Link: Apply now for the Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® Credit Card
The $395 annual fee Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® Credit Card (review) is the brand new premium credit card of Atmos Rewards, which is the name of the combined loyalty program of Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines.
I’d argue that this is one of the best airline credit cards we’ve seen in a long time, and there are many reasons to pick up this card, from the ability to earn 3x points on foreign purchases, to the Global Companion Awards offered by the card.
Perhaps the most obvious reason to get the card is that it’s offering a massive welcome bonus of 100,000 Atmos Rewards points plus a 25,000-point Global Companion Award upon completing minimum spending. Like many people, I decided to apply for this new product, and want to report back with my experience.
In this post:
Basic Atmos Rewards Summit Card application restrictions
The Atmos Rewards Summit Card is issued by Bank of America. The good news is that eligibility for this card is unrelated to having any other card from Bank of America, Atmos Rewards, Alaska, or Hawaiian. So it appears that you’d be eligible for this card (including the welcome bonus) if you have any other card in the portfolio.
For example, if you look at the terms of the application, you’ll see the following:
New Account Bonus Point and Global 25K Companion Award Offer. This one-time promotion is limited to customers opening a new account in response to this offer and will not apply to requests to convert existing accounts.
That’s great, because it means that nearly everyone should be eligible for the card and the bonus, since it was just launched.
Beyond that, what general restrictions does Bank of America have when it comes to approving people for cards? Here are a couple of common Bank of America restrictions that are often discussed, though let me emphasize that enforcement seems really inconsistent:
- There’s a 2/3/4 rule, meaning you can open at most two Bank of America cards every two months, at most three Bank of America cards every 12 months, and at most four Bank of America cards every 24 months
- There’s a 3/12 rule, meaning you may not be approved for a card if you’ve opened three or more new cards with any card issuer in the past 12 months
Neither of those rules seem to be totally consistently enforced, and in particular, that latter policy doesn’t seem consistent at all. For example, I’ve opened more than three new cards in the past 12 months, and I still applied.
Bank of America can sometimes be quirky in terms of approvals. I find that with Bank of America, I often get instant approvals with massive credit lines, and then every once in a while, I get random, inexplicable denials. So make of that what you will.
Atmos Rewards Summit Card application & approval experience
What’s the application process like when applying for the Atmos Rewards Summit Card? The online application process is really straightforward, and consists of just one page.
It just asks for personal details — name, date of birth, social security number, address, phone number, income, etc. You’ll also be asked for your Atmos Rewards number, so you’ll want to include that, so that your points are credited to the right account.
The process is even simpler if you already have a Bank of America account, as you’ll be asked to log-in with your account, and then you only have to provide updated income information.
I submitted my application last night, and was instantly approved, with a pretty big credit line, no less!
My long term Atmos Rewards Summit Card strategy
Now that I have the Atmos Rewards Summit Card, what’s my strategy? I think the first thing to acknowledge is that the welcome bonus on this card is huge — I value Atmos Rewards points at 1.5 cents each, so 125,000 points (100,000 points plus a 25,000-point Global Companion Award) are worth around $1,875 to me. There’s no reason not to give this card a try, and see how it works out.
What about beyond that, though? At a minimum, I suspect that this is a card that I’ll keep, even if I don’t spend much on it. The annual 25,000-point Global Companion Award plus waived partner award booking fees will more than justify the annual fee for me, given how many awards I book through the Atmos Rewards program.
Beyond that, though, I’m really tempted to sort of go all-in on the Atmos Rewards program, and be loyal to that instead of American AAdvantage. I’m still on the fence, but my general thought is that:
- Spending $60,000 on the card every anniversary year would earn me a 100,000-point Global Companion Award, which is quite a great reward
- The card offers 3x points on all foreign purchases, so this is a card that I could see myself consistently using aborad
- Since the card offers one status point per $2 spent, elite status can also be earned pretty quickly at that point, and this might be the most compelling way to go for oneworld elite status
Bottom line
The Atmos Rewards Summit Card is Bank of America’s new premium credit card in the Alaska & Hawaiian Atmos Rewards ecosystem. It’s an incredibly compelling card — it’s worth signing up for given the huge welcome bonus, it’s worth keeping for the ongoing perks, and for many people, it’ll be worth spending money on.
Bank of America can be quirky with approving people for cards, but the good news is that many people should be eligible for this product, given that it’s brand new, and eligibility is unrelated to having other Atmos Rewards, Alaska, or Hawaiian cards. I just applied for the card, and was instantly approved. I’m looking forward to giving this card a spin, and figuring out what my long term strategy will be.
If you’ve applied for the Atmos Rewards Summit Card, what was your experience like?
Isn’t it easier to get one world emerald on American if you are looking at pure cc spend ?
Between the loyalty points boosts from the aa executive card , the Barclays silver (for now), the advantage hotels and aa shopping portal the spend is less on AA than on this card
Would be great to hear your thoughts on this hard for someone who likely won’t use the companion pass, won’t go for status, and puts most spend already on transferrable points card.
I have a good balance of Alaskan…err Atmos points right now but have really started getting a lot of value over last year or so on expensive paid AA flights (where as I used to save them for long haul partner business...
Would be great to hear your thoughts on this hard for someone who likely won’t use the companion pass, won’t go for status, and puts most spend already on transferrable points card.
I have a good balance of Alaskan…err Atmos points right now but have really started getting a lot of value over last year or so on expensive paid AA flights (where as I used to save them for long haul partner business flights).
Is this a churn and burn for the sign up bonus card for someone like me? Better to move some my 3x dining away from Chase to this in long run? Only thing I’m worried about is potential devalue of points coming where they’re all locked up in Atmos and can’t optimize with another transfer partner then..
@ Alec -- It's a great question, and soon I'll have another post on my general thoughts on getting more into the Atmos Rewards ecosystem (I apologize for the amount of content here, but my mind is racing about all the possibilities, and I tend to write about what interests me at a particular point).
If you're not going for status and don't value the companion award certificate, then the value of the card is...
@ Alec -- It's a great question, and soon I'll have another post on my general thoughts on getting more into the Atmos Rewards ecosystem (I apologize for the amount of content here, but my mind is racing about all the possibilities, and I tend to write about what interests me at a particular point).
If you're not going for status and don't value the companion award certificate, then the value of the card is definitely less than it would otherwise be.
Either way, the card seems worth picking up given the great incentive for doing so. I guess my main question is how much you've been using Atmos Rewards points for American flights, and also how much you spend abroad? I'm in the same camp in using a lot of these points for American flights, and it definitely makes me want to keep earning them.
Hi, if I currently have the Alaska Airline Visa card (new name that was just changed to Atmos Reward Ascent Visa Signature), if I apply for this new one, do you think they would still offer the massive sign up benefits?
Thanks in advance
@ Chris Tran -- Yep, you should be eligible for the card, including the welcome bonus!
I got an instant denial. I was not expecting that. But I did just open a Strata Elite and applied for a couple of other cards in the past weeks, however, none with BofA. I do have a ton of cards (though I imagine Ben has more), but all my other financials are in good shape (credit score, income, etc). Oh well…
@ MFK -- Sorry to hear about that. Bank of America can be a bit quirky with that at times...
Do you have a banking relationship with them? If not you should open up a checking and do some banking. I read somewhere that will help you get approved as the 3/12 rule gets relaxed to 7/12 or something like that.
It's worth calling reconsideration, or just waiting to see what comes in the mail. When I called in they said it wasn't actually a denial, even though my notice specifically said "Although we declined your application...". I was told they needed more information and the request would come in the mail, which I would need to fill out, sign, and return to BofA to complete the application. Others have noted this usually means they want...
It's worth calling reconsideration, or just waiting to see what comes in the mail. When I called in they said it wasn't actually a denial, even though my notice specifically said "Although we declined your application...". I was told they needed more information and the request would come in the mail, which I would need to fill out, sign, and return to BofA to complete the application. Others have noted this usually means they want income verification (paystub, tax return, or other verification).
Hey Ben,
Congrats on the approval! Did you get the 10k status points on signup? I'm not sure how to interpret the terms saying you'll receive it every anniversary, whether obe receives it in the 1st year.
@ TT -- The 10,000 status points are only offered on the account anniversary, so you wouldn't receive them with card opening, unfortunately.
Instant approval, thanks Lucky!
@ Izz -- Nice, congrats!
I worry about Alaska devaluing the program given how "generous" this card is. In particular, increasing partner redemption fees to drive take up of the card, and increasing redemption costs to factor the companion aspect (as BA have done). This card is only generous when paired with the current program and I see that changing in the relatively near future.
@ Chris D -- Obviously I can't say anything with certainty, but here's my take. The folks at Alaska (and in particular, at loyalty at the airline) are really, really bright. They understand the power of loyalty, and it's not like some other airlines, where they view their loyalty program as an opportunity to take advantage of customers.
The card's perks are really generous, but I don't see anything in particular that's unsustainable from Alaska's...
@ Chris D -- Obviously I can't say anything with certainty, but here's my take. The folks at Alaska (and in particular, at loyalty at the airline) are really, really bright. They understand the power of loyalty, and it's not like some other airlines, where they view their loyalty program as an opportunity to take advantage of customers.
The card's perks are really generous, but I don't see anything in particular that's unsustainable from Alaska's perspective. For example, partner redemptions aren't actually that costly for airlines (which is also why airlines have increasingly limited award space to members of their own programs -- that's probably the bigger threat to the value of miles).
So maybe I have too much faith in the folks at Alaska, but I think I know what they stand for, and what they're trying to go for. Yes, there might be a devaluation at some point, but I don't think they're trying to pull a fast one here.
Also keep in mind that this new program and card is launching at a time where Alaska is kicking off a global expansion. The airline is using these loyalty changes to make people even more interested in flying with the carrier.
I think they had to agree to not devalue the program as a condition of merger approval so I don't think they will test that anytime soon. They did have an increase in redemption rates not too long ago so some of that already happened. I've been happy with how many upgrades I've gotten as a MVP and their redemption rates have been fantastic. This year they were able to get me home early with...
I think they had to agree to not devalue the program as a condition of merger approval so I don't think they will test that anytime soon. They did have an increase in redemption rates not too long ago so some of that already happened. I've been happy with how many upgrades I've gotten as a MVP and their redemption rates have been fantastic. This year they were able to get me home early with a 15k F redemption DFW-LAX when AA wanted 28k for the same flight and as an AA Platinum Pro I was nowhere near the upgrade. I was shocked because the upgrade list said 0 available in F with a long list and I swooped in and took the last F seat for only 15k miles. I got a 75k JX J seat TPE-LAX fantastic product. I went for AA status this year as well and I think I'm done with it. I don't see the value in pushing for EXP. I renewed MVP for the year so next year with the cap removal I will shoot for titanium.
I had instant approval and a high credit limit set. Surprised as I don't have a BoA Bank account (but do have one of their cards). I was more so surprised since I was well past Chases 5/25 and have opened a few cards in the last six months churning for SUBs. One of the was the BoA KLM/AF Flying Blue Card.
Will make good use of the Foreign Purchases 3X on some upcoming...
I had instant approval and a high credit limit set. Surprised as I don't have a BoA Bank account (but do have one of their cards). I was more so surprised since I was well past Chases 5/25 and have opened a few cards in the last six months churning for SUBs. One of the was the BoA KLM/AF Flying Blue Card.
Will make good use of the Foreign Purchases 3X on some upcoming travel.
Signed up for the advance notice, so I will take the extra 5K in Atmos using the personalized email you get if you signed up.
Alaska miles (Atmos points now I guess) are great.
Is this card eligible for x3 Atmos points on Bilt renti? Previously, it was with the Alaska signature card. Trying to figure out if only the lower annual fee card would be eligible because m is more like the old signature card or if this premium one is too.
I have the same question!
@ Ted -- It's an excellent question! I've asked a contact, and I'll update this response when I hear back. :-)
@Ted I added my card in yesterday and it does! Still a bit quirky in the Bilt app (the card is titled “Alaska Airlines Premium Visa” and shows the old Chester design for the now Ascent card), but it does say 3x Alaska miles per $.
Got instant approval this morning on "Atmos Rewards Summit Visa Infinite". The only thing I did not like in the approval process is that you cannot use your existing BofA account if you already have the old Alaska Credit Card.
Also noticed today that my existing Alaska Credit Card has been rebranded as "Atmost Rewards Ascent Visa Signature".
I would add that they seem to be more generous with those that have a Bank of America deposit account. It may even be worth to open up a checking account prior to applying for this card. I think it would enhance your approval process.
@ James -- That does often seem to be the case with Bank of America. Though as someone who doesn't have an account, I've had luck even without that. Then again, I don't pick up that many Bank of America cards.