Screenshot from Alaskaair.com
Quote from Alaskaair.com
Several months back, Hawaiian and Alaska Airlines announced that they were merging. Then this week they surprised everyone by announcing a new rewards program called Atmos Rewards. Currently, it’s just Alaska Airlines that has made the transition to Atmos Rewards, with Hawaiian following suit in the next few months. So let’s break down what this new rewards program means for us!
What Can We Expect From Atmos Rewards
If you were already an Alaska Mileage member, then your account would have automatically transferred to an Atmos Rewards account as of August 20th, 2025. Just log into your Alaska account and you’ll see the update.
If you were a Hawaiian Airlines Rewards member, then that will transfer over in the fall sometime.
Now, let’s get into what makes Atmos Rewards one of the best rewards programs out there.
- Alaska Airlines was part of the Oneworld Alliance and that will continue with Atmos Rewards. This means that you’ll still have the ability to earn and redeem miles with any other airline that’s part of the Oneworld Alliance and any of their partners.
- Choose how you want to earn. This is different from any other rewards program out there. You can choose how you want to earn your points. The options are: distance traveled, price paid, segments flown. What’s even better, is that you have the option to change the way you earn one time a year. So if you know you’ll be taking a big international trip the following year that could rack up a lot of points, then you can switch the way you earn for maximum benefit.
- One of the updates I’m most excited about is the free Starlink internet that will be available for all Atmos members. I’d sign up to be a member just for that! (By the way, membership is free) This will start rolling out in 2026 and should be completed by 2027 on all their airplanes.
- Link your Lyft and Atmos account to earn 2 points for every $1 spent on everyday Lyft rides, and 3 points for every $1 spent on airport and elevated Lyft rides. To link your accounts go to alaskalyft.com
- You’ll be able to use your Atmos rewards points to book hotels, and unique travel experiences.
- With your Atmos points you’ll be able to redeem travel to over 1,000 destinations as well as with Oneworld travel partners.
- You’ll earn Atmos points every time you fly with Alaska or Hawaiian. What’s also cool is that you’ll earn points on reward flights. Typically, an awards redemption doesn’t count toward earning status points, but not with Atmos, those points will go towards earning status. And we all want status, that is what gets you free checked bags, priority boarding, and many other perks.
- Check out a quick breakdown of all the new benefits of the Atmos reward program here.
Earning Points & Status with Atmos
- Instead of earning “miles”, Atmos has switched the term to “points”.
- What Alaska Mileage called “Elite- Qualifying Miles” is now called status points.
So you earn points or status points in different ways.
Here’s a breakdown from Atmos:
Screenshot from Alaskaair.com
Atmos Rewards Credit Cards
Another way to quickly earn points and status points with Atmos is by signing up with one of their credit cards.
I personally signed up for the Atmos Ascent card which comes with a 80,000 point welcome offer when you spend $4,000 in the first 4 months. It also comes with a $99 companion pass each year. This card used to be Alaska Airlines Signature Visa card and if you currently hold this card, then it will automatically transfer you to the Atmos Ascent card and they will send you a new card once your old Alaska one expires.
With the introduction of Atmos rewards also came a new credit card offer called Atmos Summit Visa Infinite. This one comes with a $395 annual fee, but also a lot of perks and benefits. It comes with 100,000 welcome offer points when you spend $6,000 in the first 90 days. You can read all about the benefits here.
Lastly, there’s also a business card option called Atmos Rewards Visa Business card.
If you have a Hawaiian Airlines credit card, you’ll have to wait until Hawaiian officially transfers to Atmos Rewards in October to see what kind of changes are happening with their credit cards. So keep an eye out for that.
Atmos Rewards is a Win for Travelers
To summarize it all up, Atmos rewards is a win for the points and miles space. The merger between Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines was already exciting enough, but now with Atmos rewards coming out as their rewards program and seeing all it has to offer, this looks to be one of the best, if not the best, airline rewards program out there.
Plus, Alaska has already announced non-stop flights from Seattle to Europe and Asia and they have plans to expand to even more routes by 2030.
If you live on the west coast, then joining Atmos is a no brainer. And remember, joining the rewards program is free! If you really want to rack up points, then signing up for a credit card would be the next step.
I can’t wait to see where Atmos rewards take us in the next few years!
