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Now Arriving: Atmos Rewards
21 August Update: We have confirmation from Alaska that the new system requires you to chose only ONE earning method towards calculating your EQM/Elite Qualifying Miles each year. Dollars based points will be based on the whole dollar, base fare, and rounded down (eg: a $309.25 base fare will use $309 as the dollar amount).
Today’s the day of the refined Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, now called Atmos Rewards. We’ve been dreading today, but thankfully the details aren’t as bad as we were anticipating – especially as we watched Alaska gobble up Virgin America and pretty much dismantle it.
Atmos Rewards will replace both Alaska’s Mileage Plan and HawaiianMiles with a slight variation to other frequent flyer plans – the rate at which you earn miles is now taking into consideration of the fare paid and converts it to a point level. The base fare, what actually goes to the airline, is what matters – not the total fare including taxes. This will mean travelers who live in Alaska & other parts of the US where airfares remain high will reap the rewards of the changes.
The new program uses points as your currency. Each flight you take is worth 1 segment or 500 points, minimum. You can then earn 100% of the miles flown when on a Main Cabin ticket, also a minimum of 500 miles, 30% when on a Basic Economy fare, or get bonus miles when purchasing last minute and First Class. Seat fees & upgrade fees also now count towards your status with Alaska Airlines.
Elite status also carries a new name – MVP becomes Atmos Silver; MVP Gold becomes Atmos Gold; MVP Gold 75K becomes Atmos Platinum, and MVP Gold 100K becomes Atmos Titanium.
Earning status is now a mixed bag depending on how you fly.
It is now a CHOICE of either distance flown based on mileage, total amount spent on Alaska/Hawaiian, or number of segments flown – you have to pick one method each year for your EQM – Elite Qualifying Miles – count. The credit card spend with certain cards also now counts towards your Atmos Elite Status Points.
Earning points has changed, a flight from Juneau to Anchorage is 568 miles. Fares can vary – from $198 to $400ish. With the new program, someone who books far in advance and gets the $198 fare will have a ticket worth $170 – and the dollar multiplier is 5 – so 850 points. This is higher than 568 miles. Buying last minute or First Class on this route is normally $349, or a base fare of $309 – which then earns a 50% bonus – to a whopping 2,318 points!
Under the current Mileage Plan bonus structure, a traveler would only earn 852 miles. This is where Alaskans will enjoy the new program!
Inter-island travelers might see a bit of a varying change. A flight from Honolulu to Maui, at barely 100 miles, would net you 500 miles. In the new program, if your fare is $80, the base fare is $64, which comes to 320 points, or 500 miles. But First Class – at $209, will now earn you 1,380 points or 750 miles, quite the increase.
Main Cabin fares will earn at 5 points for every dollar (of the base fare); Basic Economy earns only 30%; Y & B fares – typically the highest for Main Cabin, earn you a 50% bonus; First Class earn 50% to 100% more bonus points. Want more miles? Use your Atmos Visa on Alaska & Hawaiian and earn a 3 point bonus for every dollar spent – which can add a significant amount of points to your total! *these do not count towards status; however the Atmos Summit card spend can count towards Elite Status Points (EQMs).
And something we discovered – if you book partner flights on Alaskaair.com – you earn 100% of the miles/points flown versus reduced rates (25% – 50% for most partner Main Cabin). We looked at Anchorage to London on Alaskaair.com versus Sabre, our GDS, and discovered the pricing was nearly the same for Main Cabin. a $566 fare on Alaskaair.com will net the traveler 2,650 points based on dollars or 6,229 miles based on flown – which is quite a large difference compared to Sabre – a $580 fare will earn only 580 points based on dollars or 2,640 points based on flown distance. Quite the variation. We also noticed that Alaska Air’s agreement with British Airways doesn’t include their insane fuel surcharges when booked on Alaskaair.com.
In terms of upgrades, the old Alaska system remains in place – for flights within North America.
Atmos Silver will continue to clear at 48 hours prior to departure; Gold at 72 hours prior to departure; and Platinum/Titanium at 120 hours prior to departure. Those booked in Basic Economy – Saver – are added to the list 2 hours prior to departure.
International flights will require a certificate mechanism for upgrades, however Titanium members will be alloted upgrades in 2026.
Premium economy – for now – which is the extra legroom section on Alaska & Economy Extra on Hawaiian Airlines, appears to follow the Alaska plan. Atmos Silver members can upgrade at 48 hours prior to departure, Gold at 72 hours prior, and Platinum/Titanium will have access at time of booking. *Saver fare guests who are also elite can upgrade 2 hours prior to departure.
What we don’t know are the changes to Hawaiian’s Extra Comfort offerings – including the super nice amenity kit (we got one on Honolulu-Sydney and Tokyo – Seattle). Extra Comfort on Hawaiian international flights also receive a significantly larger blanket.
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan elites will finally get access to Hawaiian upgrades sometime in Spring 2026 – which includes inter-island and trans-pacific flights with their Lehoku Suites!
Baggage will be changing next year for Alaska MVPs – they will now only receive 1 free checked bag (versus 2 today) unless they are also Club 49 or Huaka’i flying to/from their respective states (eg: Club 49 only provides bag fee waivers on flights to or from Alaska). That seems to align more with One World status than anything…
Gold maintains status quo with 2 free bags, however Platinum and Titanium will now receive up to 3 free checked bags on their Alaska/Hawaiian itineraries, a nice change and perk.
And swag tags are back – Titanium, Platinum, and Million Milers can now request new bag tags for their bags.
Another notable perk – we are FINALLY getting FREE Wifi on Alaska Airlines! Starting in 2026, you’ll simply login to your Atmos Rewards account and be able to surf the internet at no charge. What surprises me is that Alaska already has a very affordable wifi plan – just $8 a flight – and most of the travelers we know have a subscription to Gogo and/or Alaska. While this is a nice addition, we think this means slower speeds for the rest of us instead of still offering a faster, paid option for those of us who are heavy users of wifi. Alaska plans on upgrading all aircraft (which we hope includes the 737-700 fleet) to Starlink over the next year… right now Hawaiian’s fleet is noticably absent of wifi except for the A330s. This will also mean better wifi for those of us in Southeast – as the GoGo tower on Haida Gwaii has been out of service for a few years now; which is why wifi will drop off just south of Ketchikan on planes not equipped with the current satellite wifi.
Conclusion: We were pleasantly surprised by the new program roll out. While we’re not a fan of the name, it will grow on us. We’re happy to see that Alaska has gone with an Elite threshold of choices, rather than requiring a dollar spend on their credit card like Delta. However, you now have to pick which of the 3 you want to use to calculate your Atmos EQMs each year, and you can’t change or use a higher earning with a different method.
The ability to reward travelers with more points on higher-value tickets is also a welcome addition.
Here’s a spreadsheet we made with a few sample routes to see what the points look like in the new program. Click here.