Bank of America's Digital Engagement Strategy Shifts with Alaska Airlines Partnership

Alaska Airlines has launched a co-branded credit card with Bank of America, aimed at global travelers with enhanced loyalty benefits. This collaboration reflects Bank of America's focus on digital engagement and customer-centric innovation. The new premium card and partnership could influence Bank of America's long-term growth and digital engagement strategy, but does not materially alter the most important short-term catalyst for the stock, which remains earnings growth fueled by digital and AI investments.

Alaska Airlines, in partnership with Bank of America, has launched the Atmos Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® card, a new premium travel credit card designed to cater to global travelers. The card, which debuted alongside the airline’s newly branded Atmos Rewards loyalty program, offers a suite of exclusive benefits aimed at frequent international travelers seeking value, flexibility, and enhanced access to travel rewards.

The Atmos Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® card features a Global Companion Award, allowing cardholders to cover a companion’s ticket when redeeming points for two passengers on the same itinerary across various airlines and partners. This benefit is available at two levels: a 25,000-point award after qualifying spend and annually on each card anniversary, and a 100,000-point award earned with $60,000 in annual card spend. Additionally, cardholders earn 3x points on eligible dining, foreign purchases, Alaska Airlines, and Hawaiian Airlines purchases, with a 10% rewards bonus for eligible Bank of America account holders. The card also offers waived partner award booking fees and expanded redemption flexibility through hotel partner transfers covering more than 25,000 properties worldwide.

Key benefits of the Atmos Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® card include eight Alaska Lounge passes per year, valued at over $500, and access to a premium bar experience in Alaska Lounges through 2026. Cardholders earn 1 status point for every $2 spent, plus an annual 10,000 status points, expediting loyalty recognition and offering the fastest path to status among Alaska Airlines’ credit cards. The card also introduces an automatic travel delay benefit, providing an instant $50 voucher for flight delays or cancellations.

The Atmos Rewards program rebrands Alaska Airlines’ loyalty structure, renaming miles as “points” and elite-qualifying miles as “status points.” The Summit card integrates directly into this framework, providing expanded ways to earn and redeem rewards. Benefits include waived same-day confirmed flight change fees and access to free points sharing with up to 10 other Atmos Rewards members.

For a limited time, new Summit cardholders will receive 100,000 bonus points after spending $6,000 within 90 days of account opening, sufficient for a business class ticket between Seattle and Tokyo, or up to three roundtrip main cabin flights between the U.S. West Coast and Hawai’i.

In addition to the Summit card, Alaska Airlines is rebranding its long-standing Visa Signature product as the Atmos Rewards Ascent Visa Signature® card. The Ascent card continues to provide the Companion Fare benefit, allowing a second ticket to be purchased for $99 plus taxes and fees from $23 on flights within North America operated by Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines.

The new premium card and partnership reflect Bank of America’s focus on digital engagement and customer-centric innovation. While this collaboration could influence Bank of America's long-term growth and digital engagement strategy, it does not materially alter the most important short-term catalyst for the stock, which remains earnings growth fueled by digital and AI investments.

[1] https://ftnnews.com/travel-news/aviation/alaska-airlines-and-bank-of-america-launch-atmos-rewards-summit-visa-infinite-card-for-global-travelers/