We recently saw the launch of Atmos Rewards, the new combined loyalty program of Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines. The program is really well thought out, in my opinion, with some unique features you won’t find with many other programs.
Continue reading: Atmos Rewards Points Earning On Premium Partner Tickets Improving
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
@ Speedscu -- Well for most partner airlines there's not even an option to earn based on spending rather than based on distance, at least for the foreseeable future. And if anything, I'd say this moves the math more in favor of distance based earning, no?
125% on Business Class was normal for many AS partners in the past - QF, SQ, and JL come to mind.
Question - do the 25%-150% bonus points you would earn as an Atmos status member count as status points as well? Or are they just purely bonus miles.
With AA you'll still get an additional 40%-120% miles AND LP on account of status, although that's off of the 100% base miles (not the 250% comprised of 100% base + 150% bonus). So just curious how it works with Atmos.
Of course, while booking with partners may usually be ideal, it's still nice that the AA program awards you the 250% for J even if you book with a third party. So you could, if the price was right, book through Chase Travel or whatever (you could even redeem points with Points Boost!), and still get the 250% from AA.
I suspect that the reason for the delay in implementing the new earning rates is for Alaska to come out with yet another devaluation (despite solemn promises not to do so as an absolute condition of their merger) to lower any value that members might gain from the changes.
I will lose my status next year because the partner business earning is bad and now they want to improve in one year? A very bad move to keep premium customers loyal if they are inconsistent like this ...
About time -- the new (current) partner business class earn rates a ridiculous-- a huge disincentive to stay with the program if that's a significant part of your annual status qualification. Implement it now -- or at a minimum on 1/1/26. Otherwise, they're disrespecting their best client base and we'll migrate to AA.
https://www.alaskaair.com/atmosrewards/content/faq/2026-updates
What flights will be eligible for choice based earn?
Choice based accrual applies to all Alaska, Hawaiian, codeshare and partner tickets booked via AlaskaAir.com and HawaiianAir.com. Partner flights booked direct with partners will continue to earn a percentage of flown miles if either the distance or ticket price earning method is chosen, or will earn 500 points per segment if the segment earning method is chosen.
However...
https://www.alaskaair.com/atmosrewards/content/benefits/2026-updates
By distance traveled
1 mile flown = 1 point earned
Earn based on how far you go — the more miles you fly, the more points you rack up. (That's perfect for transcontinental or long-haul international flights.) You'll earn status points for award travel based on distance, too. Please note: If you select this earn choice, you’ll no longer earn class of service bonuses or minimum miles.
So maybe they're talking about Alaska Class of Service bonuses, like when booking in J earning 200%. So booking in J won't earn 200% anymore, but partners will guessing by that language.
Still confusing I guess
I've been MVP Gold (now ATMOS Gold) since AS took over VX. This year I qualified for MVP Gold 75K (now ATMOS Platinum) and have this status level through 2026. The changes can't come soon enough for me -- it's very frustrating when I have to book through partner airlines. I'm certainly not the only one who hopes that "later in 2026" doesn't mean December 2026.
Getting those partner flights credit to your account has, in my experience, been a nightmare. I've had it happen multiple times where credits don't post and then I used the Alaska website to manually add...waited 6+ weeks and the credits still don't post. Going forward, I only use my American account. Truly disappointing.
I have a multi-stop itinerary that I booked on aa.com for travel in business class on OW carriers in early September. The trip starts in Auckland and ends in Madrid before heading back to Auckland. Does anyone know when these 2026 program changes will go into effect, as it impacts which frequent flyer program I will credit these flights?