Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® Credit Card review

The newly-launched Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® Credit Card by Bank of America provides a solid premium travel card option for the recently-merged Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines rewards program, Atmos Rewards.

With a standout welcome offer and a perks package tailored for loyal flyers, the Atmos Summit card is worthy of a spot in any frequent traveler’s wallet. You may even want to rethink how you plan and pay for your future trips.

Boosted sign-up bonus

Atmos takes a big swing with the Summit card’s initial welcome offer of 100,000 bonus points and a 25,000-point Global Companion Award after spending $6,000 within the first 90 days. Using Bankrate’s valuations, the points are worth $1,100 and the Global Companion Award offers a discount worth around $275, although you can get even better value depending on your flight redemption.

This is one of the most generous welcome bonuses on the market — and it likely won’t last. Premium cards often offer the highest bonus when they launch, so it’s best not to wait around if you’re interested.

Costly annual fee

Although the $395 annual fee is consistent with other premium co-branded airline cards, it can be difficult to justify the cost if you don’t fly often with Alaska or Hawaiian or use Atmos Rewards regularly.

While the card doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees, most rates and fees are on the higher side. If you don’t get the low end of the APR, you’ll end up with a rate higher than the current average.

Solid rewards rate for travel

The Atmos Summit card earns Atmos Rewards, which Bankrate values at around 1.1 cents each. Like most co-branded airline cards, you’ll earn a boosted rate of 3X points for purchases with Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines. But while most co-branded cards are only affiliated with a single airline, the recent merger of these two airlines’ reward programs gives you more options than other cards. You’ll also earn 3X points for dining and foreign purchases, which is unique and can be highly valuable if you travel often. Many international merchants may not code correctly for earning bonus rewards, so getting dependable, high-value rewards no matter where you’re spending can take out a lot of guesswork.

Bank of America Preferred Rewards customers can earn an additional 10 percent rewards bonus with eligible accounts, bumping rates in the top categories to 3.3X points.

Atmos Rewards is a unique airline program that has its own set of airline partners in addition to being part of the oneworld alliance. While no airline currency has the flexibility offered by general travel cards, Atmos Rewards offers more booking possibilities than many other airlines.

Benefits for frequent flyers

This card does an outstanding job of focusing on perks that can benefit loyal Atmos Rewards customers. You’ll get commonly offered perks like free checked baggage (for you and up to 6 guests on the same reservation) and credits for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry, as well as plenty of perks for frequent flyers.

You’ll also get an annual Global 25K Companion Award every year, which you can use for a companion on the same itinerary when you book with Atmos Rewards. If you spend $60,000 in your anniversary year, you’ll earn another award worth a 100K discount. You can also use these awards on any partner airline bookable through Atmos Rewards for any class of service, meaning you could potentially get 100,000 points off a business or first class award booking. With the right strategic redemption, these awards could unlock thousands in travel savings — especially on premium cabin awards.

The card also gives you solid perks for your travel experience. You’ll get two Alaska Lounge passes and Wi-Fi passes each quarter. There’s no change fees for same-day Alaska Airlines flight changes and no fees for booking partner award flights. But one of the card’s most unique benefits is that you’ll receive a $50 voucher if your Alaska Airlines flight is canceled or has a departure delay of two hours or more.

Elite status benefits

If you’re interested in elite status with Atmos Rewards, the Summit card can give you a major boost. You’ll get 10,000 status points every year on your account anniversary, which gets you halfway to Atmos Silver status. You’ll also earn one status point for every $2 spent on the card. So, if you were to spend $60,000 to earn the Global 100K Companion Award, you’d earn 30,000 status points, giving you a total of 40,000 points — which would qualify you for Atmos Gold status. Here are some of the benefits Atmos Rewards elite status can provide:

• Complimentary upgrades (when available)
• Complimentary preferred seating
• Status benefits with the oneworld® alliance
• Priority service
• Preferred boarding

Why get the Atmos Rewards Summit Visa Signature Card?

• You fly Alaska Airlines or Hawaiian Airlines regularly.
• You can spend enough to earn the 100K Global Companion Award.
• You will get value from having elite status with Atmos Reward.

How to use the Atmos Rewards Summit Visa Signature Card:

• Earn the welcome offer.
• Book flights with Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines to earn the most rewards.
• Issue as few cards as possible to keep down the annual fee.
• Aim to earn Atmos Rewards elite status.