When Alaska Airlines launched Atmos Rewards – its new loyalty program incorporating Hawaiian Airlines – one of the features it announced was something called Communities.
Coming in 2026 for the most part, details of the different Communities programs were vague at the time of the Atmos Rewards launch. More details are now available and it’ll be welcome news for those with children, expats (and others who don’t live in the US), those who can get good value redeeming Atmos Rewards points for experiences, and more.
There are two Communities already available, with four more set to be launched at some point in 2026.
Atmos Rewards Communities Already Available
Huaka‘i by Hawaiian
This Community is only for those who live in Hawaii. Community members currently get a free checked bag and discounts on inter-island flights, then later in 2026 they’ll also get 50% bonus status points and bonus points.
You can find out more details about this Community and enroll in it here.
Club 49
Similar to how Huaka‘i by Hawaiian is only for Hawaiian residents, Club 49 is only available for those who reside in Alaska. Members get free checked bags on flights within, to, and from Alaska, as well as discounts on last minute travel within Alaska, and more.
You can find out more details about this Community and enroll in it here.
Atmos Rewards Communities Coming Soon
Global Locals
This will be available for Atmos Rewards members who don’t live in the US. They’ll earn 20% more status points on flights that begin and/or end outside of the US.
Families On The Go
If you book award flights using Atmos Rewards for one or more children, this might be the best Community for you. That’s because you’ll get a 20% rebate on award flights booked for children under the age of 12, as well as a 20% discount on experiences that are child-friendly when redeeming points via Atmos Rewards Unlocked.
You’ll also earn bonus points and bonus status points when visiting select destinations, with increasingly higher bonuses the more eligible locations you visit.
Culinary Journeys
For those who enjoy food and drink experiences, this might be the best option for you. You’ll earn bonus points and bonus status points when traveling to select destinations known for their food, earning higher rewards with each location.
You’ll also get a 20% discount on food and drink experiences booked with points through Atmos Rewards Unlocked.
Active Escapes
Last but not least, there’ll be a Community aimed at those who like to experience nature. Those who are part of the Active Escapes Community will be rewarded with bonus points and bonus status points when flying to select locations known for their nature, with increasing rewards for each one that they visit.
As with some of the other Communities, they’ll also get a 20% discount on Atmos Rewards Unlocked experiences, this time for experiences aimed at those who are outdoorsy.
Quick Thoughts
This is a smart way for Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines to get people more engaged with the Atmos Rewards loyalty program, as well as to keep them engaged on an ongoing basis.
For those who live in Hawaii or Alaska, the existing Huaka‘i by Hawaiian and Club 49 Communities respectively could well make the most sense due to their benefits.
Some of the benefits of other Communities are compelling though. For those of us who no longer live in the US (or never have), joining the Global Locals Community and being able to earn 20% additional status points on flights to and/or from locations outside of the US could add up nicely, especially if those are earned on award flights too (which I’m assuming they would).
For someone like Nick who has two children who’ll be under the age of 12 for many more years, getting a 20% rebate on their award flights as part of the Families On The Go Community could be extremely lucrative.
For the resident foodie Greg, I can imagine him selecting the Culinary Journeys Community, while I could picture Tim choosing either the Culinary Journeys Community (due to his wine experience), or Active Escapes (due to his enjoyment of outdoor activities).
No matter what, it seems like there could be something here for everyone. Even if you don’t have a particular passion for, say, culinary adventures, you might find that the eligible locations where you can earn bonus points and bonus status points fit in with your own travels. Considering you can earn status points on award flights, being able to earn even more status points for those flights will make it worth registering for one of these free Communities.
Something important to be aware of is that once you’ve joined an Atmos Rewards Community, you have to remain in it for a full year. After that time, you can switch to a different Community, retaining the ability to switch to a different one each year.
Atmos Rewards members will have to actively select a Community to join – this won’t be done for you automatically. We’ll either republish this post once the other Communities are available for selection, or we’ll publish an entirely new post. Either way, we’ll make sure readers are aware once the additional four Communities can be joined.
I have to give Kudos to the Atmos Rewards program is this is an innovative feature that seems like it’ll have genuinely rewarding features, although it does remain to be seen quite how rewarding some of those features will be. In addition to the features listed above, each Community will also get access to flight sales, benefits on the day of travel, and other offers from partners.
Question
Which of these Communities looks most appealing to you? Let us know in the comments below.
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It will be interesting to see how the Active Escapes works. Most of the travel industry isn’t very good at outdoorsy (e.g. thinking all-inclusive resorts are outdoorsy). But this is intriguing.
Agreed. Eco-tourism is watered down to the point that it’s typically meaningless. Other outdoorsy stuff is usually glamping, ect.
“This will be available for Atmos Rewards members who don’t live in the US. They’ll earn 20% more status points on flights that begin and/or end outside of the US.”
Between that and the Atmos Summit earning 3x on foreign transactions the program really seems to be favoring people out of the country a lot.
Do we know if the communities are applicable to awards already booked, like if I have a family trip ticketed for later in the year, would I get the 20% rebate, or is it for new bookings? This looks like a huge benefit for people who travel with children.
Details on Communities are limited at the moment, so we don’t know that yet I’m afraid. I suspect it’ll be for bookings made after joining the Community rather than backdated, otherwise I’m the future sometime could take advantage of the 20% rebate, then switch their community to one that’d earn them bonus status points.