We lately noticed Alaska Airways and Hawaiian Airways launch their new mixed loyalty program, Atmos Rewards. This system is very well designed, and I discover it to be extremely participating. It’s so properly thought out that I’m very near pulling the set off on switching from American AAdvantage to Atmos Rewardds, although I hardly ever fly Alaska.
Let me clarify my logic, as I’ve had a numerous quantity of people that often fly American ask me if there’s advantage to switching to Atmos Rewards.
Why I’m tempted by the Atmos Rewards program
Large image, and earlier than moving into the main points, let me clarify why I’m contemplating a swap to Atmos Rewards. I’d prefer to suppose that I’m a comparatively rational shopper in terms of the worth that airline loyalty applications can supply.
Over time, what I worth from airline elite standing has modified. Again within the day, complimentary home upgrades was the perk that made me pursue elite standing. These days upgrades are so arduous to come back by that I don’t worth that almost as a lot.
For context, I had American AAdvantage Government Platinum standing for 14 years, and I lastly dropped down final 12 months. My technique was going to be to pursue AAdvantage Platinum Professional standing this 12 months primarily by means of a mix of bank card spending and crediting flights to this system.
Why did I even need to pursue Platinum Professional? A easy purpose — I actually worth oneworld Emerald standing, and Platinum Professional is the bottom elite tier that will get you that. This standing affords helpful advantages throughout oneworld airways, together with entry to unimaginable oneworld Emerald top notch lounges.
The factor is, I form of wrestle with really bringing myself to spend cash on American’s co-branded bank cards. Why? Properly, there’s fairly a possibility price to doing so, since none of American’s playing cards have a really compelling return on spending, past the Loyalty Factors you rack up.
Most playing cards earn 1x AAdvantage miles per greenback spent in most classes. At a minimal, I may earn 2x AAdvantage miles per greenback spent by as an alternative utilizing a Citi ThankYou card, like a mix of the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (assessment) and Citi Double Money® Card (assessment). So the chance price is fairly direct.
In the end I’m okay with this chance price. Nonetheless, in a super world, I’d have the ability to have my bank card spending depend towards elite standing with out feeling like there’s a possibility price to that spending. That is the place I really feel like Atmos Rewards was the reply to my miles & factors prayers, as a result of primarily based on how I’ve mapped this out, I may earn oneworld Emerald standing with zero alternative price.
My technique for incomes Atmos Rewards elite standing
Earlier than I clarify my Atmos Rewards technique, let me recap the Atmos Rewards elite tiers, and the way they map over with oneworld elite standing:
- Atmos Silver (oneworld Ruby) requires 20,000 standing factors
- Atmos Gold (oneworld Sapphire) requires 40,000 standing factors
- Atmos Platinum (oneworld Emerald) requires 75,000 standing factors (80,000 standing factors as of 2026)
- Atmos Titanium (oneworld Emerald) requires 100,000 standing factors (135,000 standing factors as of 2026)
There are two major facets to my technique of incomes elite standing — bank card spending and award flights. Sure, I’d earn some factors for flights on income flights, and I’ll cowl that as properly, nevertheless it’s not even a core a part of the technique.
Incomes Atmos Rewards standing factors with bank cards
A big a part of my technique with Atmos Rewards entails the newly launched $395 annual price Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® Credit score Card (assessment), which is likely one of the finest airline bank cards we’ve ever seen. Simply to recap the very fundamentals:
- The cardboard affords 3x factors on all international spending, in addition to 3x factors on eating
- In case you have a Financial institution of America account, you earn a ten% relationship bonus, so that you earn 3.3x factors on international spending and eating
- In case you spend $60,000 on the cardboard in an anniversary 12 months, you earn a 100,000-point International Companion Award
- The cardboard allows you to pay your hire with Bilt for a 3% price, and then you definitely earn 3x factors on that spending (on as much as $50,000 of spending per 12 months)
- The cardboard affords one standing level for each $2 spent, and beginning on the primary account anniversary, the cardboard affords an annual enhance of 10,000 standing factors
To be exceptionally conservative right here, I’d earn 40,000 standing factors per 12 months from the cardboard. That’s as a result of there’s the annual enhance of 10,000 standing factors, and I’d additionally need to spend at the very least $60,000 to earn the 100,000-point International Companion Award.
What makes me giddy about that’s that I may attain just about all of that spending with zero alternative price in any way. This is able to be the very best card to make use of for these purchases, even when standing weren’t an element.
I really suppose I’d earn materially extra standing factors than that, however that’s meant to be a conservative estimate. These 40,000 standing factors would get me midway to oneworld Emerald.
Incomes Atmos Rewards standing factors with award flights
The Atmos Rewards program affords one standing level per flown mile on an award ticket, assuming you select to earn standing factors primarily based on distance flown (which I’d). That is such an superior side of this system, given all the good makes use of there are of Atmos Rewards factors.
The reality is that I exploit Atmos Rewards factors on a regular basis for award flights on American, that are simply sensible. If there’s saver degree award availability, Atmos Rewards nearly at all times has higher pricing, and that claims nothing of these award flights counting towards elite standing.
Like, take the under award between Miami and London in enterprise class, which prices 55,000 factors by means of Atmos Rewards, or 80,000 miles by means of AAdvantage.
Or take the under award between Miami and Tampa in economic system or top notch, which prices 4,500 factors or 9,000 factors by means of Atmos Rewards, or 7,000 miles or 15,000 miles by means of AAdvantage.
For instance, this 12 months I’ve actively been making an attempt to keep away from redeeming Atmos Rewards factors (just because I’ve such a large stability of American AAdvantage miles), however I’ve already earned over 17,000 standing factors.
If I really redeemed extra persistently by means of Atmos Rewards, I’ve to think about that I’d simply earn 40,000 standing factors per 12 months that method, which might actually get me all the best way to oneworld Emerald. Straightforward sufficient, eh?
Some individuals could surprise “properly are you able to generate sufficient Atmos Rewards factors to maintain funding these award flights?” Actually, I’ve excellent luck discovering award house on American with associate factors currencies, and worst case situation, I’ll purchase Atmos Rewards factors once they’re on sale.
Throughout a sale, you should buy factors for properly beneath two cents every. Top quality from Miami to Chicago or New York prices 15,000 factors, in order that’s like paying beneath $300 — I’d contemplate that to be a deal!
Incomes Atmos Rewards standing factors with income flights
In case you credit score income flying to Atmos Rewards, how profitable is that? It’s extraordinarily rewarding in case you’re touring on Alaska or Hawaiian, or in case you’re reserving by means of Alaska. Perhaps I ought to fly Alaska and Hawaiian extra, although I typically discover few alternatives to guide associate flights by means of Alaska at a aggressive price.
Sadly it’s the opposite conditions — the place you guide associate flights instantly by means of associate airways — the place it’s a bit much less rewarding.
As you’ll be able to see under, if not reserving by means of Alaska, the charges aren’t essentially that nice. You’re taking a look at incomes miles equal to 25-50% of the gap flown for economic system, and 125% of the gap flown for enterprise class. However that is earlier than the 100% class of service bonus for Atmos Rewards Platinum members, and 150% class of service bonus for Atmos Rewards Titanium members.
In case you booked a fairly priced home enterprise class ticket on American as an Atmos Rewards Platinum member, you’d earn standing factors equal to 125% of the gap flown, and redeemable factors equal to 225% of the gap flown. In order that’s not horrible but in addition not nice.
Let me emphasize that in case you primarily earn AAdvantage elite standing by means of flying American on income tickets, switching to Atmos Rewards most likely isn’t the very best technique.
Atmos Rewards Platinum vs. Titanium standing
In the end, Atmos Rewards Titanium standing does the trick for me, because it earns oneworld Emerald. Nonetheless, even with out flying on Alaska a lot, I feel there may very well be advantage to pursuing prime tier Atmos Rewards Titanium standing. As of 2026, it will require 135,000 standing factors, in order that’s 55,000 extra factors than Platinum.
The good side of this perk is that you simply obtain limitless international day of departure upgrades on Alaska and Hawaiian, which we’ve by no means seen an airline supply earlier than. However even forgetting about that, let’s speak in regards to the different purpose this might make sense.
Atmos Rewards has the milestone perks program, whereby you’ll be able to choose sure perks for passing varied thresholds. For instance, in case you have been to qualify for prime tier standing, you possibly can choose a complete of an extra 88,250 redeemable factors as a reward (50,000 of these factors are provided particularly for incomes Titanium, and the remaining factors are provided at decrease thresholds).
That doubtlessly strikes the needle fairly a bit by way of whether or not it’s value placing extra spending on a co-branded Alaska card.
Downsides of Atmos Rewards for American flyers
In case you’re planning to fly American greater than Alaska, what are the downsides to pursuing elite standing with Atmos Rewards as an alternative of American AAdvantage? Remember that Alaska and American each belong to oneworld (which standardizes some advantages), and the 2 airways even have a particular partnership providing reciprocal upgrades, each to further legroom seating and to top notch. With that in thoughts, a number of ideas…
Personally I don’t worth upgrades that a lot since they usually don’t clear, however Atmos Rewards members are prioritized behind the equal tier at American. Which means that an Atmos Rewards Platinum member would clear an improve behind an AAdvantage Platinum Professional member, however earlier than an AAdvantage Platinum member.
Moreover, there’s no denying that there’s some higher therapy for “native” elite members of a frequent flyer program, moderately than associate elites. Atmos Rewards elite members don’t get entry to a precedence telephone line with American, so within the case of irregular operations, you is likely to be higher off as an elite with American.
It’s additionally value acknowledging that in case you credit score American flights to Atmos Rewards, these wouldn’t depend towards million miler lifetime elite standing with both program. Then once more, I don’t suppose that’s value going out of your method to pursue both.
Actually, what annoys me most about reserving American flights with out having my AAdvantage quantity on them is how arduous it’s to handle these reservations by means of aa.com or the cell app. They actually don’t make it simple, and that’s a headache. Then once more, I’m already coping with that when redeeming Atmos Rewards factors on American, so that will simply be extra of the identical.
So after all there are some gentle downsides. However in case you ask me, with the ability to earn oneworld Emerald with just about no alternative price on bank card spending (at the very least in my scenario) is a serious upside. If American began awarding some kind of elite qualification for award flights (as Delta and United do), I is likely to be a bit much less sure in regards to the swap.
However as issues at present stand, how do I justify not making the swap? Airways have made every kind of adjustments to their applications over time, and broadly talking, it’s simply not value going out of your method to earn standing anymore, for my part. So if I can earn standing with no alternative price, that looks as if a deal that’s robust to beat.
Backside line
Alaska has launched its new Atmos Rewards program, and I’d argue that it’s one thing particular. As somebody who tries to solely earn elite standing if the maths is sensible, I feel that is the in the end program for maximizers.
Between with the ability to effectively earn elite standing by means of bank card spending with the Atmos Summit Card (because of the rewards construction, International Companion Award with spending, and Bilt prospects), plus incomes standing factors on award flights, I’ve a tough time rationalizing why I wouldn’t make the swap.
What do you guys suppose — ought to I make the swap from AAdvantage to Atmos Rewards? Anybody else in an analogous boat, contemplating this technique?
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