Alaska’s Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® card review

The long-awaited Alaska Airlines premium card is now here. The new Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® card costs $395 per year and offers several truly innovative perks. While the card may not be for everyone, I think many people will find it compelling. And, regardless of how you feel about the card’s long-term value, there’s no question that the welcome bonus is worth pursuing.

Note: If you joined the waiting list last year, check your email. By applying via the email within 14 days, you’ll get 5,000 extra points on top of the public 100K welcome offer.

Offer Details

Card Offer and Details

Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® Card ⓘ $1047 1st Yr Value Estimate25K Global Companion Fare valued at $250 Click to learn about first year value estimates 100K points + 25K Companion Award Non-AffiliateThis is NOT an affiliate offer. We always present the best offer even when it means less revenue for Frequent Miler 100k points + 25K global companion award after $6K spend in 90 days $395 Annual Fee Learn more Alternate Offer: Those who joined the waitlist can earn an extra 5,000 points by applying through an emailed link. Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. Recent better offer: None FM Mini Review: Atmos points are quite valuable, and this could be a great option for Alaska / Hawaiian customers and those interested in elite status. Click here for our complete card review Earning rate: 3X Alaska Airlines ✦ 3x dining ✦ 3x foreign transactions ✦ 1X elsewhere Base: 1X (1.3%) Dine: 3X (3.9%) Brand: 3X (3.9%) Card Info: Visa Infinite issued by Bank of America. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Big spend bonus: 100K global companion award fare after $60K in cardmember year Noteworthy perks: Annual global 25K companion fare (cardmember year) ✦ 10K status points each cardmember year ✦ free same day changes ✦ 2 full-day lounge passes each calendar quarter (includes up to two children) ✦ 2 wifi passes each calendar quarter ✦ Waived partner booking fees ✦ $50 credit for delays or cancellations of over 2 hrs ✦ Free first checked bag on both Hawaiian and Alaska flights (+ up to six companions) ✦ Priority Boarding (up to six companions) ✦ 10% bonus on earned miles with eligible BOA account ✦ Earn 1 status point/$2 spent ✦ $120 TSA PreCheck/Global Entry credit ✦ 2 free signature cocktails/lounge visit

This is a fantastic welcome offer. 100,000 points alone would be noteworthy, but the offer also includes a 25,000-point companion award fare. This means that you can book an award for two people and get up to 25,000 points off the cost of the second passenger. If you’re confident that you’ll be able to use that companion award fare for full value, then the welcome bonus will be worth 125,000 points to you. We’ve previously found that Alaska Miles (now Atmos points) are worth, on average, 1.5 cents each. That means the welcome offer is worth, on average, $1,875 for those who fully utilize the companion award fare.

Atmos points can be used to book flights on Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines, as well as flights on their many partners. Personally, I’ve received excellent value (far more than 1.5 cents per point) from Alaska miles in the past year by using them for business-class AA flights to/from Europe for as few as 45,000 miles each way, and for short-distance AA flights for as little as 4,500 miles each way.

Card Perks

Point earning

• Earn 3X points per dollar on the following:
  • Alaska Airlines
  • Hawaiian Airlines
  • Dining
  • Foreign purchases
  • Pay rent through Bilt Rewards (incurs 3% fee)
• Earn 1X points per dollar for all other spend
• Earn a 10% rewards bonus on all points earned from card purchases if you have an eligible Bank of America® account.

Points sharing

Share your points with up to ten additional Atmos™ Rewards members.

• Only primary cardholders of the Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® card can set up and manage a sharing network.
• You can invite any Atmos™ Rewards member to join your network as long as they are not already part of another sharing network.
• Points transfers are bidirectional — meaning either party in a link can send points to the other. Transfers are initiated by the sender and are not automatic or recurring.
• There’s no set minimum or maximum per transfer, nor are there limits on the number of transactions.

Partner award booking fee waiver

When booking partner airlines with Atmos points, Alaska Airlines usually charges a booking fee of $12.50 per person, per direction. With this card, that fee is waived. Passengers are still responsible for any applicable taxes and partner-imposed surcharges on award tickets.

Global Companion Awards

• Global 25K Companion Award: Every year on your account anniversary, receive a Global 25K Companion Award, worth up to 25,000 points off a published award ticket.
• Global 100K Companion Award: When you spend $60,000 or more on purchases within an anniversary year, you will receive a Global 100K Companion Award, worth up to 100,000 points off a published award ticket.
• Global Companion Award Details:
  • Cardholder does not need to be traveling: You can use your Global Companion Award to book for any two travelers of your choice.
  • Applies to all flight awards bookable online, including partner awards: Global Companion Awards can be applied to any award booking available on AlaskaAir.com, including flights on Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, and oneworld® global partners. Award travel space is limited and subject to certain restrictions, including blackout dates and other capacity controls.
  • Must pay fees with your Atmos Rewards Summit card: Taxes, fees, and surcharges must be paid using your Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® card.
  • No residual value: If the companion’s award fare is less than the Global Companion Award value (either 25,000 points or 100,000 points), the unused value is forfeited.
  • Unlimited top-off: If the companion ticket costs more than the Global Companion Award value, you pay the additional points beyond the Global Companion Award value at checkout.
  • Max 1 per booking: You cannot combine multiple Global Companion Awards on a single booking.
  • One year to book, longer to fly: You have one year from issuance to apply your Global Companion Award. You can book travel for later, as long as the booking happens before the expiration date.
  • You can cancel and rebook: If you need to make a change to a booking before travel, you can cancel and get back the Global Companion Award (with its original expiration date) to use for another booking. If the Global Companion Award has expired by this time, you will not be able to use it.

Elite status benefits

• Receive 10,000 status points each account anniversary year.
• Earn 1 status point for every $2 spent on net purchases (exclusive of any fees, such as the annual fee) [Note that this compares favorably to other Atmos cards that offer 1 status point per $3 spent]

Alaska Flight benefits

• Free checked bag: Any cardholder with an open account at the time of travel and up to 6 guests traveling on the same reservation may each check 1 bag free of charge on qualifying reservations when you pay for your flight with your Atmos Rewards Ascent card.
• Preferred boarding: Cardholders and up to 6 guests traveling on the same reservation may board the plane in group C before general boarding and after Atmos™ Rewards elite status members, and oneworld® Alliance elite members, customers in First Class or Premium Class seating and pre-boarding groups. Preferred boarding is only available on flights operated by Alaska Airlines, Horizon Air, or Skywest. To get this benefit, you must pay for flight with your Atmos™ Rewards Summit card and include the primary cardholder’s Atmos™ Rewards number on the reservation.
• Wi-Fi passes: Receive 8 Alaska Airlines single-use flight Wi-Fi passes annually (2 per calendar quarter). Passes will be credited to the primary cardholder’s Atmos™ Rewards account on January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1 and are valid through the end of the quarter in which they are issued.
• Same-day Change Fee Waiver: Save up to $50 per change for same-day confirmed Alaska Airlines flight changes. The primary cardholder must request the change prior to the departure of your original flight and must keep the same origin, destination, thru, and connection cities. Co-terminal changes are not allowed via self-service. Contact reservations for additional flight change options. The new desired flight must depart on the same calendar day as their originally scheduled flight. Saver fares are not eligible for same day confirmed changes.
• $50 Instant Travel Delay Credit: Receive a $50 Instant Travel Delay Credit for flight cancellations or departure delays of 2 hours+. To qualify, the primary cardholder must be traveling on the affected reservation, include their Atmos™ Rewards number on the reservation, and purchase the ticket directly on AlaskaAir.com using their Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® card. Vouchers must be used within 48 hours of issuance. Vouchers can be redeemed at any US merchant location including but not limited to restaurants, clothing and retail stores, grocery and pharmacy stores, department stores and more. You can find the full list of eligible merchant types here.
• 20% Inflight Rebate: Receive a 20% rebate in the form of a statement credit on all onboard Alaska Airlines food, beverage, and Wi-Fi purchases when you pay with your card.
• Global Entry® or TSA PreCheck®: Receive up to $120 in statement credits for either Global Entry® or TSA PreCheck® every four years.

Alaska lounge benefits

• Alaska Lounge Passes: Receive 8 Alaska Lounge passes annually (2 per calendar quarter) credited to the primary cardholder’s Atmos™ Rewards account on January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1. Lounge passes are valid until the end of the quarter in which they are issued. Each pass admits one adult and up to two accompanied children (under 21) for same-day access to all Alaska Lounge locations. Partner lounges not included.
• Exclusive Lounge Bar Program: Receive a complimentary signature cocktail or elevated bar offering every time you visit an Alaska Lounge location. Through 2026, cardholders may receive up to 2 complimentary signature cocktails or a selection from the elevated bar menu upon showing their Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® card (physical card or digital wallet) to the lounge bartender. Availability subject to change at any time, may not be available at all Alaska Lounge locations. Alaska Lounge policies regarding alcohol consumption are subject to lounge concierge’s assessment. See Alaska Lounge Policies & Rules for additional information.

Rental car benefits

• • Avis Car Rental Benefits: Receive complimentary Avis President’s Club® membership and save up to 30% off base rates on qualifying rentals with Avis®
  • National Car Rental: Complimentary Emerald Club® Executive level membership and save up to 25% when you rent with National® Car Rental
  • Hertz Gold Plus Rewards: Enjoy special savings, faster service, extra hours on returns and Hertz Gold Plus Rewards bonus points
  • Primary Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver 

Hotel benefits

• Transfer points to hotel programs:
  • Marriott Bonvoy 1:1
  • Preferred Hotels 1:2
  • Wyndham Rewards 1:1
  • Shangri-La Circle 8:1
  • IHG One Rewards 1:1 through early November
• Visa Infinite Luxury Hotel Collection
• Hotel Privileges Benefit: Enjoy enhanced benefits with Relais & Châteaux Hotel Benefits
• Global Hotel Collection

Travel protections

• Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver (Primary)
• Travel Accident Insurance: $1,000,000 maximum of accidental death and dismemberment coverage
• Trip Cancellation/Trip Interruption: Up to $2,500 per trip maximum
• Lost Luggage Reimbursement: $3,000 per trip maximum; if you live in New York, the maximum is $2,000 per bag
• Baggage Delay Reimbursement: When your checked baggage is delayed for more than six hours, and for each additional 24-hour period beyond the initial baggage delay, you can receive $100 per day for a maximum of 5 days.
• Emergency Evacuation and Transportation/ Repatriation of Remains Coverage: $100,000 maximum
• Trip Delay Reimbursement: 6 hour trip delay, max $500 reimbursement per ticket.

Purchase & Security Protections

• Extended Warranty Protection: Extend warranty by 1 year. Max claim = $10,000
• Return Protection: Up to $300 for returns within 90 days of purchase
• Purchase Security: Protects you if your purchase is stolen or damaged within the first 90 days. Max claim = $10,000

• Personal Identity Theft: Provides reimbursement up $15,000.00 for covered expenses you incur to restore your identity

Other Visa Infinite® benefits

• Visa Dining Collection OpenTable Benefit: Enjoy preferred reservations at participating restaurants in select cities in the US, Canada and Mexico.
• Concierge: Count on your Concierge to find tickets, book dinner reservations, and more.

My Take

It’s so refreshing to see a premium card that costs under $500 and isn’t loaded with coupons. Instead, the Summit card comes with truly unique perks, such as 3x points on international spend, Global Companion Awards, same-day change fee waivers, signature cocktails in their lounge, and more. Here I’ll give my take on a number of the card’s key benefits:

• Earn 3x for foreign purchases: This is almost too good to be true for those who spend a significant amount of time outside the U.S. On the other hand, when traveling, I tend to spend most of my money on transportation, lodging, and restaurants. These are all categories where I can earn 3x or more with other cards.
• Global Companion Awards (GCAs): Get a 25K GCA automatically each year, and a 100K GCA after $60K membership-year spend. These are actually discounts off the award cost for the second passenger on any award booking. For anyone who travels regularly with a companion or books awards for two or more other people, these should be compelling. But there are significant limitations. If you typically book cheaper awards (such as 4,500 one-way AA flights), it will be challenging to utilize the value of a 25K certificate fully. And the 100K GCA will be much tougher. A couple of times in the past few months, I booked awards for my wife and me that cost 45,000 points per person. It would have been a waste to use a 100K GCA on these flights. Maybe I could have booked a round-trip for 90,000 per person. That way I could have gotten 90,000 points of value from a 100K GCA. Regardless, my point is that it won’t necessarily be easy to always get 100K value from a 100K GCA. In my case, I’ll probably value the 25K GCA at full point value, but the 100K one for far less.
• Points sharing: The ability to share points with friends is a great perk. Yes, Hawaiian Airlines cards already offered this, but I was afraid it would go away once Hawaiian Airlines is folded into the Atmos Rewards program. Fortunately, all you need is this Summit card to keep sharing long-term.
• Partner award booking fee waiver: I love this. Even though this will only save $12.50 per person, per direction of travel, it will make booking back-up flights and other likely-to-cancel flights with Alaska miles Atmos points easier and cheaper.
• Same-day Change Fee Waiver: I don’t fly Alaska often enough to care much about this, but it’s definitely a nice-to-have!
• $50 Instant Travel Delay Credit: This is an excellent perk for frequent Alaska flyers. I wish Delta had this! I don’t wish AA had this, though, because it would drive them out of business.
• Alaska Lounge Passes (2 per calendar quarter): This is the one perk that I’d be unhappy about if I flew Alaska often enough to care. 2 passes per quarter is hardly sufficient for most frequent flyers. On the other hand, I appreciate that they won’t be flooding the lounges with card owners.
• Elite earnings: Get 10K status points each year, plus earn 1 status point per $2 spent on the card, with no cap. Both of these are welcome benefits for anyone interested in Atmos elite status. For the record, here are the status points needed for each level of status:
  • Silver: 20K
  • Gold: 40K
  • Platinum: 75K (moving to 80K in 2026)
  • Titanium: 100K (moving to 135K in 2026)

This is obviously a great card for anyone who flies Alaska often. It’s also a great card for anyone who spends a lot outside the United States (thanks to the card earning 3x on foreign spend). Additionally, it’s a good card for anyone interested in spending their way to Alaska elite status.

But what about everyone else? What if the only benefits you’ll use are the card’s Global Companion Awards, Points sharing, and Partner award booking fee waiver? In that case, I think this card’s $395 annual fee is hard to justify. I mean, of course, you should get the card for the welcome bonus, but then you should probably cancel when the second-year annual fee comes due. I don’t think that those few perks are worth enough to justify that $395 fee.

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