hotel stays, etc.)
Lost Luggage Reimbursement- Reimbursements for lost and damaged luggage
Roadside Dispatch®- Emergency Roadside Assistance
Baggage Delay Reimbursement- Get reimbursed for basics when your luggage is delayed
Emergency Evacuation and Transportation/ Repatriation of Remains Coverage– Coverage for emergency evacuation or repatriation
Personal Identity Theft– Coverage up to $15,000 to restore identity after fraud
Free Checked Bag and Travel Protection
The toughest pill to swallow in previous years has been knowing that trips booked with my Alaska card were not covered by any kind of travel insurance (as I refuse the ‘Purchase Protection’), as it pains me have to pay for coverage when I am otherwise covered by my Venture X and Chase Sapphire Preferred for all my other travel as they are Visa Infinite cards.
I imagine I am not alone in this struggle.
Now with the Atmos Summit, this will no longer be an issue, and we can get our free checked bag and rest easy knowing we are protected in the event of any delays, cancellations or losses on our adventures.
10K Elite Status Miles
Cardholders will receive an annual boost of 10,000 Elite Status points on their card anniversary (also after completing the initial $6,000 spend), a huge boost in achieving MVP status each year.
Additionally, with every $2 spent on the card equalling one elite status point, the Atmos Summit card is one of the quickest paths to elite status on the market.
With the 10K annual status points boost on your card anniversary and two status points for every dollar spent on the card, it might not require much flying at all to get to Ruby status each year.
3X Elevated Multipliers
Atmos’ 3X earn on dining purchases is a huge come up from the previous card which earned only a single point per dollar. Atmos Summit now rivals the Chase Sapphire network for dining earnings, only eclipsed by American Express’ Gold Card which earns 4X on dining and groceries.
Earning 3X on international purchases is also a stand-out feature. This dwarfs the Venture X which gets 2X on everything, which has been my go-to for all non-dining purchases. The Atmos Summit card takes the lead here.
25K/100K International Companion Pass
This new feature appears to be the sexier version of the domestic companion pass that has been the defining perk of the Alaska Airlines Visa credit card. The 25K International Companion pass will be posted to your digital account after hitting the initial $6,000 spend in the first 90 days of account opening, and then every card anniversary.
This new form of companion fare allows you shave 25,000 points off of an international booking for two. This is a great perk- however, it must be pointed out that these passes expire in one year and do not rollover.
Please note that flight must be booked within the year, but it is not necessary to have completed travel within the year.
An important call out to note that you must be accumulating enough miles annually to make use of this benefit.
For infrequent travelers or for those who will not be putting a considerable spend on this card, this benefit may not be of much use. You can’t deduct 25k miles from two international tickets if you don’t have a points pool large enough to accommodate 2 international tickets in the first place.
The 100K International Companion Pass can be earned in addition to the initial 25K pass if card spend surpasses $60,000. While this may only apply to ultra high-spend cardholders, this benefit could have huge impacts if you achieve the spend- think getting a lie-flat business class ticket virtually free for a travel partner.
Free Authorized Users
There is currently very little information regarding privileges for authorized users on the Atmos Summit, but the ability to add authorized users free of charge to a premium card like this is a substantial perk. For households and families, this is a great way to share the gospel of free checked bags and accumulate additional points.
The Rest of the Atmos Summit Credit Card Features
- Free checked bag for you and 6 guests remains the same as the revamped original. With rising checked baggage fees, this perk is essential and is especially great as any authorized users on the card would also take on these benefits for themselves and 6 of their own guests on the same reservation.
- Annual domestic companion pass on card anniversary remains the same as the old card. Note for previous Alaska cardholders that signed up before January 18, 2023- you are ‘grandfathered in’ and do not need to spend $6,000 annually for the companion pass. However, if upgrading to the Atmos Summit, I would imagine this new spending requirement would apply.
- 8 Atmos Lounge passes- these lounge passes are added to your digital wallet 2 per quarter (January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1). The guest must be flying on an Alaska or partner-ticketed airline in order to use the lounge pass. Each pass can be used multiple times in one travel day by one guest, admits 2 accompanying children free per pass, and are usable only in Atmos Lounges and not partner lounges.
- 8 Annual Wifi passes- 2 passes are deposited into your digital mileage account each quarter like the lounge passes. This perk is a great value for now, but Alaska is currently working on connecting to Starlink for their fleet which will provide free, fast internet for their flights and is projected to begin in 2026.
- $120 credit every 4 years for TSA precheck or Global Entry- a stellar perk that rivals other premium travel cards.
- Partner Award Fee Waiver- this new feature allows booking on partner airlines through the Alaska Airlines website without the additional fee, usually an additional $12 per flight.
- Free to transfer points to hotel partners:
- Marriott Bonvoy
- InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG)
- Coast Hotels
- Choice Hotels
- Best Western
- Free points sharing- this new feature allows points pooling with other members free of charge. I’ve paid over $100 in the past to move points between mine and my husband’s account to round out a fare, so this is excellent news for points poolers.
- 20% off for inflight purchases on Alaska and Hawaiian airlines- this feature is unchanged from the original Visa Signature.
The Biggest Downfall to the Atmos Summit Visa Infinite Card
For airport lounge hounds like myself, the Alaska lounge passes will not be enough for the masses to ditch their premium travel cards like the Venture X, Chase Sapphire Reserve and the Amex Platinum, where their Priority Passes grant them access to over 1000 lounges globally.
Admittedly, while lounge quality can vary drastically from one another in the Priority Pass network, the sheer volume of lounges gives travelers at least some sense of security, no matter the quality of lounge.
There are currently only 9 Alaska Airlines lounges, and the passes that come with the Atmos Summit are not eligible for use at partner lounges. Furthermore, you must be flying same-day on Alaska, Hawaiian, or partner airline to utility the passes.
This lack of lounge flexibility is the defining downfall of this card.
Final Thoughts
After doing my research, I have been convinced of the value of the Atmos Summit card and will be upgrading as soon as I figure out a timeframe when I can maximize that initial 6k spend for the bonus 100k points.
The Atmos Summit has set itself apart from the other recent ‘upgrades’ we have seen in the premium travel cards programs that have been plagued by cuts to access and additions of multiple ‘credits’ that prove often hard to utilize and dizzying to track.
As this is an airline loyalty program and not a bank program, the utility of these benefits will depend largely in part on how often you fly with Alaska and its partners. While it lacks the flexibility of bank-based cards, tremendous value can be had with the Atmos Summit with the right planning and strategy.
For frequent flyers of the Oneworld Alliance, the new Atmos Summit card is a must. For high-spenders on the west coast, this card is also a quick way to gain elite status and get closer to international jet-setting.
