Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards Program Review

Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards Review Summary

Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards is the 1st best frequent flyer program for 2026, according to WalletHub’s review. Some of Atmos Rewards’ biggest strengths include points worth an average of 1.47 cents apiece, lots of bonus points for Atmos members, and many earning options.

Below, you can find all the important details of the Atmos Rewards program, including its status levels and perks, as well as how to earn and redeem points. You can also see how Atmos Rewards stacks up against other popular frequent flyer programs.

Atmos Rewards Review Scorecard

Atmos Rewards Snapshot

How to Earn Atmos Rewards Points

WalletHub Rating for "Earning Policies": 87% (13.00 / 15 points)

Atmos Rewards members earn points for making purchases through Alaska Airlines and its partners. Below is a list of the types of transactions that accrue points, as well as the amount they award.

Transactions That Earn Atmos Rewards points

• 1 Atmos Rewards point per mile flown: Alaska Airlines flights and flights on partner airlines.
• 1 - 3 Atmos Rewards points per $1 spent: Purchases on an Alaska Airlines credit card.
• 1 - 2 Atmos Rewards points per $1 spent: Stays at hotel partners like IHG, Marriott and Alaska Airlines Hotels.
• 250 - 10,000 Atmos Rewards points per night: Stays at hotel partners like Rocketmiles, Coast Hotels, Choice, IHG, Best Western and Alaska Airlines Hotels.
• 1 - 2 Atmos Rewards points per $1 spent: Cruises with Alaska Hawaiian Cruises.
• 1,250 Atmos Rewards points per rental: Car rentals from partners like Avis and Budget.
• 1 - 3 Atmos Rewards points per $1 spent: Car trips booked on Lyft.
• 5 Atmos Rewards points per $1 spent: Purchases with Atmos Rewards Dining (plus a bonus of 500 points on the first meal).
• 0.5+ Atmos Rewards points per $1 spent: Purchases from 850+ stores through Atmos Rewards Shopping (earning rate varies by store).

Atmos Rewards partners with a few other merchants, such as 1-800-Flowers.com, Foodland, Teleflora and Harry&David to offer points, too. In addition, you may be able to find special deals on Atmos Rewards flights on the Alaska Airlines website. Such deals might let you spend fewer points than usual on a reward booking or earn more than usual on a regular booking.

Other Key Things to Know About Earning Atmos Rewards Points

Earning limitations: Alaska Airlines does not specify a maximum number of points you can earn per ticket.

Retroactive flight credit for members: Atmos Rewards members can get credited for points from any Alaska Airlines flight taken in the past 12 months if their frequent flyer number was not on the reservation (as long as they were a member at the time).

Retroactive flight credit for non-members: New Atmos Rewards members can get credited for points from any Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines flight taken in the past 12 months before becoming a member.

How Much Are Atmos Rewards Points Worth?

WalletHub Rating for "Rewards Value": 80% (16.01 / 20 points)

Atmos Rewards points are worth 1.47 cents each, on average, according to WalletHub’s research. That means you need about 25,170 points to get a free flight, based on the average domestic fare of $370.

Below, you can check out how many Atmos Rewards points you’ll need for some popular round-trip routes, on average.

• New York to Seattle: 42,946 points (or $631.30)
• Los Angeles to Seattle: 28,354 points (or $416.81)
• Chicago to Seattle: 34,374 points (or $505.30)

How to Redeem Atmos Rewards Points

WalletHub Rating for "Redemption Policies": 97% (19.48 / 20 points)

Other Key Things to Know About Redeeming Atmos Rewards Points

• There are no booking blackout dates, but Alaska Airlines cannot guarantee the availability of award seats on any flight.
• You can book a flight with points up to 331 days before departure.
• There is no short-notice booking fee.
• Alaska Airlines allows one layover/stopover on one-way reward flights, and two on round-trip flights. Flights with stopovers can only be booked over the phone.
• There is no award-ticket redeposit/cancellation fee that applies to all changes made more than 24 hours after booking on Main and First Class fares.

Where Can Atmos Rewards Points Take You?

WalletHub Rating for "Destination Coverage": 52% (12.97 / 25 points)

Alaska Airlines flies to 108 U.S. destinations and 25 international destinations. In addition, Alaska Airlines has 14 partner airlines from the oneworld Alliance and 18 non-alliance partners, which collectively visit 536 U.S. destinations and 2,075 international destinations.

You can’t directly transfer points from the loyalty programs of these partners to Atmos Rewards or vice versa. For example, you can’t turn Atmos Rewards points into American Airlines miles. However, you can earn and redeem Atmos Rewards points on flights with all Alaska Airlines partners.

Atmos Rewards Status Levels

WalletHub Rating for "Status Levels": 61% (5.49 / 9 points)

The Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards rewards program is free to join, but you won’t receive any benefits from it other than earning points until you qualify for one of the “Atmos” levels. Qualification for Atmos Rewards “Atmos” status is based on:

• Atmos Rewards status points earned

The more times you fly with Alaska Airlines, and the more money you spend with an Alaska Airlines credit card, the higher your status level will go. The higher your Atmos Rewards status level is, the more benefits you will receive on Alaska Airlines flights and the more you will save when you fly.

Below, you can see exactly what you’ll need to do to achieve and maintain each Atmos Rewards status level, along with the perks that come with it.

Atmos Rewards Status Level & Perks

Members must satisfy a given status level’s qualifying requirements between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31 to reach or maintain that status level and enjoy its benefits. Once you earn any Atmos Rewards status level, you will keep it for the rest of the current calendar year and all of the next calendar year.

In light of the above information, Atmos Rewards' results for this section are as follows:

Ease of achieving elite status:

• According to our study, the cost of achieving elite status with Alaska Airlines is $20,739.

Valuable membership perks:

• Based on average spending profile, new members can expect to receive free checked baggage, complimentary upgrades, priority check-in/security/boarding and priority on overbooked flights as valuable perks. Heavy travelers could expect to qualify for: Free checked baggage, complimentary upgrades, priority check-in/security/boarding, complimentary companion upgrades, priority on overbooked flights and priority baggage handling.

Other Features of the Atmos Rewards Program

WalletHub Rating for "Other Features": 64% (7 / 11 points)

The "Other Features" component of this Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards program review focused on four sub-categories. Below, you can see how many points Atmos Rewards earned in each category, along with the corresponding WalletHub Rating.

Other Key Features

• Points do not expire. Accounts will be temporarily inactivated if unused for 24 months but can be reactivated at any time, with all points intact.
• You can transfer points between accounts, for a fee of $10 per 1,000 points.
• Buying points costs more than they’re worth, as Atmos Rewards points are sold at a 138% markup, on average.

 

8 Tips for Atmos Rewards Members

1. The best way to redeem Atmos Rewards points is for Alaska Airlines flights. Points are worth 1.47 cents apiece that way.
2. Transfer points if it makes sense. Atmos Rewards allows members to transfer their points from one account to another, but there is a fee of $10 per 1,000 points.
3. Avoid buying Atmos Rewards points, if possible. Atmos Rewards points cost more to purchase than they are worth when redeemed, on average. However, it could be worth buying a small number if it puts you over the top for a free flight.
4. Take advantage of status perks. One of the biggest reasons that airline rewards programs are worth joining is that their status levels tend to provide a wealth of benefits, such as bonus points, free checked bags and complimentary upgrades. Make sure you take advantage of everything Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards offers.
5. Consider applying for an Alaska Airlines credit card. The best Alaska Airlines credit card could save the average person well over $2,800 during the first two years of use, according to WalletHub’s calculations.
6. Try the Island Approach with your credit cards. Alaska Airlines credit cards offer competitive rewards on Alaska Airlines flights, but different credit cards may provide better terms on other types of transactions. Using a collection of cards for specialized purposes can enable you to get the best deal on everything you buy.
7. Make sure to read Alaska Airlines reviews & Atmos Rewards FAQs. Learning from experts and fellow travelers will help you pick up some helpful tips as well as avoid tricks and pitfalls.
8. Compare your flight options if you’re not wedded to Atmos Rewards. Alaska Airlines is not the only airline with a rewarding loyalty program. You can see how Atmos Rewards compares to a couple of popular alternatives below. You can also check out WalletHub’s rankings of the Best Frequent Flyer Programs to learn more.

Atmos Rewards vs. SkyMiles vs. AAdvantage

Atmos Rewards Review Methodology

Overall program rankings are based on the same methodology as WalletHub’s annual study on the Best Frequent Flyer Programs. Editor’s ratings reflect the sum of each rewards program’s scores across the study’s 6 major categories – earning policies, rewards value, redemption policies, destination coverage, status levels and other features – adjusted to a 5-point scale, to create a representative distribution of ratings.

WalletHub calculated Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards point values by comparing flight rates between U.S. cities and popular travel destinations – both domestic and international – to the number of points needed to book a flight. We applied the process to round-trip flights from Friday to Monday for each destination’s high and shoulder tourist seasons.