Atmos^TM Rewards Ascent Visa Signature^® credit card Review: Big Value for Alaska Flyers

If you fly frequently with Alaska Airlines and want to earn rewards to use toward free flights, the Atmos^TM Rewards Ascent Visa Signature^® credit card is well worth its $95 annual fee.  West Coast fliers will benefit the most from this card, thanks to its valuable companion fare offer and Alaska Airlines-specific perks like free checked bags on eligible flights.

Since the Atmos^TM Rewards Ascent Visa Signature^® credit card partners with the oneworld® Alliance and other airline programs, its points 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. If you live outside the West Coast, you should check out an airline credit card with a wider flight network.

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

Annual fee: $95

Regular purchase APR: 19.99% - 27.99% Variable APR

Foreign transaction fee: None

Sign-up bonus: Earn 80,000 bonus points and a $99 Companion Fare (plus taxes and fees from $23) with this offer. To qualify, make $4,000 or more in purchases within the first 120 days of opening your account.

Rewards: 1X - 3X points

• Earn unlimited 3 points for every $1 spent on eligible Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines purchases.
• Earn unlimited 2 points for every $1 spent on eligible gas, EV charging station, cable, streaming services and local transit purchases, including rideshare.
• Earn unlimited 1 point for every $1 spent on all other purchases.

Other benefits:

• Annual $99 Companion Fare (plus taxes and fees from $23) each year you spend $6,000 or more in purchases
• Free checked bag for you and up to six guests on the same reservation when you use your card to purchase airfare on Alaska Airlines or Hawaiian Airlines
• Preferred boarding on Alaska Airlines when you pay for your flight with your card
• 20% back on Alaska Airlines in-flight purchases when you pay with your new card
• $100 off an annual Alaska Lounge Plus+ membership

Recommended credit: Good / Excellent

• Generous sign-up bonus

  The Atmos^TM Rewards Ascent Visa Signature^® credit card offers an extremely valuable sign-up bonus for new cardholders: Earn 80,000 bonus points and a $99 Companion Fare (plus taxes and fees from $23) with this offer. To qualify, make $4,000 or more in purchases within the first 120 days of opening your account.

  This 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

  This card gets you elevated rewards in a variety of popular spending categories. You’ll earn unlimited 3 points for every $1 spent on eligible Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines purchases. Earn unlimited 2 points for every $1 spent on eligible gas, EV charging station, cable, streaming services and local transit purchases, including rideshare. Earn unlimited 1 point for every $1 spent on all other purchases.

  The value you get for your points can exceed its competitors when you redeem them for flights on Alaska Airlines. A round-trip flight from Seattle to San Francisco can cost just 9,500 points in economy. Longer flights, such as from Seattle to New York City, can run as low as 22,500 points for a round-trip flight.

  New Atmos™ Rewards program from Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines

  As of 2025, Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines share a new rewards program, Atmos Rewards. Some new changes to the program will include being able to choose out of three ways to earn points and status points points: distance traveled, price paid or segments flown, starting later in 2026.

  New partner benefits will be available as well, such as 2 points for every $1 spent on everyday Lyft rides, and 3 points for every $1 spent on airport and elevated Lyft rides.

  → 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.

  Let’s say, for example, you book a flight for you and your spouse from Seattle to New York over the Thanksgiving holiday. The two round-trip tickets could run you a total of $2,510. But if you have the companion fare benefit, you’ll only end up paying over $1,354 for both tickets, plus any additional taxes and fees.

• Elite status track

  Earn 1 status point for every $3 spent in net purchases (exclusive of any fees, such as the annual fee) during 2025 up to a maximum of 30,000 status points. Beginning in 2026, there will be no cap on the amount of status points you can earn in a calendar year.

  With different Atmos Rewards tiers, you can unlock perks like:

  • Complimentary First Class upgrades when available
  • Complimentary Premium class upgrades when available
  • Complimentary preferred seating

• Robust travel benefits

  The Atmos^TM Rewards Ascent Visa Signature^® credit card offers several valuable 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. This can save a family of four $280 on a round-trip flight, easily surpassing the card’s annual fee.
  • Preferred boarding:
    Receive preferred 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 points earned from card purchases when you have an eligible Bank of America® account.

• Annual fee

  The Atmos^TM Rewards Ascent 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 use points to fly on 24 global partners, including American Airlines, British Airways and Cathay Pacific.

Atmos^TM Rewards Ascent 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.

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 Atmos^TM Rewards Ascent 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 1:1 rate.

Atmos^TM Rewards Ascent Visa Signature^® credit card vs. Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Premier Credit Card

If you want to get a companion pass that applies to more than one flight or your travel doesn’t align with  Alaska Airlines’ routes, 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. Southwest’s pass is harder to earn, but it’s valid for the full calendar year, plus the remainder of the year in which you earned it.

To help you get the Companion Pass faster, the Southwest Rapid Rewards^® Premier Credit Card lets you earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 in the first 5 months from account opening. You’ll also Get 3X points on Southwest® purchases, 2X points on grocery stores and restaurants on the first $8,000 in combined purchases per anniversary year and 1X points on other purchases.

Just keep in mind that this card comes with a $149 annual fee.

→ Learn more about the best Southwest credit cards.

Atmos^TM Rewards Ascent 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.

If you typically travel with a companion on routes offered by Alaska Airlines, you should definitely consider the Atmos^TM Rewards Ascent Visa Signature^® credit card. While Alaska Airlines’ route network may not be as extensive as other airlines, its card offers a ton of value to frequent flyers on those routes. Plus, its membership in the oneworld Alliance means you can use points to travel to most places.

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.

→ Want to see more travel credit card options? See the Best Travel Credit Cards

We take a comprehensive, data-driven approach to identify the best travel credit cards. We use an objective rating and ranking system that evaluates over 200 credit cards from more than 50 issuers. All recommendations are made by LendingTree’s editorial team, completely independent of affiliate partnerships or compensation. Every card is selected based on its merit and ability to help people achieve their financial goals. We use the following criteria to make our picks:

• Average value over two years (80% of rating): We calculate the value of rewards and perks for the average cardholder using U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and an annual spend of $20,000, minus the annual fee. This value includes the card’s sign-up bonus, annual bonus (including free night certificates) and travel perks like lounge access and travel credits. We look at the average rewards earned over two years to balance out a card’s ongoing value with its first-year value.
• Flexibility of rewards (15% of rating): We consider how easy the rewards are to use, looking at factors like expiration dates, minimum thresholds to redeem, blackout dates and the availability of flexible redemption options like travel statement credits and cash back.
  
• Other features (5% of rating): We also compare a card’s benefits, such as purchase protections, travel protections and elite status benefits against benefits from other cards.