Is it just me, or does it feel like participating in miles and points accidentally gives one a case study in marketing they never asked for? We see promotions come and go, then come and go again. We see airline mergers, rewards program overhauls, and learn a myriad of non-word terms that were surely invented around conference tables, scribbled on dry-erase boards in high-rise buildings, mind maps, and pitch decks. We the people market then get to use these words in real life and see how they feel.
Some of these words frustrate more than they facilitate, though. I remember getting used to the “Avios” term when everyone else was simply referring to their points as either “points” or “miles”, for example. And Marriott had us all smirking a bit when they committed so heavily to alliteration with their introduction of the “Bonvoy” program (with “Bonvoy Bevy” standing out the most awkwardly). Then, more recently, Chase introduced The Edit by Chase Travelâ„ , and our team spent a little time poking fun at the awkward, almost negative connotation of the word.
But nothing tickled our funny bone quite like “Atmos”. As I edited the podcasts relating to Alaska’s new program changes, I lost count of how many times Greg used “Atmos” as a stand-in for “At most…” Luckily, the thing about branding is… at the end of the day, the main difference between a bad name and a useful one is time. Heinz doesn’t scream “edible” to me, but I don’t give it a second thought as I buy ketchup. Perhaps Atmos will last long enough to become a natural part of miles and points vernacular, too. The Heinz Ketchup of miles and points?
This week on the Frequent Miler blog…
7 Big Atmos Oddities (Alaska’s new rewards program) | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep320 | 8-22-25 | Podcast
This episode is all about the 7 things we find kind of odd (although not necessarily bad) about Alaska’s new rewards program, “Atmos”. Most of these oddities are actually fairly positive, and four of these oddities pertain to the Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® card specifically. This episode also rehashes Nick’s interesting experience with an Etihad award cancellation, which we discuss more below as well.
How we bought Hyatt points cheaply, an upgrade you don’t want, and more (Nick’s JetBlue 25 for 25 update)
Nick and his family of four decided to go after JetBlue’s 25 for 25 promotion, which could mean he ends up with more than 1.4 million JetBlue points for 582,000 Membership Rewards points. This recap post is where Nick has been updating readers on his progress towards that goal.
This week, he shared a few tips for the Hyatt Regency Boston Harbor (which is practically becoming his home away from home), especially for anyone with Globalist status. Firstly, be prepared to have the folks at the front desk remove your parking fees, which are supposed to be free for Globalists staying on award stays, but may be charged anyway. Secondly, the standard upgrade seems to be a harbor view room, but Nick and his family actually preferred the airport view rooms because the former was more exposed to the summer sun and got warm.
The juiciest part of Nick’s update, though, is the nerve-racking situation he had with a Hertz rental. The system was down when he arrived to pick up his car, so he had to take a car without it being officially registered as “returned” from the last renter. This gave him some extra anxiety on top of the usual Hertz anxiety. Luckily, we’ve not yet heard that he’s been hauled off to jail for stealing a Hertz car.
Chase Sapphire Reserve: New 125K Welcome Offer
The Chase Sapphire Reserve card just came out with a welcome offer of 125,000 Ultimate Rewards points after spending $6,000 on purchases within the first 3 months. Some (like Tim) may think this is a favorable offer over the recent offer of 100K points and a $500 one-time use certificate on Chase Travelâ„ . What do you think?
Alaska’s Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® card review
The new Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® card costs $395 per year and spices things up a little with some “oddities” that we’re not mad about. At a time when other premium cards seem to be moving towards higher annual fees and a fatiguing amount of “coupons” which require work to make valuable, it’s refreshing to see a premium card offer valuable perks you don’t have to work so hard for. 3x points on international spend is a big one, then there’s also Global Companion Awards, same-day change fee waivers, and even signature cocktails in their lounge.
Alaska launches new Atmos Rewards program…and it’s actually pretty good
Alaska has launched its new “Atmos Rewards” program, and while we all low-key hate the name, we feel much better about the program itself, with a few things we find downright impressive. At least it feels like they made a real effort to create a program with user preferences in mind. For one, they’ve decided to do something truly unique and innovative in the space, allowing members to choose how they earn their points (and status points), either by distance, segment, or ticket price. This is an impressively attentive decision that we appreciate, and that seems obvious now that someone’s done it. Secondly, and just as unheard of, top-tier members will get complimentary international business class upgrades. Details like this have not gone unnoticed!
Adventures with Etihad Guest: “Fixing” and cancelling JetBlue awards
Nick learned a lot about Etihad Guest recently. First, he discovered a glitch with the lack of birthdate on reservations made via Etihad Guest for JetBlue flights forced him to either check in in person or resolve via chat ahead of time. Then, he learned what happens when you cancel a JetBlue-operated Etihad Guest award ticket. As is the case with lots of Nick’s posts, there’s a lot of math to contend with here, but this time simply because he attempted to figure out how he ended up with more miles refunded than he’d expected – a good problem. The result seems a bit inconclusive, but in short, Nick only got a ~25% penalty instead of the expected 50% penalty, and he’s still not sure why. If this was a mistake, that’s one thing, but if the penalties really aren’t as serious as he’d thought, should he give Etihad Guest more thought in general?
$900 Platinum card. Worth it? | Coffee Break Ep67 | 8-19-25
We’ve heard rumors that the Amex Platinum and Amex Business Platinum cards are both getting an increased annual fee (to $900) and other changes to boot. We know you love our speculations, so in this episode, Greg and Nick talk about whether or not the rumored new cards would be worth their rumored new annual fee.
Stacking Chase Instacart deals
If you have multiple (eligible) Chase cards in your household, Greg’s got some tips to help you save on groceries delivered right to your door by stacking Instacart deals.
Which hotel credit card is the most rewarding for spending?
This is a beefy post to help you analyze spending on your hotel-branded cards, thinking about it from multiple different angles. For instance, which hoel-branded card gives the best return on your spend when you’re doing all your spending in category bonuses? How about when doing all non-bonused spend? And which card wins? Spoiler alert – Tim declares the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card the star for spend with an honorable mention for the Wyndham Earner Business card, especially for bonused spend (gas and utilities.)
That’s it for this week at Frequent Miler. Keep your eye on this week’s last chance deals to scoop them up before they’re gone.
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Hi Carrie, fun fact about the origin of Atmos, according to ChatGPT:
“The word “Atmos” comes from the ancient Greek word “ἄτμος” (átmos), which means “vapor,” “steam,” or “breath.”
* It’s the root of “atmosphere” (literally “vapor sphere”), coined in the 17th century to describe the gaseous envelope around Earth.
* In modern branding and technology, “Atmos” is often used as shorthand for atmosphere to evoke immersion, expansiveness, or surrounding presence. For example, Dolby Atmos refers to an audio technology designed to create a 3D “atmospheric” sound experience.
So its origin is Greek, but its modern use is tied to the idea of surrounding environment or immersive presence.”
I’m curious how Dolby feels about “Atmos” being used as the name of a rewards program. Since it is a Greek word, I guess you cannot copyright that name.
I guess if they were going to use Greek for the name of their new program, it’s less confusing than calling themselves “Delta Rewards”.