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West Coast flyers will benefit the most from the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card, but since the card partners with the Oneworld alliance, its miles can be redeemed for flights across the globe.
Plus, one of the great benefits of the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card is its Companion Fare offer where cardholders not only qualify for the low-cost fare with the new cardholder signup bonus, but also get another Companion Fare every year on the account anniversary.
Plus, the $75 annual fee is offset the first year with a $100 statement credit.
Intro Purchase APR
N/A
Intro BT APR
N/A
Annual Fee
$75
Regular Purchase APR
15.99% - 23.99% Variable APR on purchases
Cash Advance Fee
N/A
Foreign Transaction Fee
None
Balance Transfer Fee
Either $10 or 3% of the amount of each transaction, whichever is greater.
Signup bonus
The Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card offers the following signup bonus for new cardholders: 40,000 bonus miles with this online offer. To qualify, make purchases of $2,000 or more within the first 90 days of opening your account.
Annual Companion Fare
Not only will new cardholders qualify for the Companion Fare after meeting the minimum spending requirement for the signup bonus, cardholders will also get an annual Companion Fare every account anniversary. The Companion Fare costs from $121 ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $22). The Companion Fare is available on all Alaska flights booked on Alaskaair.com.
Great miles redemption value
While the signup bonus may seem low compared to other airline cards, the value you get for your miles can exceed its competitors. 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.
Free checked bags
Not only do Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card cardholders qualify for a free checked bag, but this benefit also extends to up to six passengers on the same reservation.
Annual fee
The Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card comes with a $75 annual fee, which is offset the first year with the $100 statement credit. That said, the fee is pretty reasonable for an airline rewards card.
No priority boarding
While this may not be a deal-breaker, know that Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card cardholders don’t qualify for priority boarding.
Low miles earning rate on regular purchases
With the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card, cardholders earn 3 miles for every $1 spent on eligible Alaska Airlines purchases, and 1 mile for every $1 spent on all other purchases. If you don’t use the card to purchase flights often, it may be difficult to replenish your Alaska Mileage Plan account by using the card for other purchases.
If you’re not sure you’ll be able to take advantage of what the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card has to offer, a good alternative is the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has a much more generous signup offer as well as the ability to redeem miles for a multitude of carriers with an added value of 25% more when redeemed through the Chase Ultimate Rewards® portal.
This card’s sign-up bonus allows new cardmembers to our best offer ever! Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $1,250 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
The bonus points equal $1,000 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards® and can be redeemed for a variety of airlines as well as other travel expenditures. Earn 2X points on dining at restaurants including eligible delivery services, takeout and dining out and travel & 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases worldwide.
The card gives you 25% more value for your points when you redeem them for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through the Chase Ultimate Rewards website. There’s an annual fee of $95.
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| Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card | Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card | Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card | Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card |
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Apply Now on Bank of America's secure site
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Apply Now on Chase's secure site
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Apply Now on Chase's secure site
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Apply Now on Capital One's secure site
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| Annual Fee | |||
| $75 | $95 | $69 | $95 |
| Welcome Offer | |||
| 40,000 bonus miles with this online offer. To qualify, make purchases of $2,000 or more within the first 90 days of opening your account. | Our best offer ever! Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $1,250 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. | Earn 40,000 points after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Plus, earn 3X points on dining purchases for the first year. | Enjoy a one-time bonus of 60,000 miles once you spend $3,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $600 in travel |
| Rewards Rate | |||
| Earn 3 miles for every $1 spent on eligible Alaska Airlines purchases, and 1 mile for every $1 spent on all other purchases. | 2X points on dining at restaurants including eligible delivery services, takeout and dining out and travel & 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases worldwide | Earn 2 points per $1 spent on Southwest® purchases and Rapid Rewards® hotel and car rental partner purchases. Earn 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases. | 2 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day |
| Intro Purchase APR | |||
| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Regular APR | |||
| 15.99% - 23.99% Variable APR on purchases | 15.99% - 22.99% Variable | 15.99% - 22.99% Variable | 17.24% - 24.49% (Variable) |
| Recommended Credit | |||
| Excellent/Good | Excellent | Excellent/Good | Excellent/Good |
| Card Details | |||
| Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card | Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card | Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card | Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card |
The Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card comes with higher rewards for airline-related spending than some competing cards, but falls short when it comes to earning in other categories related to travel (such as dining). However, we are big fans of this card’s Companion Fare, which doesn’t require a huge upfront spend or mile accumulation to qualify like the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card (100 qualifying one-way flights or earning 125,000 qualifying points).
It’s worth noting that while Alaska Airlines’ route network may not be as extensive as some cardmembers might need, it has partnerships with other airlines that can make up for that.
If you don’t want a card tied to a specific airline, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card will give you more flexibility in how you earn and spend your rewards.