The Best Loyalty Program Is Getting Better... For Now

Alaska Airlines' Atmos Rewards has been my go-to rewards program for a while now. Reliable award-chart value on flights to Japan, monthly bargains that are actually bookable, easy status without big spending, and tons of points to be earned with Alaska and Bilt cards (including the two best cards out there, in my opinion)—it fits me like a glove and accounts for most of my points strategy. This week, Alaska released big updates to Atmos Rewards and hinted at more changes to come. While the changes are mostly positive, the news also has me nervous. When it comes to points, things are constantly changing, so you have to enjoy the good things while they last. I just hope Atmos Rewards lasts like this for a long time.

The News

“Communities” have arrived! Alaska has finally launched its full slate of communities, groups that can earn extra rewards based on a common theme. Two are location restricted, for Alaska and Hawaii residents, but the rest are open, including “Global Locals,” which I joined immediately: it offers 10% extra status points on international flights, bonus status points when transferring points from Bilt, and bonus points for visiting 10 selected destinations, up to 10k bonus points when you’ve flown to them all. “Families on the Go,” meanwhile, offers 20% back on award flights for children 12 and under. “Active Escapes” and “Culinary Journeys” don’t have notable perks, but they have different (and probably more attainable) destinations to earn bonus points and will have their own exclusive flight deals.

More points transfers are coming. Alaska announced that it will be adding a transfer partnership with Bank of America, and has more partnerships planned, though it’s not clear which programs they might partner with. This is a pretty big change of strategy, and while more ways to earn could be a positive, this always risks flooding the market with points, making redemptions harder to find even if it doesn’t lead Alaska to adjust award prices upward. The good and bad news? Alaska didn’t specify which Bank of America card might offer points transfers, but I couldn’t find any of their current cards that offered an earning rate better than Alaska and Bilt’s current card lineup. 

Choose how you earn. Starting in 2027, you can choose the metric for earning towards status: by distance flown, dollars spent, or segments flown. You can choose now, with the choice to take effect on January 1st, and you can also change once per calendar year. The ability to earn status primarily through long-haul award flights is why I’m an Atmos elite, so I won’t be changing, but some people may be better off with the revenue or segment earning method.

Debit cards are coming. Alaska announced it will be launching points-earning debit cards. I’m not a big debit card user, but the ability to earn powerful points with one, even at a modest rate, is intriguing. You can sign up for more information and get a 20% flight discount code, which could be worth it even if you don’t care about the card (there are restrictions, but fewer than I expected).

Milestone rewards are taking a hit. Alaska rewards you along your status journey, with milestone perks available between status levels. Alaska is mostly reducing some of those benefits (the bonus points option is dropping from 750 to 500 points at the 10k status point level, for example), though they remain nice bonus perks overall. 

Could Alaska’s Bilt relationship wind down? Industry insider Zach Griff spoke to Alaska leadership and came away thinking that Alaska will pare back or eliminate its relationship with Bilt in the coming years, even though there’s nothing formal to announce. 😬

Lazy Take 🦥

The next stage of Atmos Rewards’ evolution arrived this week, and the immediate changes are largely positive, with more choice and more ways to earn. I am not sure where things will go from here, but for now a good thing has gotten even better, and I plan to enjoy it for as long as it lasts. 

This week on the blog 📝

October is here, so it’s time for the fall Japan Points Update. The news on flights is mostly good; for stays, not so much. 

Quick Points of the Week ⚡

Major News 🚨

Bilt devalues Hyatt transfers. Bilt’s 1:1 transfer ratio will drop to 4:3, matching a similar devaluation on the Chase Sapphire Preferred. This stings, but after Hyatt’s own award chart changes, the cheapest properties can still be a good deal with Bilt points, while the more expensive properties barely made sense even with a 1:1 ratio. (The Points Guy)

Product Refresh 🔄

Chase updates IHG cards. The changes have me less inclined to recommend applying for these cards despite big launch bonuses (more on that below), but if you already have one, you’ll want to read the details to see how you’ll be affected. (Upgraded Points)

More value 📈

Share your Choice points. Members can now send up to 200k to and receive up to 100k points from other members each year. I used to use choice points primarily in Japan, but the value has plummeted there. But there are still some good uses of Choice points out there, and this makes it easier to combine forces with a travel companion to book. (Award Wallet)

New features 🆕

Thrifty Traveler introduces FareTracker. In addition to sending flight deals to your inbox, the company will now track prices for your flights and alert you via email if the price drops by $20 or more. (Thrifty Traveler)

Notable Transfer Bonuses ⬆️

Amex → Flying Blue (25%). 
Capital One → Flying Blue (20%).
Capital One → British Airways/Avios (20%).

Each of these could offer some value, especially for premium cabin flights, though deals can be tough to find and the out-of-pocket costs are often high. 

Sign-up bonus of the week 🎯

This week, Chase refreshed its existing co-branded IHG credit cards and added a new premium option and launched the new versions with big welcome offers.

The no-fee IHG One Rewards card (formerly the “Traveler”) is offering 125,000 points after spending $2,000 in the first three months. Although this matches the record offer on this card, it offers little beyond decent earnings on IHG stays and silver status… which doesn’t offer much.

The Premier’s annual fee is increasing to $150 and it is losing Platinum status as a perk of the card (unless you spend $15,000 in a calendar year). But the card offers a free night annually worth up to 50,000 points (up from 40k, and it can be topped off) and a quarterly $25 food and beverage voucher for IHG hotels, plus other perks. There’s also a $100 statement credit after spending $250 on flights booked directly with an airline each calendar year. That credit makes this card’s value proposition pretty straightforward… until the end of 2027, when the credit expires, with no indication whether anything will replace it. But for the first year or two, at least, it’s a very solid card. The “launch” offer is 180,000 points after spending $3,000 in the first three months, just short of the card’s record offer. 🔥

Finally, if you want Platinum status, you’ll now need the “Premier Select.” The new $350-fee card also offers a free night annually worth up to 60,000 points, plus a quarterly $75 food and beverage voucher. That isn’t too compelling. Like the Premier, the card also has a $200 statement credit after spending $250 on flights, but only through 2027. Again, that makes the initial value compelling, but the long-term value more dubious. The card’s launch offer is 200,000 points after spending $5,000 in the first three months. That’s solid, but the IHG Premier had offered 185,000 points when it had a $95 annual fee, so I don’t find this offer that exciting, even though the first-year value is worth considering. 🔥

Also of note this week:

70,000 miles + Silver status on the Air France KLM Visa Signature after spending $3,000 in the first three months. This is a slightly elevated offer (we’ve seen as high as 100k before) on a card that offers only modest value unless you are chasing status with Flying Blue. But it’s a solid offer and Sky Team Elite status has some decent perks on Delta. 🔥

70,000-90,000 miles on United credit cards (spending requirement varies by card). I’m not a huge fan of the Explorer or its premium cousins, though they could be worth having to access better award inventory and pricing. These offers are above average historically, so if you want one this is a solid time to get one, but similar or better offers come around frequently. 🔥

Other great sign-up bonuses this week

Up to 80k points + $250 on the Delta Gold (our take: 🔥🔥🔥)

70k points + a free night certificate on the Hilton Honors (our take: 🔥🔥)

200k points on the Hilton Aspire (our take: 🔥🔥)

Up to 90k points + $300 on the Delta Platinum (our take: 🔥🔥)

Up to 50k points + two flight certificates on the Delta Reserve (our take: 🔥🔥)

75k points + $300 stays credit on the Capital One Venture (our take: 🔥🔥)

60k points on the Choice Privileges Mastercard (our take: 🔥) 

90k points on certain Avios-earning cards (our take: 🔥) 

125k miles on the Citi AAdvantage Executive (our take: 🔥)

75k (+ 40k after $20k spend) on the Chase Aeroplan Card (our take: 🔥)

Up to 100/175k on the Amex Gold/Platinum (our take)

50,000 points + $300 Bilt Cash + Bilt Gold status on the Bilt Palladium (our take)

How we rate bonus offers. 

Enjoy the weekend! 🦥

Madrid, Helsinki, Kuala Lumpur, here I come. 🌏

Sometimes we include referral or affiliate links (we’ll mark them clearly). If you use them, we may earn a commission—never at extra cost to you. We do our best to share great offers, but always double-check for the best deal available. Thanks for supporting LazyPoints 🦥