Link: Apply now for the Atmos™ Rewards Ascent Visa Signature® Credit Card
The $95 annual fee Atmos™ Rewards Ascent Visa Signature® Credit Card (review) is the basic personal credit card of the Atmos Rewards program, which is the new loyalty program of Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines. The card is issued by Bank of America, and is a rebranding of the former Alaska Airlines Visa Signature Credit Card.
This is a card that many people may not have considered, so in this post, I’d like to share nine reasons you should pick up this card if you’re eligible, especially given the incredible offer that’s currently available. In no particular order…
In this post:
Massive bonus of 80K points & companion fare
At the moment, the Atmos Rewards Ascent Card has a huge two-part limited time welcome bonus. After spending $4,000 within the first 120 days, you can earn 80,000 Atmos Rewards bonus points, in addition to a $99 companion fare (plus taxes and fees from $23), valid for flights within North America on Alaska and Hawaiian.
I value Atmos Rewards points at 1.5 cents each, given the great uses of these rewards. That means that to me, the 80,000 points are worth $1,200. That doesn’t even account for the value of the companion fare.
Note that eligibility for this card (including the welcome bonus) is unrelated to which other Atmos Rewards cards you have.
This is a card many people are eligible for
In the miles & points world, there are some cards that seemingly everyone has had at this point, and therefore they’re not eligible to apply for them and receive the bonus. Obviously, some people have had the Atmos Rewards Ascent Card (or its predecessor), but I assume there are lots more people eligible than with some of the mainstream travel rewards cards out there.
The Atmos Rewards program is incredibly useful, as there are lots of great uses of these points. The redemption possibilities are endless, including for travel on carriers like Condor, Fiji Airways, Japan Airlines, Starlux Airlines, etc.
Ability to earn companion fare annually
One incentive to actually put spending on the Atmos Rewards Ascent Card is that you can earn an annual Alaska & Hawaiian companion fare when you spend at least $6,000 per anniversary year on the card, valid for flights within North America.
For many people, this could be well worth it, especially given the size of the Alaska and Hawaiian network in North America. This could save you hundreds of dollars on the cost of a ticket, and is one of the most flexible companion fares out there. Interestingly, this is a perk that isn’t available on the more premium version of the card, so it’s a reason that many people will continue to want to hold onto this card.
A lucrative rewards structure, up to 3x points
Atmos Rewards points can be hard to come by, as the program doesn’t partner with any major transferable points currencies, with the exception of Bilt Rewards. That’s why it’s worth noting the rewards structure of the Atmos Rewards Ascent Card.
The card offers 3x points on Alaska and Hawaiian purchases, and 2x points on gas, EV charging stations, local transit (including ride share), cable, and select streaming services. This is a great way to generate Atmos Rewards points with your credit card spending.
Spend your way to Atmos Rewards elite status
The Atmos Rewards Ascent Card can help you earn elite status. You can earn one Atmos Rewards status point per $3 spent on the card, up to 30,000 status points for 2025. In 2026 and beyond, there’s no cap to how many status points you can earn with the card.
If you are going to get serious about earning elite status with Atmos Rewards, you’ll want to go for the more premium card, which offers one status point per $2 spent, so that will rack up status points quite a bit faster.
Preferred boarding on Alaska flights
Those with the Atmos Rewards Ascent Card can receive preferred boarding for themselves and up to six companions on the same reservation when flying on Alaska. In order to use this perk, you need to charge the cost of the ticket to your card.
Preferred boarding can be valuable for ensuring that there’s overhead bin space for your carry-on bags, since that can otherwise be a challenge nowadays if you end up in one of the last boarding groups.
First checked bag free on Alaska & Hawaiian flights
Those with the Atmos Rewards Ascent Card can receive a free first checked bag on Alaska and Hawaiian flights. You must purchase the airfare with your card, and this also applies for up to six travelers on the same reservation. Alaska and Hawaiian ordinarily charge $35-40 for a checked bag, so the savings there are substantial.
20% back on Alaska & Hawaiian inflight purchases
The Atmos Rewards Ascent Card offers 20% savings on Alaska and Hawaiian inflight purchases, including for food, premium beverages, and Wi-Fi. If you fly Alaska or Hawaiian with any frequency, those savings can add up quickly.
Valuable authorized user perks
The Atmos Rewards Ascent Card allows you to add authorized users at no extra cost. Not only can the spending of authorized users help you accumulate more Atmos Rewards points (admittedly you have to foot the bill, though), but there are further perks that authorized users get.
Specifically, they receive the same preferred boarding, first checked bag free, and 20% savings on inflight purchases, as the primary cardmember. For example, it’s awesome to be able to add family, and have them get the same valuable perks that you get, even when they’re not flying with you.
Since a checked bag ordinarily costs $35 one-way, this benefit offers savings of up to $70 roundtrip per person, or potentially up to $490 per group roundtrip (if you were traveling with six companions).
Bottom line
The Atmos Rewards Ascent Card is currently offering a very nice limited time welcome bonus, which could earn you 80,000 Atmos Rewards points, plus a companion fare. Beyond that, the card offers significant value in the long run for those who fly Alaska or Hawaiian with any frequency. If you’re eligible for this card and haven’t yet applied, I’d consider doing so.
If you have the Atmos Rewards Ascent Card, what has your experience been with the card?
If I currently have the Alaska card which I signed up for this year, would I be eligible for the bonus on the new ascent atmos card?
I currently have the Alaska Airlines Visa card. With the change over, will the new Atmos Ascent Card still waive all foreign transaction fees?
@ Debbie -- Yep, absolutely!
The 20% back on in-flight purchases seems to be exclusive to this card? Its more expensive sibling doesn't seem to have this perk.
@ Polestar -- It's actually also available on the more premium card, as it's listed in the terms & conditions. There are just so many perks to the card that it's not listed in the main marketing bullets.
Does this card still have the Bilt partnership like the old one did?
@ betterbub -- Yep, nothing has changed there!
The SUB is compelling and in the first year, you're likely spending enough to get the companion fare. Totally worth it. Unless you already have several.
For those of us grandfathered in, the $99 companion fare for $95 annually with no spend requirement makes this card a keeper.
are you sure about the grandfathered in aspect? having to spend 6k on this card on top of the annual fee is a downgrade otherwise
Yeah, I'm sure. My family has 3 of these cards with zero spend necessary to get the companion fare.
I agree that adding a spending requirement is a downgrade from what it was.
I have the Alaska Airlines personal card now. Can I also get this new card?
@ Preacher -- The existing Alaska personal card should convert to this one, so you probably couldn't. However, you should be eligible for the premium card, the Atmos Rewards Summit.
In the past, one could get multiple Alaska personal cards. I know that my wife did it in 2024. That may still be true.
You are getting 8OK AS miles for $95. That is an unbeatable value proposition. Better value than the more expensive card where you get 100K for $395. I fail to see how the perks of this card justify the high annual fee unless you can spend 60K on it to get the companion award.
@ Regis -- Yeah, in terms of the welcome bonus, this is really compelling. For that matter, I know many people like the companion fare offered by this card, compared to the award companion fare on the more premium card. All depends on the type of consumer you are.
I'm with you - I had the same thought - just get the $95 AF for 80k miles plus the $99 companion fare. Just looking at SUB, the question is how much do you value the 20k extra miles plus 25k companion cert (plus potentially 5k if you signed up for the list in 2024)? Effectively 45k miles at $0.01 would be $450 - definitely more than the difference in AF. And most people value...
I'm with you - I had the same thought - just get the $95 AF for 80k miles plus the $99 companion fare. Just looking at SUB, the question is how much do you value the 20k extra miles plus 25k companion cert (plus potentially 5k if you signed up for the list in 2024)? Effectively 45k miles at $0.01 would be $450 - definitely more than the difference in AF. And most people value Alaska miles north of $0.01. So then all the premium card benefits (waived partner booking fees, club and wifi passes, etc.) are gravy.
You'd still have to account for the $99 companion fare - maybe you value that around $200 and you more accurately value the 45k mile SUB difference at $675 ($0.015/mile, where I think Ben values them). So the premium card gets you ~$475 in additional SUB value ($675 - $200) for an additional $300 AF - with no value assigned to the premium card benefits. Then if you don't like the premium card, after a year, you can downgrade.
It's not a 45k miles difference. The 25k global companion award is far less flexible and valuable than 25k Atmos points and expires after one year.
The easiest way for the majority of people to get good value from Alaska points are short haul flights in the US. The companion award doesn't really work for that, another reason the coupon isn't the same as 25k points.
I'm on the fence about which one to sign up for. I live abroad so the 3x on foreign purchases is somewhat compelling but the rest of the benefits on the premium card don't excite me much.
Probably getting the $95 Alaska card and the Hawaiian airlines card is the way to go. That will get me 130K miles for $190 and 6k spend or 160k miles for the $190 and 9k spend.