Link: Learn more about the Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® Credit Card
We recently saw the launch of the $395 annual fee Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® Credit Card (review), which is the new premium personal credit card of Alaska & Hawaiian, coinciding with the introduction of the Atmos Rewards program.
There are lots of reasons to get this card, from a huge welcome bonus, to the great perks and rewards for spending on an ongoing basis. It’s a card I’ve already applied for.
In this post, I’d like to talk about how the Atmos Rewards Summit Card offers eight Alaska Lounge passes per year. The details of this perk can cause some confusion, so let me explain how this works.
In this post:
Earn eight Alaska Lounge passes annually with card
Airport lounge access has become a popular credit card perk. The Atmos Rewards Summit Card is Alaska’s most premium co-branded credit card, and it does offer a lounge perk. However, it’s not a full lounge membership, but instead, it’s a set number of lounge passes.
Specifically, the card offers eight Alaska Lounge passes annually. Here the basic terms to be aware of:
- You receive two Alaska Lounge passes at the beginning of every calendar quarter, and each pass expires at the end of the quarter in which it’s issued
- There’s no registration required, and the passes will automatically be deposited in the account of the primary cardmember
- If you newly open your account, your first passes will credit within 30 days, though typically much faster than that, within days of opening the account
- Passes are each valid for one adult and up to two accompanying children under the age of 21
- Each lounge pass is valid for one individual for single travel day access to Alaska Lounge locations; so that means you can use multiple lounges on a single day of travel
- You must have a boarding pass for a same day flight operated by Alaska, Hawaiian, a oneworld partner airline, or any global partner airline, and that boarding pass must be departing from or arriving at the airport in which the lounge is located
- The benefit only applies at Alaska Lounges, and not at partner lounges
- Lounge passes can be used by the cardmember, or can be gifted to friends and family
Do note that just like the Alaska Lounge day passes that the airline sells directly, lounges may at times limit the number of day passes that they’ll accept due to crowding.
Let me also mention that having the Atmos Rewards Summit Card gets you access to the elevated bar program in Alaska Lounges. Just present your card to the bartender, and you and a companion can enjoy access to premium drink selection.
This includes the Summit Sunset cocktail, a Woodford Reserve Bourbon-based cocktail, designed in partnership with professional mixologists. It’s only available to those with the card and their guests, so others accessing the lounge can’t even pay for it.
Where to find the Alaska Lounge passes in your account
The Atmos Rewards Summit Card Alaska Lounge passes are issued electronically. To find them, just log into your Atmos Rewards account, and click on the “Rewards” section.
On that page you’ll see all the rewards that are in your account (including things like the 25K-point and 100K-point Global Companion Awards), and if you scroll down, you should see a section that lists all your active lounge day passes.
If you click the “Use your Lounge day pass” button, you’ll be brought to a page that shows the codes for each of the lounge passes. Each has a unique code that can be used to access an eligible lounge. If you’re gifting these to other, just send them the code, or a screenshot of the code, or whatever.
If you’re the primary cardmember and accessing a lounge directly, there’s even an easier way. Just present your eligible flight boarding pass with your Atmos Rewards frequent flyer number on the reservation, and say you want to redeem one of your lounge passes. They’ll then be able to admit you that way.
My take on the value of the Alaska Lounge passes
The way I view it, the eight Alaska Lounge passes offered by the Atmos Rewards Summit Card are more an “icing on the cake” perk than a fundamental part of the card’s value proposition. Admittedly there are cards with more robust lounge access perks, but for the most part, they have much higher annual fees. For that matter, most of us miles & points enthusiasts don’t need another Priority Pass membership, so it’s an area where they can save, as I see it.
If you’re a frequent flyer who values Alaska Lounge access, odds are that this perk won’t cut it. For one, there might be merit to getting the Atmos™ Rewards Ascent Visa Signature® Credit Card (review) or Atmos™ Rewards Visa Signature® Business Card (review), as each of those cards offers a $100 discount on an Alaska Lounge+ membership, which is the most comprehensive kind of Alaska Lounge membership you can get.
Alternatively, there’s merit to getting the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® (review), which is the best card for getting an American Admirals Club membership, and that also gets you Alaska Lounge passes. The card has a $595 annual fee and offers lots of other great perks, so you could still come out ahead by getting that.
But if you’re just the occasional Alaska flyer, or would only benefit from Alaska Lounge access a couple of times per quarter, then this is obviously ideal. For me, I’ll just be giving away these passes, since I otherwise have lounge access by having an Admirals Club membership.
But as I said earlier, I don’t view this as being a core part of the card’s value proposition. I love this card for the anniversary Global Companion Award, waived partner award booking fees, 3x points on international purchases, potential easy pathway to earning Atmos Rewards status, and strong rental car and travel purchase protection.
Bottom line
The Atmos Rewards Summit Card offers quite a few perks, including up to eight Alaska Lounge passes annually. The way this works, you receive two lounge passes each calendar quarter, which expire at the end of the quarter.
Obviously this isn’t comprehensive lounge access if you’re a frequent flyer with the airline, but it does go a long way to helping the occasional Alaska flyer elevate their travels. Worst of all, you can gift these passes to others. Also keep in mind that you get access to a special bar program if you have the card.
What has your experience been with the Atmos Rewards Summit Card Alaska Lounge passes?
Getting the card for me isn’t worth the cost since I don’t fly that frequently, don’t know anyone needing lounge access, already have an Alaska Air Visa card that I only use to make a charitable donation once a month in order to keep my miles active, and have another rewards card I use for daily expenses. That being said, it does look like a decent rewards card if it makes sense given your particular situation…
Do these passes get you into Hawaiian Air lounges as well?
To answer my own question: No. What a pity cuz HNL is a lounge wasteland.
Hi Ben. Does “…or an Alaska global airline partner” include American? (I’ve read it does not, which makes no sense). I have only one OneWorld trip booked in the fourth quarter and I’ll be flying American leaving SFO. Would be my only chance to use one of my passes.
@ Debo -- It sure does. I'll update the post to clarify that this includes all oneworld partners, plus the other global partners.
You don’t need to access your passes to use them. Just show your boarding pass at the lounge entrance. Works at SFO and SEA.
@ Ella -- Thanks for the heads up! Wasn't aware they could be pulled that way, so I've updated the post to reflect that.