Link: Learn about the best credit cards for Alaska Atmos Rewards
Atmos Rewards is the loyalty program of Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines, and the program has three co-branded credit cards in the United States — the Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® Credit Card, Atmos™ Rewards Ascent Visa Signature® credit card, and Atmos™ Rewards Visa Signature® Business Card — all of which are excellent.
In this post, I’d like to go over the details of the welcome offers on these cards, especially as all three cards currently have limited time welcome bonuses, among the best we’ve seen. After that, I’ll talk a bit about card eligibility. Let me say up front that it’s possible to get more than one of these cards, so you’re probably eligible for one of these even if you already have a card in the portfolio.
Atmos Rewards credit card welcome bonus offer details
Bank of America and Alaska Air Group partner on issuing three co-branded credit cards, all with Atmos Rewards branding, replacing the previous Mileage Plan program. At the moment, all three cards have excellent limited time welcome bonuses, so let’s cover the details of the bonuses, plus the basics of why you may want to consider these cards.
Atmos Rewards Summit Card bonus & benefits
The Atmos Rewards Summit Card has a $395 annual fee, and is the most premium personal card in the collection.
The card is offering a limited time welcome bonus where you can receive a 50% flight discount code for a qualifying future flight after opening your account. Additionally, you can earn 100,000 Atmos Rewards bonus points and a 25,000-point Global Companion Award after spending $6,500 or more on purchases within 90 days.
While this card has the highest annual fee of the three cards, it offers an amazing value proposition. Perks include the following, among other things:
- A lucrative rewards structure, including 3x points on all foreign purchases (an incredible bonus category), plus 3x points on dining
- The fastest pathway to Atmos Rewards elite status — receive an anniversary boost of 10,000 status points, plus earn one status point for every $2 spent
- The ability to earn Global Companion Awards — earn an anniversary 25,000-point Global Companion Award just for having the card, plus a 100,000-point Global Companion Award for spending $60,000 on the card per anniversary year
- Up to eight Alaska Lounge passes and up to eight Alaska inflight Wi-Fi passes per year, in the form of two of each pass per quarter
- A first checked bag free and 20% savings on inflight purchases on Alaska & Hawaiian flights
- Preferred boarding on Alaska flights
- Waived fees, including waived $12.50 partner award booking fees, and waived same day change fees on Alaska flights
- Upgrade priority on Alaska & Hawaiian flights, so that comes in handy for anyone with elite status
- The ability to share points with up to 10 other members at no cost (and vice versa)
- Primary rental car coverage, plus valuable travel protection for delayed flights, lost bags, and more
Read a detailed review of the Atmos Rewards Summit Card.
Atmos Rewards Ascent Card bonus & benefits
The Atmos Rewards Ascent Card has a $95 annual fee, and is the more basic of the two personal cards in the collection.
The card is offering a limited time welcome bonus where you can receive a 50% flight discount code for a qualifying future flight after opening your account. Additionally, earn 80,000 Atmos Rewards bonus points and a $99 Companion Fare (plus taxes and fees from $23) after spending $4,000 or more on purchases within 120 days.
This is a great option for a low-fee card that still offers considerable value for someone who flies Alaska or Hawaiian with any frequency. Some of the card’s perks include the following:
- Useful bonus categories, including 3x points on Alaska & Hawaiian purchases, and 2x points on gas, EV charging stations, local transit (including ride share), cable, and select streaming services
- The ability to have spending count toward elite status — earn one status point for every $3 spent
- A $99 Companion Fare after spending $6,000 on the card per anniversary year
- A first checked bag free and 20% savings on inflight purchases on Alaska & Hawaiian flights
- Preferred boarding on Alaska flights
Read a detailed review of the Atmos Rewards Ascent Card.
Atmos Rewards Business Card bonus & benefits
The Atmos Rewards Business Card has a minimum of a $95 annual fee ($70 for the account and $25 per card), and is the business card in the portfolio.
The card is offering a limited time welcome bonus of 80,000 Atmos Rewards bonus points and a $99 Companion Fare (plus taxes and fees from $23) after spending $5,000 or more on purchases within the first 90 days.
The perks on this card are very similar to the perks on its personal card equivalent. These include the following, among other things:
- Some useful bonus categories, including 3x points on Alaska & Hawaiian purchases, and 2x points on gas, EV charging stations, local transit (including ride share), and shipping
- The ability to have spending count toward elite status — earn one status point for every $3 spent
- A $99 Companion Fare after for spending $6,000 on the card per anniversary year
- A first checked bag free and 20% savings on inflight purchases on Alaska & Hawaiian flights
- Preferred boarding on Alaska flights
Read a detailed review of the Atmos Rewards Business Card.
Atmos Rewards Bank of America credit card eligibility rules
With the above out of the way, who is eligible for the welcome offers on the Atmos Rewards Summit Card, Atmos Rewards Ascent Card, and Atmos Rewards Business Card?
You’re eligible for all three Atmos Rewards cards
Let me start by stating that eligibility for all three Atmos Rewards cards (including the welcome offers) is considered independently. So if you already have the Atmos Rewards Ascent Card, you can apply for the Atmos Rewards Summit Card, and vice versa. The same is true for the Atmos Rewards Business Card.
So rules can’t get easier in that regard. At a minimum, since the Atmos Rewards Summit Card is new, virtually everyone should be eligible for the bonus on that card.
How existing Alaska & Hawaiian credit cards factor into this
How does card eligibility work if you have an existing Alaska Airlines Bank of America card, or Hawaiian Airlines Barclays card?
Let’s start with the easier part of the answer. If you have or have had either of the Hawaiian Airlines Barclays cards (whether personal or business) that doesn’t impact your ability to qualify for any of the Atmos Rewards cards, including the welcome bonuses.
Meanwhile if you have any former Alaska Airlines Bank of America cards, those cards have been converted (or are in the process of being converted) into one of these new Atmos Rewards cards:
So you may not be eligible for the bonus on one of those cards if you currently have it. However, you’d likely be eligible for the bonus on whichever card you don’t have.
What about if you’ve had one of the above cards in the past? Bank of America doesn’t generally have a “once in a lifetime” rule. Instead, you typically have to wait 24 months from when you closed a card before you can qualify for the bonus on a card again (though some report earning a bonus sooner than that).
However, that’s not a published rule, and you’ll find that offer terms call this a “one-time promotion” that’s “limited to customers opening a new account.
General Bank of America application rules to know
Beyond the rules specific to the Atmos Rewards cards, what general things should you be aware of if applying for a Bank of America card? Here are the two most common Bank of America restrictions:
- Bank of America has the 2/3/4 rule, meaning you can open at most two Bank of America cards every two months, at most three Bank of America cards every 12 months, and at most four Bank of America cards every 24 months; this applies only to personal cards, and not business cards
- Bank of America has the 3/12 rule, meaning you may not be approved for a card if you’ve opened three or more new cards with any card issuer in the past 12 months; this applies only to personal cards, and not business cards, and it also doesn’t seem to apply if you have a banking relationship with Bank of America (which you may want to have anyway, to get the 10% relationship bonus points)
Neither of those rules seem to be totally consistently enforced, and in particular, that latter policy doesn’t seem consistent at all. For example, I’ve opened more than three new cards in the past 12 months, and I still applied.
Many report instant approvals on Atmos Rewards cards
How hard are Bank of America cards to get approved for, in general? Obviously this is only based on anecdotal reports, but in my experience, Bank of America cards are generally quite easy to get approved for, and I also find they typically have quite large credit limits. However, the issuer can also be quirky with denials, especially based on the above two rules.
What’s the best Atmos Rewards credit card strategy to take?
What’s the best play if you’re considering picking up an Atmos Rewards credit card, between the Atmos Rewards Summit Card, Atmos Rewards Ascent Card, and Atmos Rewards Business Card? Honestly, you can’t go wrong with any combination of cards here. A few thoughts:
- The welcome bonuses on all of these cards are significant, so that’s a huge incentive to pick up one or more of these cards, given all the great uses of Atmos Rewards points
- I’d argue that these cards are potentially complements, and it can make sense to pick up multiple of them and keep them long term, especially if you value the 25,000-point or 100,000-point Global Companion Awards, or $99 Companion Fares
- If you’re going to apply for two cards in a short period of time, I’d generally recommend applying for one personal card and one business card, to maximize your odds of approval
- Personally, I think the Atmos Rewards Summit Card is a no-brainer if you’re engaged in the Atmos Rewards ecosystem, but if you don’t want to pay the $395 annual fee, the Atmos Rewards Ascent Card is a great alternative; you can complement either of those cards with the Atmos Rewards Business Card
For example, I’ve shared my experience getting approved for the Atmos Rewards Summit Card, and also my experience getting approved for the Atmos Rewards Business Card.
Bottom line
There are three Atmos Rewards credit cards, and at the moment they’re all offering excellent, limited time welcome bonuses. This includes the premium Atmos Rewards Summit Card, plus the Atmos Rewards Ascent Card and Atmos Rewards Business Card.
These are all worthwhile cards, so if you’re eligible for any of these cards, they’re worth considering. One thing that’s great is that eligibility requirements for these cards aren’t too strict, in the sense that you can qualify for each of these cards, and earn the welcome offers.
Hopefully the above is a useful rundown of the rules surrounding getting approved for these cards.
Are there any Atmos Rewards credit card application questions I haven’t covered? If you’ve applied for one of these cards, what was your experience like?
