More Value in Your Wallet With the Alaska Airlines Credit Card New Features

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Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® Cardholders get excellent perks with the card—Companion ticket fares, redeeming points with qualifying OneWorld Alliance partners, and more. The latest updates to the credit card mean more benefits and features to all cardholders. These new features include:

• Everyday Purchases miles bonus increased to 2x
• Receive priority boarding
• Expanded checked bag privileges
• Bank of America Relationship Bonus
• Discount on lounge access

Alaska Airlines miles are some of the best in the industry, thanks to the OneWorld Alliance partnerships. These new updates increase the miles and benefits, regardless of if you’re flying Alaska Airlines or not.

Earn Double Miles on Everyday Purchases

Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® Cardholders will now earn 2x miles for every dollar spent on the card. One of the biggest criticisms about the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® Card was that its benefits outweighed its use as a daily spending credit card. However, thanks to the new card features, Alaska Airlines makes the card much more valuable in your wallet.

The new bonuses on the credit card are:

• 3x miles per dollar spent on Alaska Airlines
• 2x miles per dollar spent on other purchases

The original miles bonus was only one mile per dollar, which was lagging behind Delta SkyMiles and United Explorer credit cards which already offered 2x miles on additional spending categories. Now, cardholders can earn miles when purchasing gas, utilities, local transit or ride-share services, and streaming services.

Priority Boarding

Alaska Airlines credit cardholder perks continue overlapping with benefits enjoyed by Alaska Airlines MileagePlus elite status. The airline upgrades cardholders with priority boarding on Alaska Airlines flights.

Use your Alaska Visa Signature® card when making flight reservations to qualify for early group boarding. Early boarding applies to all tickets purchased in the reservation, including companion tickets.

Checked Bag Privileges for Authorized Users

Cardholders flying Alaska Airlines get a complimentary checked bag for themselves and up to six guests. With bag fees ranging between $30-$100, depending on quality, it’s an excellent benefit for frequent flyers on the carrier.

The new update lets even more travelers enjoy the perks of free checked bags. All authorized users on the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® Card account get access to all the cardholder benefits. Authorized users purchasing tickets using the credit card qualify for the free checked bag—even when traveling without the primary cardholder.

Relationship Bonus 

There are even more ways to boost your Alaska Airlines miles using the Visa Signature® credit card. Alaska Airlines partners with Bank of America for its credit card program and gives additional miles bonuses for users also banking with them.

Cardholders who link their Alaska Airlines credit card to their open Bank of America account (checking, savings, or investment) are eligible for 10% bonus miles on all credit card spending. This relationship bonus applies to the 3x bonus on airline spending and the new 2x bonus on all other purchases.

Alaska Lounge+ Membership Discount

Frequent flyers with Alaska Airlines get even more value when using the Visa Signature® Card on travel days. Travelers get a $100 discount on the Alaska Lounge+ Membership. The discount applies every year, which already covers the $95 annual fee for those who want lounge access.

The Lounge+ Membership discount joins the list of Alaska Airlines travel benefits, including a 20% rebate on in-flight purchases when using the credit card. The membership usually costs $550 and allows the holder access to Alaska Airlines lounges and 90 others from partner airlines.

Disadvantages to Alaska Airlines Credit Cardholders

Between the sign-up bonus and the increased miles bonus on spending, it sounds like an attractive deal for new and current cardholders. However, a closer look at the card updates shows that there are some disadvantages to holding the credit card.

Consider these costs before signing up for the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® Card, which can impact whether it’s valuable to you or not:

• The annual fee increases from $75 to $95
• Companion ticket is only awarded after spending a minimum of $6,000 in the previous year
• New features overlap benefits with the Alaska Mileage Plan (frequent flyers can get many of the same benefits free)

While the updates add improved benefits and features to the credit card, these drawbacks can still devalue it.

Special Offer for Limited Time Sign-Up Bonus

Alaska Airlines announces a special sign-up offer for new cardholders. Their Visa Signature® Card increased its miles bonus to 70,000 miles in a limited-time offer. In addition to the bonus miles, opening the credit card also gives access to the Companion Fare.

New cardholders are eligible for the limited-time bonus after making qualified purchases of at least $3,000 within the first 90 days of opening the account. The good news is that the spending also qualifies for earning miles along the way.

While current cardholders can’t get the sign-up bonus, they still benefit from the new card features, including 2x miles on purchases and bank account bonus.

The Alaska Airlines 70,000 bonus miles offer is only available by signing up here.

Coming Soon to Alaska Airlines Credit Cards

The latest features of the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® Card are one of the early results of an increased partnership between the airline and Bank of America, which lasts until 2030. The co-branded credit card program also includes the Alaska Airlines Visa Business Card to receive similar new features this Spring 2023.

As mentioned in their recent partnership renewal announcement, the goal is to increase value and benefits for both companies. 

Is the Alaska Airlines Credit Card Worth It?

The new updates accomplish their goal of adding more benefits to having the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® Card. Both new and current cardholders get benefits from the credit card, and make it more useful in everyday spending.

New cardholders get rewarded with bonus miles and earned miles while reaching the spending limit, which can redeem for flights on 20 partner airlines traveling to more than 900 international destinations. Current cardholders also get increased miles bonuses and even more earnings if they have a Bank of America account.

One of the downsides to the Alaska Airlines credit card is the overlapping perks to the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan program. Members with elite status on the award-winning program already receive complimentary bags, discounts, and other perks. Frequent flyers who travel enough to earn any of the elite status tiers will get less value from the credit card when traveling.