The combined loyalty program for Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines is officially here! As of today, Atmos Rewards is now the program for Alaska Airlines (RIP Mileage Plan) and then on October 1st Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles will merge into the program. At first glance the new Atmos Rewards will continue on with the tradition of Mileage Plan being one of the better frequent flyer programs in the world. The big news from today’s announcement is the program bringing forth a first of its kind option where members can select how they earn points and elite status qualification on flights!
Let’s take a look at the new Atmos program:
Earning points and status points on flights
Launching later in 2026, members will get to choose to how they want to earn points and status points when flying on Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines:
- Distance traveled: Earn based on how far you go with one point for every mile flown. For thrifty travelers who take cross-country or international trips, this might be the best choice.
- Price paid: Earn five points for every $1 spent when purchasing a flight. This includes airfare and upgrades purchased in premium cabins. For travelers flying in our premium cabins, including our lie-flat suites, this might be the best choice.
- Segments flown: Earn a flat 500 points for each flight segment flown. For flyers who take numerous short-distance flights, such as those between Neighbor Islands in Hawai`i or within California, this option guarantees a set number of points on every trip.
This is a huge and exciting development! They are taking aspects of frequent flyer programs, new and old, and giving the traveller the choice how they want to earn points and status points. Where most airlines have moved to revenue only accrual, Atmos Rewards will give that option but still allow members to go old school with distance traveled (The tried and true Mileage Plan model) or on simply get a flat points earn rate on segments. The member can select what is best for them!
Members will be allowed to change their earning preference once per year so you’ll have to look at travel habits or get out your crystal ball to determine which earn rate will be best for you
At this time it appears that points partner airlines will remain the same with more points earned when booking through Alaska rather than with the partner. However, they do state something about new ways of earning points so we’ll have to keep our eyes open for that:
Atmos Rewards offers new ways to earn valuable points across an extensive worldwide network spanning over 1,000 destinations, connected by the strength of Alaska, Hawaiian, and more than 30global airline partners, including the oneworld alliance
Redeeming points
At this point with the announcement it does not appear there are any changes to the redemption model that will be based on the current Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan program. Award flights will continue to start at 4,500 points one way (Short haul on Porter!!) and you can continue to redeem to more than 1,000 destinations on Alaska, Hawaiian and 30+ global airline partners, including oneworld member airlines.
There is one significant improvement award side of things though which sees the new program award status points when redeeming points for award flights! That’s right, you’ll earn some status qualifying points when redeeming points! Members will get 1 status point for every 20 points redeemed!
Elite Status earning and benefits
Status tier names and qualification requirements
Elite status tiers in the Atmos Rewards program have new monikers as of today!
- Atmos Gold
- Atmos Platinum
- Atmos Titanium
Quite possibly the only negative part of the launch of the new Atmos Rewards program comes from the requirements to earn Platinum or Titanium elite status in the program. Members will required 80,000 Status points to receive Platinum Status (Up from 75,000 in the current program) and 135,000 to receive Titanium Status (up from 100,000 in the current program)
As some consolation they will give status boosts for the first year:
- If you earn Platinum based on 2025 activity, they will give you a 5,000 status point head start in 2026.
- If you earn Titanium based on 2025 activity, they will give you a 20,000 status point head start in 2026.
This is all fine and dandy for those in the U.S. where the new Atmos credit cards can help make up that difference but for Alaska Airlines frequent flyers in Canada this will definitely make it harder to reach those status levels.
With all that said, we have heard rumours that Alaska has been exploring re-entering the credit card market in Canada and if they do we can hope that they include status points earning as part of the value proposition!
Earning status points
We’ve already covered earning status points on flights above but the program will also award status points on non-flight activities as well:
- Earn 1 status point per $1 spent for eligible Alaska Hotels stays, Alaska Car Rentals, Alaska Cruises, and Alaska Vacations bookings and packages.
- Earn 1 status point per $1 spentn Lyft rides
- Earn 1 status point per 3 base points on all other everyday partner earning.
Expanded elite status benefits
The new Atmos Rewards states that they will “soon provide more access to upgrades, new experiences, ways to share your rewards, and globally-inspired benefits.”
Some of these new or expanded benefits will include:
- Complimentary, day-of- departure upgrades into global Business Class for Atmos Titanium members, and a companion – no extra points or certificate required.
- Atmos Rewards status holders and one companion can take advantage of complimentary upgrades on Hawaiian flights within North America.
- Atmos Rewards status holders will receive access to Hawaiian Airlines Premier Club and The Plumeria Lounges
Free Starlink Wi-Fi to be added to Alaska flights
Following in the footsteps of many global airlines, Alaska will offer Starlink Wi-Fi across their entire Alaska fleet. The airline has teamed up with T-Mobile to make this new Wi-Fi service free exclusively for Atmos Rewards members. Installations on Alaska’s fleet will begin in 2026 and be completed in 2027.
Wrapping it up
The much anticipated Atmos Rewards has launched with complete details of the program being revealed today. Most of the news is really a breath of fresh air – at a time when many frequent flyer programs are taking away, Alaska seems to have kept things relatively the same or even potentially better by allowing members to choose how they want to earn on flights. The major hit to the program is in the elite status qualification requirements with the top two tiers requiring more points as of 2026.
What do you think of the new Atmos Rewards program? Let us know in the comments below!
