Link: Apply now for the Alaska Airlines Visa® Business card
Alaska Airlines and Bank of America have a couple of co-branded credit cards, which have the potential to be pretty lucrative.
In this post:
Alaska Business Visa Card bonus details
The Alaska Airlines Business Visa Card is offering the following welcome bonus after spending $4,000 within the first 90 days of account opening:
- 60,000 Alaska Mileage Plan miles
- An Alaska companion fare from $122 ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23)
Personally, I value Alaska miles at 1.5 cents each, given the great uses of Alaska Mileage Plan miles (I also love how you earn elite miles for award flights). That means the miles alone are worth $900 to me. That doesn’t even account for the value of the Alaska companion fare.
Alaska Business Visa Card eligibility requirements
Many may be curious about eligibility and restrictions associated with the Alaska Business Visa Card. A few things to note:
- Among business cards, anecdotally I find Bank of America business cards to be quite easy to get approved for, assuming you have excellent credit
- Anecdotally it seems that you’re eligible for the Alaska Business Visa (including the bonus) even if you’ve had it in the past; this is one of the best cards out there in that regard
- Applying for a Bank of America business card typically won’t count toward the 5/24 limit with Chase, if that’s a consideration
Business cards don’t get much better than this in terms of approval odds and bonus eligibility.
Why the Alaska Business Visa Card is worth it
Beyond the bonus, there are several reasons to get the Alaska Business Visa Card. The card has a $70 annual fee for the company, plus a $25 fee for the card, meaning one user having the card would just cost $95 annually. The card offers lots of perks, including:
- A companion fare from $122 ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) on your account anniversary every year after spending $6,000 on the card in the prior anniversary year; this is in addition to the companion fare offered as part of the bonus
- 3x Mileage Plan miles on Alaska Airlines purchases, 2x Mileage Plan miles on gas, EV charging stations, local transit (including ride share), and shipping, and 1x Mileage Plan miles on all other purchases, all with no foreign transaction fees
- The ability to spend your way toward elite status — the card offers one elite qualifying mile (EQM) for every $3 spent, up to a total of 30,000 EQMs per calendar year
- A 10% rewards bonus on all miles earned from purchases if your company has an eligible Bank of America account
- A first checked bag free on Alaska Airlines flights for the card member and up to six companions on the same reservation when paying with the card; this also applies to authorized users, as long as the card is used to pay for the ticket, even when not traveling with the primary card member
- Priority boarding on Alaska Airlines flights for the card member and up to six companions on the same reservation when paying with the card; this also applies to authorized users, as long as the card is used to pay for the ticket, even when not traveling with the primary card member
- 20% savings on inflight purchases of food, drinks, and Wi-Fi, when paying with your card
- $100 off an Alaska Lounge+ membership annually when you purchase the membership with your card
If you fly Alaska Airlines with any frequency, then this card should be in your wallet.
Read my review of the Alaska Business Visa Card.
Looking for a personal credit card?
If you want an Alaska Airlines credit card but don’t want to apply for a business credit card, there’s good news. The Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card (review) also has an excellent welcome offer.
This $95 annual fee card has largely overlapping perks, including a free checked bag on Alaska Airlines for you and up to six guests on the same reservation, 20% back on Alaska Airlines inflight purchases, 3x Mileage Plan miles on eligible Alaska Airlines purchases, the ability to earn elite miles from spending, and more.
Bottom line
The Alaska Business Visa Card is offering a welcome bonus of 60,000 Mileage Plan miles plus a companion fare upon completing minimum spending. If you’ve been considering this card, this would be a good time to apply. The Alaska Airlines Visa Card is also offering an excellent bonus, for those looking for a personal credit card (either in addition to or in place of a business card).
Do you plan on picking up the Alaska Business Visa Card with this bonus?
Can an Alaska $99 companion fare be upgraded with miles or cash if you do not have elite status
@Ben have you read this piece quoting an AS Exec and comments on passengers want status based on revenue, another going the BA way I fear.
https://www.travelandleisure.com/alaska-airlines-hawaiian-merger-lounges-credit-card-8770916
Shouldn't we wait for the new credit card that Alaska is going to introduce later this year?
@ ChanceInFlight -- That's going to be a personal card, while this is a personal card, so eligibility will almost certainly be unrelated. Given the big bonus, there's value in potentially getting both cards.
FYI: Bank of America will do a Hard Pull on your personal credit file even though it is a business card application.
Which credit bureau do they use ?
BofA typically uses TransUnion. They also (I cannot confirm) pull your Dunn & Bradstreet report which shows all your business cards (ie: Chase supposedly REPORTS their business cards to D&B but does not PULL a D&B report). BofA supposedly pulls AND reports business cards to D&B.
Another unconfirmed rumor is one person on Flyertalk stating that BofA now has a 2/24 rule for the Alaska cards. You can't have had more than 2 in...
BofA typically uses TransUnion. They also (I cannot confirm) pull your Dunn & Bradstreet report which shows all your business cards (ie: Chase supposedly REPORTS their business cards to D&B but does not PULL a D&B report). BofA supposedly pulls AND reports business cards to D&B.
Another unconfirmed rumor is one person on Flyertalk stating that BofA now has a 2/24 rule for the Alaska cards. You can't have had more than 2 in the past 24 months (for "like" cards, so you can't have more than 2 BUSINESS cards or more than 2 PERSONAL cards in the past 24 months) or it'll be an instant denial. Again, unconfirmed and I've not seen this reported anywhere else, but the person supposedly called recon several times and was told by 2-3 different agents the same thing.
@ David S -- Don't virtually all business cards do a hard pull on personal credit when applying? There's a difference between a hard pull and the open account showing on your credit report, which is where 5/24 comes into play.
Yup, this is correct. It's just Amex that usually doesn't do hard pulls on existing cardholders when they apply for new personal or business cards. Everyone else to my knowledge does.