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. Every year on your credit card account anniversary you’ll receive a companion fare which allows you to book a companion flight from just $121 ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $22). Valid on all Alaska Airlines flights booked on alaskaair.com.

The Alaska Airlines Visa Signature^® credit card comes with a $75 annual fee.

• Sign-up bonus

  With the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature^® credit card, new cardholders can earn 50,000 bonus miles with this limited time online offer. To qualify, make $2,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days of opening your account.

• Annual Companion Fare

  Every year on your credit card account anniversary you’ll receive a companion fare which allows you to book a companion flight from just $121 ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $22). Valid on all Alaska Airlines flights booked on alaskaair.com.

• Great miles redemption value

  While the sign-up 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. 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 unlimited 3 miles for every $1 spent on eligible Alaska Airlines purchases and unlimited 1 mile for every $1 spent on all other purchases. And, your miles don’t expire on active accounts. 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.

Compare it to the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card

 

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 generous sign-up bonus 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 earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.

For ongoing rewards, earn 5x on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3x on dining and 2x on all other travel purchases.

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.

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 an 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.