Alaska Airlines’ New Loyalty Program Lets Members Choose How to Earn Points—Here’s Why That Matters

Unlike many of its rivals, Alaska Airlines is giving members of its new loyalty program a choice on how they earn rewards points.

The Alaska Air Group (ALK) carrier issued several press releases Wednesday, touting a premium credit card, free Starlink Wi-Fi, and a new membership program that is different than its peers’ in one key way.

Alaska Says Offering Under Its New Rewards Program Marks an Industry First

Alaska Airlines on Wednesday announced the launch of its Atmos Rewards loyalty program, which combines its old Mileage Plan with Hawaiian Airlines’ HawaiianMiles after the Department of Transportation cleared their merger last year.

Under the new program, Alaska will allow customers to choose how they earn points: by distance traveled, price paid, or segments flown, in what the airline called the first offering of its kind in the industry. “We’ll remain the only U.S. airline that offers points for miles flown,” the carrier said. The move comes as other airlines have switched how they award loyalty points in recent years from distances flown to dollars spent.

Alaska advised that for “thrifty travelers who take cross-country or international trips,” earnings points for distance traveled might be the best option. For travelers flying in its premium cabins, getting points for dollars paid might be best, it said. “Flyers who take numerous short-distance flights, such as those between Neighbor Islands in Hawai`i or within California,” can select that option and earn a flat 500 points for each segment flown, guaranteeing “a set number of points on every trip.”

Alaska Launches Premium Credit Card With Bank of America

Alaska and Bank of America (BAC) are also introducing a new premium credit card, the Atmos Rewards Summit Visa Infinite card, which comes with a $395 annual fee.

Highlights include a new Global Companion Award redeemable in any class of service, eight passes each year to Alaska Lounges, points pooling with up to 10 other Atmos Rewards members, and “an industry-first 3x points earning on all qualifying foreign spend,” Alaska said.

Free Starlink Wi-Fi Coming Next Year

Building on Hawaiian Airlines’ partnership with Starlink, Alaska said it will offer Elon Musk’s high-speed, low-orbit satellite internet service “in 2026 and bring the technology to its entire fleet by 2027.” The carrier is partnering with T-Mobile US (TMUS) to provide the service for free to all Atmos Rewards customers “beginning on select flights” next year.

Rival carrier United Airlines (UAL) currently is rolling out free Starlink Wi-Fi, a division of Musk’s SpaceX company, to its fleet.