Alaska’s New ‘Choose How You Earn’ Feature Is Starting To Go Live

When Alaska Airlines introduced its new Atmos Rewards program, it promised members more control over how they earn points and work toward elite status. After a long wait, we are finally seeing signs that the program’s headline feature is coming to life.

Here’s what you need to know.

Alaska Is Quietly Rolling Out the Long-Awaited Feature

Some Atmos Rewards members are reporting on Reddit that a new “Choose How You Earn” option is appearing in the Alaska Airlines app.

The feature lets Atmos Rewards members select how they want to earn redeemable points and status points from flying with Alaska. Members can make their choice now, but the new earning method will not take effect until January 1, 2027.

This has been a long time coming. We previously covered the delay and questioned what had happened to a feature Alaska promoted as one of the biggest parts of Atmos Rewards. Nearly a year after the big reveal, members were still waiting for it to arrive. Now, we finally have signs that Alaska is moving forward. However, this does not appear to be a full rollout yet.

Several of us at Upgraded Points checked our Alaska accounts, including members with and without Atmos Rewards elite status, and none of us could find the option. We have also seen reports that some links to additional information are returning errors.

In other words, Alaska appears to be slowly adding the feature to accounts as it works out some remaining kinks.

How Alaska’s 3 Earning Options Will Work

Alaska has outlined 3 earning choices to qualify for Atmos Rewards elite status:

• Distance traveled: Earn 1 point for every mile flown
• Price paid: Earn 5 points for every eligible $1 spent
• Segments flown: Earn 500 points for every flight segment

The best choice will depend on how you normally travel. Distance-based earning could work well for someone who buys inexpensive tickets for long flights. However, Alaska says members choosing this option will no longer receive class-of-service bonuses or minimum-mile guarantees.

Price-based earnings may be better for travelers who regularly purchase expensive tickets or paid upgrades. Just know that taxes and fees will not count toward earnings. On award tickets, members will earn 1 status point for every 20 points redeemed.

Finally, segment-flown earnings could make sense for travelers who take many short flights, such as trips within the Pacific Northwest and California or between the Hawaiian Islands. Award tickets will earn a flat 500 status points per segment under this method.

Regardless of which earning option you choose, members can change their earning method once per calendar year.

How Will Partner Flights Earn?

That’s still the unanswered question. For now, we know these new earning choices will apply to flights operated by Alaska and Hawaiian, but what about flights with Oneworld and other airline partners?

Alaska has not yet explained how members will earn status points on partner flights in 2027. It remains unclear whether the chosen earning method will apply or whether partner flights will continue following separate earning rules.

This matters because earning on partner flights currently depends on the airline, ticket type, seat class, and how you book. Until Alaska shares more details, travelers will not know whether these new choices also apply to partner flights or which option would earn them the most status points.

Final Thoughts

We appreciate that Atmos Rewards will let members choose how they earn points and status points based on the way they travel. However, there are still some important unanswered questions, particularly around how partner flights will earn rewards.

Hopefully, Alaska provides those details before the new options go live for all its members.