Best Alaska Atmos Rewards Credit Card: Which Of The Three Is Right For You?

Link: Learn more about the Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite^® Credit Card, Atmos™ Rewards Ascent Visa Signature® credit card, or Atmos™ Rewards Visa Signature® Business Card 

Atmos Rewards is the loyalty program of Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines, and it has three primary co-branded credit cards, all issued by Bank of America.

All three of these cards — the Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite^® Credit Card, Atmos™ Rewards Ascent Visa Signature® credit card, and Atmos™ Rewards Visa Signature® Business Card — have big welcome bonuses, and are worth giving a try, in my opinion.

If you’re considering picking up one or more of these cards, in this post I’d like to compare the cards, and discuss which is the best option. Let me say upfront that there could be merit to picking up more than one of these cards. So first let’s cover the basics of the three cards, and then I’ll talk about how I’d go about deciding which to apply for.

The three Alaska Atmos Rewards credit cards compared

Bank of America and Alaska Air Group partner on issuing three co-branded credit cards. They all have Atmos Rewards branding, with two being personal cards, and one being a business card. To start, let me state that the business card and mid-range personal card are very similar, while the premium personal card has a completely different set of benefits.

Atmos Rewards Summit Card basics

The Atmos Rewards Summit Card has a $395 annual fee, and offers the biggest welcome bonus of all the cards, by far. While this card has the highest annual fee of the three cards, it offers an unbelievable value proposition. Perks include the following, among other things:

• A lucrative rewards structure, including 3x points on all foreign purchases (an incredible bonus category), plus 3x points on dining
• The fastest pathway to Atmos Rewards elite status — receive an anniversary boost of 10,000 status points, plus earn one status point for every $2 spent
• The ability to earn Global Companion Awards — an anniversary 25,000-point Global Companion Award just for having the card, plus a 100,000-point Global Companion Award for spending $60,000 on the card per anniversary year
• Up to eight Alaska Lounge passes and up to eight Alaska inflight Wi-Fi passes per year, in the form of two of each pass per quarter
• Waived fees, including waived $12.50 partner award booking fees, and waived same day change fees on Alaska flights
• Upgrade priority on Alaska & Hawaiian flights, so that comes in handy for anyone with elite status
• The ability to share points with up to 10 other members at no cost (and vice versa)
• Excellent protection on travel purchases, including primary rental car coverage, and travel protection for delayed flights and more

Read a detailed review of the Atmos Rewards Summit Card.

Atmos Rewards Ascent Card basics

The Atmos Rewards Ascent Card has a $95 annual fee, and has a generous welcome bonus for a card with such a reasonable annual fee. This is a great option for a low fee card that still offers considerable value for someone who flies Alaska or Hawaiian with any frequency. Some of the card’s perks include the following:

• Some useful bonus categories, including 3x points on Alaska & Hawaiian purchases, and 2x points on gas, EV charging stations, local transit (including ride share), cable, and select streaming services
• The ability to have spending count toward elite status — earn one status point for every $3 spent
• A $99 Companion Fare after spending $6,000 on the card per anniversary year
• A first checked bag free and 20% savings on inflight purchases on Alaska & Hawaiian flights
• Preferred boarding on Alaska flights

Read a detailed review of the Atmos Rewards Ascent Card.

Atmos Rewards Business Card basics

The Atmos Rewards Business Card has a minimum of a $95 annual fee ($70 for the account and $25 per card), and is the only business card in the portfolio. The card also has a lucrative welcome bonus. Perks on the card including the following, among other things:

• Some useful bonus categories, including 3x points on Alaska & Hawaiian purchases, and 2x points on gas, EV charging stations, local transit (including ride share), and shipping
• The ability to have spending count toward elite status — earn one status point for every $3 spent
• A $99 Companion Fare after for spending $6,000 on the card per anniversary year
• A first checked bag free and 20% savings on inflight purchases on Alaska & Hawaiian flights
• Preferred boarding on Alaska flights

Read a detailed review of the Atmos Rewards Business Card.

How to pick an Alaska Atmos Rewards credit card

If you’re trying to decide which of the three Atmos Rewards credit cards to apply for, how should you go about deciding? Let me share how I’d go about deciding which of the cards to apply for.

Atmos Rewards credit cards aren’t mutually exclusive

One important thing to understand is that eligibility for the three Atmos Rewards credit cards, including the welcome bonuses, isn’t mutually exclusive. So you could pick up multiple Atmos Rewards credit cards. Beyond the great welcome bonuses, there’s potentially merit to holding onto one or more of these cards long term.

If you’re eligible for business credit card, personally I’d probably initially go the route of applying for the Atmos Rewards Business Card in addition to the Atmos Rewards Ascent Card or Atmos Rewards Summit Card. After all, it’s often easier to get approved for one business card and one personal card from an issuer in a short timeframe, rather than two personal cards.

Regardless, the point is that you’re potentially eligible for all three of the cards, so there are lots of rewards to earn. For example, I’ve shared my experience getting approved for the Atmos Rewards Summit Card, and also my experience getting approved for the Atmos Rewards Business Card, in a short timeframe.

The Atmos Rewards Ascent & Business are very similar

The Atmos Rewards Ascent Card and Atmos Rewards Business Card are very similar products in terms of their welcome offers, annual fees, etc. The primary difference is that the personal card earns 2x points on cable and select streaming services, while the business card earns 2x points on shipping.

The other difference is that authorized users are free on the personal card, while they cost $25 each on the business card. So if you want to add authorized users (as they do receive some benefits when flying on Alaska), then the personal card is a bit better.

But big picture, there’s not a huge difference in terms of the rewards of the two cards, aside from one being a personal card and one being a business card. Let me also mention that there could be merit to having both of the cards in the long run. For example, if you value the ability to earn the $99 Companion Fare, you could earn two per year if you have both cards.

The Atmos Rewards Ascent & Summit are totally different

While the Atmos Rewards mid-range personal and business cards are very similar, there are huge differences between the two personal cards. I’d argue that the Atmos Rewards Ascent Card and Atmos Rewards Summit Card are primarily complements, rather than substitutes.

The Atmos Rewards Ascent Card is the card you’re going to want if you just fly Alaska or Hawaiian every once in a while, and want a card with a reasonable annual fee and a great welcome bonus. The card can be worth spending $6,000 on annually to earn a $99 Companion Fare, but I’d say that’s the extent to which it’s worth spending on the card.

In the case of the Atmos Rewards Summit Card, I’d say it’s a different story. The card has a higher annual fee, but has very strong perks. That being said, you need to be someone who maximizes credit card rewards to get full value out of it. So I’d say the card is great if you’re pursuing status with Atmos Rewards, or if you frequently redeem Atmos Rewards points.

The Atmos Rewards Summit is largely a no-brainer

The way I view it, the decision of whether to apply for the Atmos Rewards Summit Card should basically be made independently of whether you decide to pick up one of the other cards. The card has a special value proposition, with a unique set of considerations:

• Want to earn elite status with the Atmos Rewards program with credit card spending? Then you should have this card, since it offers the most status points for spending
• Do you actually want to earn Atmos Rewards points for spending? Then you should have this card for its superior rewards structure, given the 3x points bonus categories
• Are you an Atmos Rewards elite member who values complimentary upgrades? Then you should have this card, since it offers upgrade priority
• Do you redeem a lot of Atmos Rewards points? Then you should have this card for the waived partner redemption fee, and the Global Companion Awards (both for having the card and for spending)

Bottom line

Alaska’s Atmos Rewards program has three co-branded credit cards from Bank of America. This includes two personal cards and one business card. There’s potentially merit to getting multiple of them, since the cards (including the welcome offers) aren’t mutually exclusive.

The Atmos Rewards Ascent Card and Atmos Rewards Business Card are largely very similar, with the primary difference being that one is a personal card and one is a business card. Meanwhile the Atmos Rewards Summit Card is unique in the portfolio, offering some incredible perks that Alaska loyalists and points maximizers will appreciate. The card has the highest annual fee, but also potentially the most upside.

What’s your take on which Atmos Rewards credit card represents the best value?