A Complete Guide to Atmos™ Rewards, Alaska Airlines’ New Loyalty Program

Gone are the days of Alaska Airlines MileagePlan. Following Alaska’s merger with Hawaiian Airlines, the airline launched a new, combined loyalty program called Atmos™ Rewards. Overall, Atmos Rewards is a fantasitc program. It offers an impressive earning potential and even more impressive rewards. Here’s everything you need to know about Atmos Rewards, including how to maximize your loyalty.

What Is Atmos Rewards? 

Atmos Rewards is the new combined loyalty program for Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines. It replaces the individual loyalty programs you might be familiar with, and provides even greater value for frequent travelers. It could very well turn into one of the best loyalty programs available thanks to its extensive list of airline partners — and lucrative partner award chart. 

Alaska Airlines Partners

Before diving in to the ins and outs of the program, it’s helpful to understand which airlines Alaska partners with. Alaska has a few different groups of airline partnerships: airlines in the Oneworld alliance, earning and redeeming non-alliance partners, and earning non-alliance partners. 

Given that most of Alaska and Hawaiian’s connectivity revolves around the west coast, the network of airline partners allows anyone in the country to get maximum value from the rewards program. 

You can earn and redeem rewards on the following Oneworld partners:

• American Airlines
• British Airways
• Cathay Pacific
• Fiji Airways
• Finnair
• Iberia
• Japan Airlines
• Malaysia Airlines
• Oman Air
• Qantas
• Qatar Airways
• Royal Air Maroc
• Royal Jordanian
• SriLankan Airlines

Non-alliance earn and redeem partners include:

• Aer Lingus
• Air Tahiti Nui
• Condor
• Hainan Airlines
• Icelandair
• Korean Air
• LATAM Airlines
• Philippine Airlines
• Porter Airlines
• STARLUX Airlines

You can book flights with the following airlines on AlaskaAir.com to earn points, but you can’t redeem points:

• Aleutian Airways
• Bahamasair
• Cape Air
• Contour Airlines
• Kenmore Air
• Mokulele Airlines
• Singapore Airlines
• Southern Airways Express

In other words, there are two dozen airline partners you can utilize to earn and redeem rewards, and even more partners that will help you rack up your balance of Atmos Rewards points. 

How To Earn Atmos Points

Now that you know the ins and outs of Alaska’s airline partnerships, it’s time to earn Atmos Rewards points. Luckily, there are several different ways in which you can earn Atmos points. 

Earn Atmos Points Through Credit Cards

If you are an extremely loyal Alaska Airlines flyer, you might consider applying for a co-branded credit card. In conjunction with the launch of a new program, Alaska Airlines introduced several new credit cards to the market, including: 

• Atmos™ Rewards Ascent Visa Signature® Card: An ideal option for infrequent flyers, this card comes with a reasonable $95 annual fee. It also has a fantastic earning potential, an annual $99 companion fare, a free checked bag, and a path to elite status. 
• Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® Card: The perfect card for Alaska Airlines loyalists — recieve 8 Alaska Lounge passes each year (2 per quarter), a Global Companion Award, 10,000 status points each year, and more. All in exchange for a $395 annual fee. 
• Atmos™ Rewards Visa Business Card: An excellent option for small business owners, you’ll earn a $99 companion fare after spending $6,000 on your card in a year, bonus points on Alaska Airlines purchases, and more. 

These three cards are great ways to elevate your Atmos Rewards point balance while also receiving a suite of other benefits. 

Apart from co-branded credit cards, you can transfer rewards at a 1:1 ratio from your Bilt Mastercard or at a 3:1 ratio from your Marriott Bonvoy account. 

Companion Benefits

Both personal cards offer companion benefits. The low annual fee Atmos™ Rewards Ascent Visa Signature® Card offers an annual $99 companion fare after spending at least $6,000 on purchases with your card each year. You’ll still need to pay taxes and fees, starting at $23, on this ticket. It’s valid on Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines flights within North America (including Hawaii) as long as you book via AlaskaAir.com.

If you want to maximize this benefit, you should book a more expensive long haul journey — maybe you finally take that bucket list trip to Hawaii or Alaska. Just note that you can’t use it on partner flights. 

The Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® Card provides an even more lucrative benefit: a Global Companion Award. It covers a companion’ ticket when you book an award flight for two people on the same itinerary. You have the opportunity to earn two awards throughout the year. 

• 25,000-point Global Companion Award: You’ll earn this one each year on your account anniversary. Consider it like an award discount — you’ll receive 25,000 points off a companion award ticket.
• 100,000-point Global Companion Award: If you spend $60,000 on your card in an anniversary year, you’ll receive a 100,000-point discount on a companion fare.

The options of how you use your companion award is endless. If you earn the 100,000-point award, you could book a first class flight from Los Angeles (LAX) to Tokyo (HND) on Japan Airlines. Thanks to the award chart, a flight this length would cost 110,000 points for a first class fare. You’d spend 110,000 points on your flight, then just 10,000 points for your partner’s flight. That’s a total of 120,000 points for two first class tickets to Japan — beyond worthwhile for any points and miles enthusiast. 

Unlike the $99 companion fare, you can use your global companion award on any award booking available on AlaskaAir.com, meaning you can book on Oneworld partners. 

Earning Atmos Points by Flying

The most traditional way to earn Atmos Rewards points is through flying. The number of points you’ll earn will depend on your fare class and distance traveled. 

For instance, if you book a full-fare first class ticket on a flight operated by Alaska or Hawaiian, you’ll earn 200% points based on miles flown. On the other hand, if you book a saver fare (X), you’ll only receive 30% of miles flown. 

Here’s how much you’ll earn on Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines flights booked on Alaskaair.com:

• First (J): 200%
• First (C): 175%
• First (D or I): 150%
• Economy (Y or B): 150%
• Economy (H or K): 125%
• Economy (M, L, V, S, N, Q, O, or G): 100%
• Economy (X): 30%

You’ll earn the equivalent number of status points on these flights. If you book through Hawaiian, the fare class coding might change, but you’ll earn at the same rates for comparable fares. 

You can find earning rates for partner flights booked through Alaska on its website. 

Earn Points With Partners

Apart from flights and credit cards, you can earn points by spending with hundreds of dining, shopping, and travel partners. You’ll earn 1 point per $1 with hotel and cruise partners, up to 1,250 points on qualifying Avis and Budget car rentals, and variable points with hundreds of different retailers.

How To Redeem Atmos Rewards

You have a variety of options when you’re ready to redeem your Atmos Rewards. Luckily, Alaska publishes award charts for flights operated by Alaska and Hawaiian, as well as flights operated by Oneworld partners.

You can redeem Atmos Rewards for flights starting at just 5,000 points each way. So, if you have a chunk of points from a welcome bonus or work trip, you can easily redeem them for flights across the country. 

Redeem Atmos Rewards Points for Free Flights

Award Charts

Alaska publishes four different award charts: one for flights operated by Hawaiian or Alaska, and three for flights operated by partners. The partner award charts are based on regions: one for the Americas, one for Europe, Middle East, Africa, and one for Asia Pacific. 

Below is the award chart for Hawaiian- or Alaska-operated flights booked through Alaska:

From Contiguous US including Alaska and Canada to	Economy starting at	First starting at
Contiguous US, Alaska and Canada: less than 700 miles	5,000	15,000
Contiguous US, Alaska and Canada: 701–1,400 miles	7,500	25,000
Contiguous US, Alaska and Canada: 1,401–2,100 miles	10,000	25,000
Contiguous US, Alaska and Canada: 2,101 miles and above	12,500	30,000
Hawaii: all distances	15,000	40,000
Mexico, Central America and Caribbean: all distances	10,000	30,000

And here is the award chart for flights operated by partners in the Americas.

From Contiguous US including Alaska and Canada to	Economy starting at	First starting at
Contiguous US, Alaska and Canada: less than 700 miles	5,000	15,000
Contiguous US, Alaska and Canada: 701–1,400 miles	7,500	25,000
Contiguous US, Alaska and Canada: 1,401–2,100 miles	10,000	25,000
Contiguous US, Alaska and Canada: 2,101 miles and above	12,500	30,000
Hawaii: all distances	15,000	40,000
Mexico, Central America and Caribbean: all distances	10,000	30,000

You can find the other award charts on Alaska’s website. 

Note that these are “starting at” fares, so they might get more expensive depending on the time of year or demand. Still, it gives you a good idea how many points you’ll need for a flight, and helps you identify where the sweet spots are. 

Taxes and Fees on Award Travel

You still need to pay taxes and fees for award travel. Within the U.S., that will be as low as $5.60 each way. International travel might have substantially higher fees depending on the destination.

If you book a partner award flight, you’ll need to pay a $12.50 nonrefundable partner award fee. This fee is waived if you have the Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® Card.

Other Ways To Redeem Atmos Rewards

Apart from flights, you can use your Atmos Rewards points to book stays, cars, or experiences through Atmos Rewards Unlocked. More often than not, this represents subpar value for your points. In general, you should focus on using your points to book flights. 

Atmos Rewards Sweet Spots

As with any point currency, there are a few sweet spots you’ll want to be aware of so you can stretch your points as far as possible. Since Atmos Rewards publishes an award chart, it’s easy to identify these.

As we just discussed, these are distance-based award charts. The distance bands can be quite large, so a good rule of thumb: find flights that fall just short of a higher band. For instance, the partner award chart for flights to or within Europe, the Middle East, and Africa shows you can get a business class seat on a flight less than 1,500 miles for just 15,000 points. Flying 1,501 miles? That award seat triples to 45,000 points. 

Short-haul Economy Awards

For flights less than 700 miles, you can spend just 4,500 points for a seat in economy or 9,000 points in business on a partner airline like American Airlines. There are several flights that fall under this distance, including:

• Miami (MIA) to Charlotte (CLT)
• Miami (MIA) to Cancun (CUN)
• Dallas (DFW) to Nashville (BNA)
• Dallas (DFW) to Denver (DEN)
• Charlotte (CLT) to Chicago (ORD)

Flights that go up to 1,400 miles are only marginally more expensive — 7,500 points in economy or 15,000 points in business. This unlocks routes like:

• Charlotte (CLT) to Punta Cana (PUJ)
• Dallas (DFW) to Los Angeles (LAX)
• Dallas (DFW) to Belize City (BZE)
• Miami (MIA) to Medellin (MDE)

Fly to South America in Business Class

You can fly from several major U.S. hubs to South America in business class for just 50,000 points, as long as the flight is between 4,001 and 6,000 miles. Routes include: 

• Los Angeles (LAX) to Santiago (SCL)
• Dallas (DFW) to Buenos Aires (EZE)
• New York (JFK) to Rio de Janeiro (GIG)

These flights can come close to 10 hours, so spending so few points on a business class award is phenomenal. 

Trans-Atlantic Long-Haul Routes

Alaska uses the same partner award chart for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. You can fly on routes to these regions between 5,001 and 7,000 miles for just 35,000 points in economy or 70,000 points in business. That means you can fly the following routes at these rates: 

• New York (JFK) to Doha (DOH)
• Dallas (DFW) to Athens (ATH)
• Los Angeles (LAX) to Barcelona (BCN)
• Miami (MIA) to Helsinki (HEL)

Long-Haul Asia Pacific Routes

For flights to Asia or the Pacific ranging from 5,001 to 7,000 miles, you’ll pay just 37,500 points in economy or 75,000 points in business. These routes include:

• Los Angeles (LAX) to Osaka (KIX)
• Los Angeles (LAX) to Auckland (AKL)
• San Francisco (SFO) to Hong Kong (HKG)
• Dallas (DFW) to Tokyo (HND)
• Dallas (DFW) to Seoul (ICN)

If you want to splurge on an ultra-long-haul, you’ll spend 42,500 points in economy or 85,000 points in business for flights between 7,001 and 10,000 miles. Potential routes include: 

• Dallas (DFW) to Melbourne (MEL)
• New York (JFK) to Hong Kong (HKG)

JFK to HKG on Cathay Pacific takes a whopping 16 hours. The opportunity to lay flat for two-thirds of a day for just 85,000 points is phenomenal. If you’re budgeting, you can fly halfway across the world in economy for just 42,500 points, which is equally as incredible. 

Alaska and Hawaiian Flights

Although the partner awards might receive the most praise for their sweet spots, we can’t forget to mention the award great value redemptions on Alaska and Hawaiian flights. The most expensive award is a long-haul first class ticket from the U.S. (except Hawaii) to anywhere in North America or the Caribbean for just 30,000 points.

A flight to or from Hawaii isn’t much more expensive, ringing in at just 40,000 points for a first class ticket. These are some excellent rates, and just fractions of what many competitors would charge for a similar ticket. 

Atmos Rewards Elite Status

The more you fly with Alaska Airlines, the higher you can climb in the elite status program. 

Status Points

Atmos Rewards has a unique approach to elite status. Although there are four tiers in the elite status program, you’ll earn benefits on your way to each tier. Rather than concrete blocks you wish to achieve, it’s more of a timeline, with benefits sprinkled along the way.

To qualify for Atmos Rewards elite status, you need to earn status points. In 2026, you will be able to choose how you earn status points from the following options:

• 1 mile flown = 1 point earned
• $1 spend = 5 points
• 500 points per segment

The customization in how you earn is a fantastic feature that allows travelers to adapt the programs to their travel habits. For instance, if you tend to fly on short, inexpensive journeys, you can choose to earn 500 points per segment. On the other hand, if you love a first class ticket, you’ll want to choose the revenue based option.

Starting January 1, 2026, you’ll also be able to earn 1 status point per $1 spent on car rentals, hotels, packages, and cruises booked with Alaska Airlines, 1 point per $1 on Lyft rides, and bonus points on purchases made with a co-branded Atmos Rewards credit card as follows:

Elite Status Tiers

Here’s how many status points you’ll need to earn status:

• Atmos Silver: 20,000
• Atmos Gold: 40,000
• Atmos Platinum: 75,000 (changing to 80,000 in 2026)
• Atmos Titanium: 100,000 (changing to 135,000 in 2026)

All status holders receive benefits like complimentary first class upgrades, complimentary premium class upgrades, complimentary preferred seating, priority service, free checked bags, and more.

In addition, Atmos Silver members receive Oneworld Ruby status, Atmos Gold members receive Oneworld Sapphire status, and Atmos Platinum and Titanium receive Oneworld Emerald status. 

You’ll also receive a few unique benefits with each tier: 

• Atmos Silver: 25% bonus points on flights. 
• Atmos Gold: 50% bonus points on flights, complimentary same-day flight changes when flying in the main cabin or first class on Alaska flights, and a complimentary premium beverage or chocolate on Alaska flights.
• Atmos Platinum: 100% points bonus on flights and immediate premium class upgrades at the time of booking across all global routes.
• Atmos Titanium: 150% points bonus on flight, complimentary meals on Alaska flights, highest priority for complimentary upgrades, and global business class upgrades beginning in the spring of 2026.

Staying loyal to Alaska can certainly pay off. 

Milestone Rewards

Between each status are milestone rewards — one or two perks you can choose from a menu of options. For instance, at the 10K milestone (10,000 status points), you can choose options like 750 bonus points, an Atmos Silver experience for one trip, or an upgrade on your next Avis or Budget car rental.

The higher the milestone, the better the rewards. For instance, at the 85K milestone, you can choose two perks, including 15,000 bonus points, two complimentary Alaska Lounge day passes, two upgrade certificates, or 10,000 status points rolled over to the next qualification year.

Bottom Line

Atmos Rewards is a complex, but fascinating new loyalty program. If you know how to maximize your earning potential and redemptions, you can get a lot of value from this program. Will the benefits change? Only time will tell. Until then, we’re working toward earning our next milestone benefit. 

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