Alaska Airlines Visa Signature^® credit card Review

If you want to earn rewards to use toward free flights, the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature^® credit card is well worth its $95 annual fee. West Coast flyers will benefit the most from this card, thanks to its valuable companion fare offer and Alaska Airline-specific perks.

But since the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature^® credit card partners with the oneworld® Alliance and other airline programs, its miles can be redeemed for flights to more than 1,000 destinations across the globe. Still, you’ll get the most value out of this card by flying on Alaska Airlines.

→ Not the right card for you? See other top airline credit cards.

Annual fee: $95

Sign-up bonus: Earn 50,000 bonus miles plus a companion fare for just the taxes and fees when you make $3,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days.

Rewards: Earn 1X - 3X miles

• Earn unlimited 3 miles for every $1 spent on eligible Alaska Airlines purchases.
• 2 miles for every $1 spent on eligible gas, EV charging station, cable, streaming services and local transit purchases including ride share.
• Earn 1 mile for every $1 spent on all other purchases.

Regular APR: 20.24% - 28.24% Variable APR on purchases and balance transfers

Foreign transaction fees: None

Other benefits:

• Free checked bag
• Priority boarding
• Annual companion fare each account anniversary after you spend $6,000 or more on purchases within the prior anniversary year
• 20% back on Alaska Airlines in-flight purchases when you pay with your new card

• Generous sign-up bonus

  The Alaska Airlines Visa Signature^® credit card offers an extremely valuable sign-up bonus for new cardholders: Earn 50,000 bonus miles plus a companion fare for just the taxes and fees when you make $3,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days.

  A 60,000-mile sign-up bonus is pretty on par for an airline credit card that charges a $95 annual fee. But where this card stands out is its companion fare offer — it can potentially save you hundreds to thousands of dollars in airfare if you regularly travel with a friend or family member.

  → Learn more about the best credit card sign-up bonuses.

• Solid earning rate

  Along with a lump sum of rewards from the sign-up bonus, this card gets you elevated rewards in a variety of popular spending categories. You’ll earn unlimited 3 miles for every $1 spent on eligible Alaska Airlines purchases. 2 miles for every $1 spent on eligible gas, EV charging station, cable, streaming services and local transit purchases including ride share. 1 mile for every $1 spent on all other purchases.

  The value you get for your miles can exceed its competitors when you redeem them for flights on Alaska Airlines. For example, you can fly roundtrip from Seattle to San Francisco for just 10,000 miles in economy. Longer flights, such as from Seattle to New York City, can run as low as 25,000 miles roundtrip.

  → Learn more about the best rewards credit cards.

• Annual Companion Fare

  Beyond the sign-up bonus, you can continue to earn Alaska’s Famous Companion Fare™. Every year on your credit card account anniversary, you’ll receive a companion fare after you spend $6,000 or more on purchases within the prior anniversary year. This allows you to book a companion flight starting at $122 ($99 base fare plus taxes and fees from $23, depending on your flight itinerary). Note, the companion fare is only valid on Alaska Airlines coach fares booked on alaskaair.com with your card. Aside from that, this benefit is fairly flexible and can save you significantly each year.

  Lets say, for example, you book a flight for you and your spouse from Seattle to New York over the Thanksgiving holiday. The two roundtrip tickets could run you a total of $1,764. But if you have the companion fare benefit, you’ll only end up paying just over $1,000 for both tickets, plus any additional taxes and fees.

  Did you know?

  The $6,000 spend required to earn the companion fare only applies if you applied for the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature^® credit card on or after Jan. 18, 2023. If you applied for the card prior to that date, you’ll continue to receive the fare automatically each year.
  
  Even still, the amount you can save by purchasing your traveling companion’s ticket at an extremely discounted rate can be well worth the $6,000 spend requirement each year (which basically adds up to $500 spend per month for 12 months).

• Robust travel benefits

  The Alaska Airlines Visa Signature^® credit card gives card members access to a number of beneficial airline perks, including:

  • No foreign transaction fees:
    While some cards charge foreign transaction fees of 3% of the amount of each transaction when you use the card to make purchases outside of the U.S., this card does not.
  • Free checked bag:
    You and up to six additional guests traveling on the same reservation can check your first bag for free when you purchase your airfare with your credit card.
  • Priority boarding:
    Receive priority boarding when you use your card to purchase your airfare.
  • Discount on in-flight purchases: Get 20% back when you use your credit card to make in-flight purchases.
  • Lounge membership discount:
    When you use your card to purchase an annual Alaska Lounge+ Membership, you’ll receive $100 off.
  • Rewards bonus:
    Get a 10% rewards bonus on all miles earned from card purchases when you have an eligible Bank of America® account.

• Annual fee

  The Alaska Airlines Visa Signature^® credit card charges a $95 annual fee. Note that this is a standard fee for an airline credit card, and you can easily justify it each year with perks like free checked bags and a companion fare.

  There are travel credit cards available with no annual fees, but those typically offer lower sign-up bonuses and fewer benefits.

• Limited flight destinations

  Unless you travel to and from destinations served by Alaska Airlines — which primarily include Western states like Alaska, California and Washington — this card probably won’t be a good fit.

  That said, the airline does offer limited flights to select cities in other parts of the U.S. and internationally, including New York, Florida, Canada and Mexico. Plus, you can transfer miles to 30 global partners, including American Airlines, British Airways and Cathay Pacific. Still, you’ll likely get the most from your card by using and redeeming your rewards with Alaska Airlines.

Alaska Airlines Visa Signature^® credit card vs. Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card

If you want a travel credit card that packs a ton of value — and you don’t want to be tied to a specific airline — the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card is a great alternative. In fact, it’s our pick for the best travel credit card for travel rewards.

You can earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. For ongoing rewards, you’ll enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases.

Similar to the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature^® credit card, the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card has an annual fee of $95. However, it provides the ability to transfer your points to a number of airline and hotel loyalty partners, including British Airways Executive Club, JetBlue TrueBlue, Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards^® and United MileagePlus, at a rate of 1 to 1.

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Alaska Airlines Visa Signature^® credit card vs. Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Premier Credit Card

If you want to get an extremely discounted (practically free) airfare for your flying companion, but your travel doesn’t align with the routes provided by Alaska Airlines, you may want to consider the Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Premier Credit Card. Southwest is one of only a handful of airlines that also offers a companion pass.

To help you get the Companion Pass faster, the Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Premier Credit Card lets you earn 50,000 bonus points after you spend $1,000 in the first 3 months from account opening. You’ll also get 3X points on Southwest® purchases, 2X points on local transit and commuting, including rideshare, 2X points on internet, cable, and phone services; select streaming and 1X points on other purchases.

Just keep in mind that this card comes with a $99 annual fee.

→ Learn more about the best Southwest credit cards.

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Alaska Airlines Visa Signature^® credit card vs. Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is another solid option if you want to get a lot of bang for your buck from a general travel rewards credit card. This card lets you earn 75,000 Miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening. Plus, you’ll get 2 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day; 5 Miles per dollar on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.

The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card doesn’t offer a companion pass, but you can transfer miles at a rate of 1:1 to more than 15 partners, including Air Canada, British Airways Executive Club, Emirates Skywards and Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer.

Similar to the other cards included in this post, the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card charges an annual fee of $95 (see rates & fees).

If you typically travel with a companion on routes offered by Alaska Airlines, you should definitely consider the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature^® credit card. Further, while Alaska Airlines’ route network may not be as extensive as other airlines, its membership in the oneworld Alliance can make it worthwhile for anyone who travels frequently with its partner airlines.

But if you don’t want a card tied to a specific airline, the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card or Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card will give you more flexibility in how you can earn and spend your rewards.