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Link: Learn more about the Atmos™ Rewards Ascent Visa Signature® credit card
The Atmos™ Rewards Ascent Visa Signature® credit card is the mid-range personal credit card of Atmos Rewards, which is the loyalty program of Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines. This card is issued by Bank of America, and represents a great value. If you fly Alaska or Hawaiian with any frequency, this is a card you’ll probably want to pick up.
There are many reasons to consider picking up this card, especially if you fly Alaska or Hawaiian with any frequency. In this post, I’d like to take an in-depth look at the card’s value proposition, for anyone who may be considering applying.
Atmos Ascent Card welcome bonus & fee basics
The Atmos Rewards Ascent Card is the more basic personal card in the Atmos Rewards ecosystem. To start, let’s cover the welcome bonus, annual fee, eligibility rules, and more.
Welcome bonus of 70K points & companion fare
The Atmos Rewards Ascent Card is offering a limited time welcome bonus where you’ll receive 70,000 Atmos Rewards bonus points and a $99 companion fare (plus taxes and fees from $23) after spending at least $3,000 within the first 90 days of opening your account.
I value Atmos Rewards points at 1.5 cents each, given the great uses of these rewards. That means the 70,000 points are worth $1,050 for me. That doesn’t even account for the value of the companion fare, which could save you hundreds of dollars.
Atmos Rewards credit card eligibility rules
The Atmos Rewards Ascent Card is issued by Bank of America. The good news is that eligibility for this card is unrelated to having any other Atmos Rewards card, so you’re eligible for this card (including the bonus) if you have the business version of the card, the Atmos™ Rewards Visa Signature® Business Card (review), or the premium version of the card, the Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® Credit Card (review).
Bank of America doesn’t have too many consistent restrictions when it comes to getting approved for cards. The most consistent rule is that you can typically only be approved at most one Bank of America card in a two month period, two Bank of America cards in a 12 month period, and four Bank of America cards in a 24 month period (this applies to personal cards, not business cards).
$95 annual fee & $0 authorized user fee
The Atmos Rewards Ascent Card has a reasonable $95 annual fee. At right under $100, that’s in line with the annual fees you’ll find on many co-branded airline credit cards. You can add authorized users to the card at no extra cost (and there’s a reason you may want to do so, as I’ll cover below).
Atmos Ascent Card rewards structure
The Atmos Rewards Ascent Card has some bonus categories that can help you rack up points faster. Furthermore, spending on the card can help you earn Atmos Rewards elite status. Let’s talk about how the bonus categories on the card work.
3x points with Alaska & Hawaiian purchases
The Atmos Rewards Ascent Card offers 3x points on Alaska and Hawaiian purchases. So if you fly either of those Alaska Air Group carriers with any frequency, that’s a solid return on that spending.
2x points in select categories
The Atmos Rewards Ascent Card offers 2x points in a variety of categories, including on eligible gas, EV charging stations, cable, streaming services, and local transit purchases (including rideshare). It’s always nice to earn bonus points, though in fairness, 2x points isn’t exactly the biggest return on spending that we’ve seen.
1x points on all other eligible purchases
The Atmos Rewards Ascent Card offers 1x points on all other eligible spending. As you might expect, there are more exciting cards for everyday spending, as that’s not a terribly exciting return.
One status point per $3 in purchases
The Atmos Rewards Ascent Card can help you earn elite status in the Atmos Rewards program. Specifically, the card offers one status point for every $3 in eligible spending on the card. There’s no cap on how many status points you can earn with the card.
If you are serious about earning status with spending, I’d recommend instead considering the Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® Credit Card (review), which offers one status point for every $2 in eligible spending.
Earn annual $99 companion fare with spending
In addition to the companion fare offered as part of the welcome bonus, the Atmos Rewards Ascent Card offers a $99 companion fare when you spend $6,000 per anniversary year on the card.
The companion certificate is one of the most valuable airline credit card companion ticket for revenue travel, in my opinion. You’ll pay $99 plus taxes and fees (which start at $23), so you’re looking at paying $122+ for your companion.
What makes this companion fare so exceptional is that it’s valid on all Alaska and Hawaiian economy fares within North America (plus Hawaii), you can use it for one-ways or roundtrips, the companion even earns points and is eligible for upgrades, etc. So whether you want to go to Hawaii or Mexico, it gives you a lot of flexibility.
Bank of America 10% relationship bonus
The Atmos Rewards Ascent Card also offers a Bank of America relationship bonus. If you have an eligible consumer Bank of America checking or savings account, you’ll receive a bonus equal to 10% of the base points you earn on each dollar spent. This is a way to earn even more rewards.
No foreign transaction fees
The Atmos Rewards Ascent Card has no foreign transaction fees, so it’s a decent card to use for purchases abroad, since you can rack up rewards without paying a fee.
Atmos Ascent Card benefits & perks
The Atmos Rewards Ascent Card offers a variety of benefits and perks that can help offset the annual fee. Many of these perks are offered just for having the card, while one requires completing a certain amount of annual spending.
I’d argue that these benefits are especially useful for those who fly Alaska or Hawaiian once in a while, and would benefit from things like free checked bags, and more.
First checked bag free on Alaska & Hawaiian flights
The Atmos Rewards Ascent Card offers a free checked bag for you and up to six guests on the same reservation when flying on Alaska or Hawaiian. In order to be eligible for this perk, you need to charge the cost of the ticket to your card. Another great thing is that authorized users on the card can also receive this benefit, as long as their ticket is purchased with the card.
This is a great benefit that could save you a lot of money — Alaska and Hawaiian ordinarily charge $35-40 per checked bag, so that’s a savings of up to $80 per person roundtrip, if checking bags. If you fly Alaska or Hawaiian fairly often but don’t have elite status, that alone could quickly more than justify the annual fee.
That free checked bag benefit for authorized users makes this a great card for families. You could add family members as authorized users, and then they could receive a free checked bag even when not traveling with you.
Preferred boarding on Alaska flights
The Atmos Rewards Ascent Card offers preferred boarding for you and up to six guests on the same reservation. In order to be eligible for this perk, you need to charge the cost of the ticket to your card. Another great thing is that authorized users on the card can also receive this benefit, as long as their ticket is purchased with the card.
This is a valuable benefit that help you ensure that there’s space in the overhead bin for your bags. It’s also an awesome authorized user perk, so that you can share this benefit with family members.
20% inflight savings on Alaska & Hawaiian flights
The Atmos Rewards Ascent Card offers 20% back on Alaska and Hawaiian inflight purchases when paying with your card. This applies for the purchase of food, beverages, and Wi-Fi onboard flights, and the statement credit should post to your account within seven days. There’s no limit to how often you can take advantage of this.
$100 Alaska Lounge+ membership discount
If you’re looking to get an Alaska Lounge membership, the Atmos Rewards Ascent Card offers $100 off an Alaska Lounge+ annual membership when you pay for the purchase with your card. An Alaska Lounge+ membership ordinarily costs $795 annually, and offers access to all Alaska Lounges, plus nearly 100 partner lounges around the world (including American Admirals Clubs).
Being able to get this lounge discount could prove to be a good value.
Is the Atmos Rewards Ascent Card worth it?
The Atmos Rewards Ascent Card is the most basic personal card in the Atmos Rewards ecosystem, so how valuable is this product? A few thoughts…
First of all, I think there’s a lot of merit to picking up this card for the excellent welcome bonus, which includes a lot of points and a $99 companion fare.
Bank of America cards are generally quite easy to get approved for, and many people are even eligible if they’ve had this card in the past. Given the value of the Atmos Rewards ecosystem, there’s no reason not to pick up this card, if eligible.
What about the long term value proposition of the card, though? If you fly Alaska or Hawaiian with any frequency and don’t have elite status, the basic perks add up, including a first checked bag free, preferred boarding, and more.
Beyond that, I think there’s merit to putting $6,000 of spending per year on the card, so that you can pick up the $99 companion fare, which is super valuable. However, I’d say there’s also merit to picking up one (or both) of the other Atmos Rewards cards…
How do the other Atmos Rewards cards compare?
Since there are three co-branded Atmos Rewards cards, how do the other two cards compare? There’s also the Atmos™ Rewards Visa Signature® Business Card (review), which is the business version of the card, and it’s also potentially worth having. The card has a minimum of a $95 annual fee ($70 for the company and $25 per card).
You could even pick up both the personal and business card, to really maximize the points and companion certificates that you can earn, you could earn two companion fares per year, etc.
However, I’d argue that the new $395 annual fee Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® Credit Card (review) is really the new star of the show. Yes, the card has a higher annual fee, but it has so many great perks. Among other things, it racks up status points at the fastest rate, the card allows you to earn Global Companion Awards, enables free points sharing, waives partner award booking fees, offers 3x points on foreign purchases, and much more.
Bottom line
The Atmos Rewards Ascent Card is a valuable co-branded airline credit card. The card has an excellent welcome offer, and offers perks that should prove worthwhile for those who fly Alaska Airlines with any frequency. If you don’t yet have this card but are eligible, this would be a great time to apply.
If you want to learn more about or apply for the Atmos Rewards Ascent Card, follow this link.
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