Redeeming Alaska Points On American: An Underrated Sweet Spot

While there’s nothing earth shattering here, I’d like to share how I’ve increasingly been redeeming Alaska Atmos Rewards points for travel on American, particularly for domestic and short haul international travel. In many ways, I’d argue that this has become the real sweet spot of the program, so let me explain…

I frequently redeem points for domestic flights

I’m not some weekly domestic road warrior. Quite to the contrary, I avoid domestic travel as much as possible, since nothing is as comfortable as my bed at home. However, I still end up flying a fair bit domestically.

What has changed over the years is that I’m increasingly just redeeming points for domestic and short haul international flights, including in first class. Why? Well, a lot has changed over the years. Back in the day, I’d almost exclusively pay cash for economy tickets when traveling domestically:

• As an American AAdvantage Executive Platinum member, I’d almost always get upgraded to first class, so it ended up being quite a good value
• Years ago, the only way to earn elite status was through actually flying, so that was my pathway to qualifying

However, times sure have changed. First class upgrades are really tough to come by nowadays, so more often than not, I end up finding a way to confirm myself into first class, assuming it represents a decent value. Sometimes that’s by outright redeeming points for first class, and other times it’s by purchasing reasonably priced upgrades.

Furthermore, nowadays you can earn elite status through credit card spending, but it’s even questionable whether that’s worth it, given that it’s not as valuable as it used to be.

I also plan a lot of my domestic travel last minute, when costs for a ticket in cash might be really high, while award costs are often reasonable. So long story short, I find that points just get me the best value and most comfortable domestic flying in a majority of situations.

Alaska Atmos Rewards is the domestic sweet spot program

In many cases, redeeming American AAdvantage miles for domestic travel can be a solid value. American no longer has an award chart for these flights, though pricing can be attractive. The catch is that American almost always penalizes you if you want to fly nonstop, as connections are typically priced lower.

Back in the day, redeeming British Airways Club Avios for short haul travel on American was an incredible value. It was one of the best sweet spots of the program. Unfortunately we’ve seen devaluation after devaluation, to the point that these kinds of short haul redemptions just aren’t a good deal anymore, in a vast majority of situations.

But this is an area where the Alaska Atmos Rewards program has become increasingly useful in recent years. In particular, at this point my favorite way to redeem Atmos Rewards points is for travel on American, particularly on short haul flights, but also on long haul flights.

Below is Alaska Atmos Rewards’ award chart for travel within the Americas. Assuming there’s saver level award space on American, pricing is as follows:

• A flight of under 700 miles will cost 4,500 points in economy, 9,000 points in business class
• A flight of 701-1,400 miles will cost 7,500 points in economy, 15,000 points in business class
• A flight of 1,401-2,100 miles will cost 12,500 points in economy, 25,000 points in business class

A vast majority of my nonstop domestic travel covers distances of under 1,400 miles, so that’s where I get the most value.

For example, my single most frequently flown route is between Miami and Tampa, and last minute fares can be pretty expensive with cash. If I redeem American AAdvantage miles for this flight, pricing is often 7,000 miles in economy, or 15,000 miles in first class.

Meanwhile if I redeem Alaska Atmos Rewards points, pricing is only 4,500 points in economy, or 9,000 points in first class.

Just to be thorough and point out how bad British Airways Club has become, that award costs 12,000 Avios in economy, or 24,000 Avios in first class.

My next most frequent route is between Miami and New York. If I redeem American AAdvantage miles for this flight, pricing is often 9,000 miles in economy, or 26,000 miles in first class.

Meanwhile if I redeem Alaska Atmos Rewards points, pricing is only 7,500 points in economy, or 15,000 points in first class.

To include British Airways Club, that award costs 16,000 Avios in economy, or 32,000 Avios in first class.

Even beyond short haul awards, there’s potentially a lot of upside with Atmos Rewards award flights on American. For example, say you want to fly from New York to London. If I redeem American AAdvantage miles for this flight, pricing is often 27,000 miles in economy, or 70,000 miles in business class.

Meanwhile if I redeem Alaska Atmos Rewards points, pricing is only 22,500 points in economy, or 45,000 points in business class.

To include British Airways Club, that award costs 20,750 Avios plus $131 in economy, or 62,000 Avios plus $1,058 in business class.

Now, let me just mention that Alaska Atmos Rewards does charge a $12.50 partner award booking fee per direction of travel, so you’ll pay that in addition to the taxes. That’s not a huge deal, though you can even avoid that fee simply by having the Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite^® Credit Card (review), as getting that fee waived is one of the card perks. Regardless, beyond that partner fee, you can change or cancel Atmos Rewards awards on American at no cost.

Furthermore, if you’re looking to take advantage of elite perks, note that you often can’t add another frequent flyer program number to a reservation booked with Atmos Rewards points. This isn’t consistently enforced, and also probably isn’t much of an issue if you’re booking first class, since there’s not much incremental value to status. But still, it’s worth pointing out.

There is a further great upside, though. Keep in mind that Atmos Rewards awards status points for award flights booked through the program, so you can actually qualify for elite status based on your award flights. That’s why I think being loyal to Atmos Rewards as an American flyer could make a lot of sense.

Racking up Alaska Atmos Rewards points is easy

Like I said, redeeming on American might not be the most aspirational award redemption on earth, but it sure is practical. Keep in mind there are lots of ways to acquire Atmos Rewards points at a reasonable cost.

For example, you can frequently buy Atmos Rewards points for well under two cents each, as we often see promotions — I’d consider this to be a very attractive way to secure domestic awards on American, assuming you can find availability.

Furthermore, the Atmos Rewards program has three co-brand credit cards, issued by Bank of America, and they all have excellent welcome bonuses with limited eligibility restrictions:

• The Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite^® Credit Card (review) has a $395 annual fee, and there are so many reasons to get this lucrative card, ranging from the fastest pathway to earning status, to Global Companion Awards, to great bonus categories, and much more
• The Atmos™ Rewards Ascent Visa Signature^® Credit Card (review) has a $95 annual fee, and it offers valuable basic perks for travel on Alaska & Hawaiian, including the ability to earn a $99 companion fare
• The Atmos™ Rewards Visa Signature® Business Card (review) has a minimum of a $95 annual fee ($70 for the company and $25 per user), and offers useful benefits for travel on Alaska & Hawaiian

What’s so great is that you can potentially qualify for all of these cards, so that’s an opportunity to earn lots of points. For example, I recently picked up both the Atmos Rewards Summit Card and Atmos Rewards Business Card.

Bottom line

The Alaska Atmos Rewards program can be mighty useful. Nowadays I’d consider it to be an excellent value program for redeeming on American, where I find the pricing is consistently lower than through American AAdvantage or British Airways Club.

The catch is that there needs to be saver level award availability, but for situations in which it’s available, the value is pretty unbeatable, in my opinion. Best of all, Alaska Atmos Rewards points are easy to come by, and you can even earn status points for award flights, which is the icing on the cake.

Anyone else appreciate the value of redeeming Alaska Atmos Rewards points on American?