Alaska announced a set of changes to Atmos Rewards on September 29, and the headline one is that members will pick how they earn. Alaska's Choose How You Earn page says you can make your choice now, and it applies to flights departing on or after January 1, 2027.
Choosing How You Earn
Alaska's release says members choose between earning on distance traveled, on price paid, or on segments flown. You can change the choice once per calendar year, for future travel. Choosing is optional: current members who don't pick keep earning on distance traveled, and new members who join on or after January 1, 2027 start on price paid.
Alaska says that makes Atmos the only airline loyalty program that lets members choose how they earn points for flights. Letting a member pick the basis means a leisure flyer buying discounted long-haul economy and a consultant buying short expensive hops can both earn on the metric that suits them.
Brett Catlin, Alaska's Senior Vice President of Network, Loyalty and Partnerships, put the reasoning this way: "While many loyalty programs focus their richest rewards on a small group of travelers, we're expanding choice, flexibility and value for members across a wide range of travel styles."
Alaska's Choose How to Earn fact sheet, linked from the release, gives the rate for each: 1 point per mile flown, 5 points per dollar spent (excluding taxes and fees), or 500 points per segment flown. The choice applies to Alaska, Hawaiian and partner flights. Earning from credit cards and other partners stays as it is today.
Partner flights work differently if you pick price paid. Alaska's 2027 earn page says Alaska, Hawaiian and partner flights booked directly with Alaska (ticket numbers beginning 027), and eligible American Airlines-marketed flights booked through American (ticket numbers beginning 001), earn 5 points per $1, excluding taxes and fees. Partner flights booked anywhere else earn a percentage of the distance flown instead, and that's where the cabin matters: 250% in international business or first, 150% in domestic business or first, 100% in premium economy, 50% in economy and 25% in discount economy, with status points at the same percentages. Alaska notes that STARLUX Airlines and Philippine Airlines flights booked on partner sites don't earn status points at this time. On any eligible partner flight, members earning on distance get 1 point per mile, and members earning on segments get 500 points per segment.
Distance earning changes, too. Alaska says that from January 1, 2027, earning by distance traveled will no longer include class of service bonus multipliers or the 500-point minimum on flights under 500 miles.
Six Communities
Alaska is expanding what it calls Atmos Communities, and lists six: Global Locals, Families On the Go, Culinary Journeys, Active Escapes, Club 49 and Huakaʻi by Hawaiian.
The release describes the benefits across them as free bags, exclusive flight deals, bonus-point challenges, partner offers and 20% off select Atmos Rewards Unlocked experiences. Families On the Go gives 20% of points back on award travel for kids 12 and under. Club 49 and Huakaʻi by Hawaiian are the resident programs for Alaska and Hawaii, and Alaska says resident benefits are expanded.
Two of the Community pages add detail. Global Locals gives 10% more status points on flights that begin or end outside the United States, including partner and award flights credited to Atmos Rewards, and the multiplier applies to status points only, not redeemable points. Global Locals members also earn 1 status point for every 25 points transferred into Atmos Rewards from Bilt and Marriott Bonvoy, with no limit. Alaska counts the Atmos points received, and bonus or promotional points from a transfer don't earn status points.
On Families On the Go, the 20% comes back on the points redeemed for children who are 12 or under on the day of travel, for up to 7 children on a single reservation, and taxes and fees don't count. Eligible award flights are on Alaska, Hawaiian, Horizon, SkyWest and partner airlines. Only the member redeeming the points has to be in the Community, through the end of the trip, and Alaska says there's no limit on how many times you use it or how many points come back. The points return within 24 hours of completing travel.
Each Community's page sets out its bonus-point challenge. Every Community has its own list of 10 destinations, and members can earn up to 10,000 bonus points and 10,000 status points for flying to all of them, with each new destination worth more than the last. Destinations count once each, in any order, and you have to be a member of that Community on the day you travel.
Saver fares and award tickets count. If you switch Communities, you keep the points already earned, but your destination count resets.
The current lists run from October 1, 2026 to December 31, 2027, with new lists on January 1, 2028. The first member in each Community to reach all 10 gets 100,000 bonus points. The contest is open to U.S. residents 18 and older, with no separate registration.
Communities are open now. Alaska's Communities page tells current members to sign in and select "Join a Community," says joining is free and optional, and lets you switch Communities once per calendar year.
A Debit Card, and a Card Refresh
Alaska says an Atmos Rewards debit card is planned for early 2027, with pre-registration open now. It earns Atmos Rewards points and status points, carries no foreign transaction fees, and lets members pay certain account fees with points.
On the credit side, the release says a refreshed Atmos Rewards Visa Business Card from Bank of America is coming in late 2026, with 10x points on eligible purchases through Atmos Rewards for Business, lounge passes and free same-day confirmed flight changes. Alaska says full details come later this fall.
Bank of America Points Will Transfer In
The Atmos Rewards Visa credit cards are issued by Bank of America, and the release says that in 2027 eligible Bank of America card products will be able to transfer points into Atmos Rewards. Alaska frames this as the first of a set, saying other select global financial institutions will follow over time.
Atmos already takes points from transfer partners, including Bilt and hotel programs, as our Atmos Rewards guide explains. Eligible Bank of America cards would join that list in 2027.
What a Bank of America point turns into in Atmos comes down to the transfer ratio. Alaska's September 29 release covers the timing (2027) and who's eligible (customers with eligible Bank of America card products), so check the ratio on Alaska's or Bank of America's own pages before you move spending to a Bank of America card for these transfers.
New Partners
Alterra Mountain Company, Nordstrom and Pebble Beach Resorts are now Atmos Rewards Unlocked partners, added in Alaska's October 7, 2026 release, with offers including Ikon Pass bundles, private holiday shopping at Nordstrom and planned Pebble Beach stay-and-play packages. Alaska says the three extend Atmos Rewards into mountain travel, destination resorts, food and wine, retail and lifestyle, with Atmos Unlocked as one way to reach select experiences, packages and offers through points and membership.
The Dates
Alaska's release attaches a date to each piece:
- October 1, 2026: enrollment for how you earn, and the expanded Communities
- November 2, 2026: Premium Class companion benefits for Platinum and Titanium members
- Late 2026: the refreshed Business Card
- January 1, 2027: the earning choice applies to flights
- Early 2027: the debit card
- 2027: Bank of America point transfers
What to Do Now
If you fly Alaska or Hawaiian with any regularity, the earning choice is the change to act on first. You can make your choice now and it governs travel from January 1, so you have the fourth quarter to look at how you actually flew this year before committing.
Look at whether your flying is long and cheap, short and expensive, or simply frequent. That's the question Alaska is asking you to answer, and you only get to answer it once a year.
Our Atmos Rewards guide covers how points and status points work today, which is the baseline these changes sit on top of.
Updated October 7, 2026: new Atmos Rewards Unlocked partners.
