You Can Now Join Alaska’s New Atmos Rewards Communities. Here’s What You Need To Know.

When Alaska Airlines unveiled its all-new Atmos Rewards program last year, it included a feature that we didn’t pay much attention to at the time.

Called Atmos Rewards Communities, this program offers members the opportunity to join specific “communities” that interest them and receive extra perks for joining.

Just 2 Atmos Rewards Communities were announced at launch, but the program shared this week that a further 4 would be available — and now they are.

Here’s what to know about Atmos Rewards Communities, how to join them, and why you may want to.

6 Atmos Rewards Communities Now Available

At Alaska Airlines‘ Investor and Media Day event in Seattle this week, the carrier announced it was adding 4 additional Atmos Rewards Communities for members to join, on top of the 2 that had been available since its launch.

Now, members can choose to join any one of 6 communities. Here’s the full roster along with a look at the major benefits of each:

As you can see, some of these benefits are surprisingly valuable, such as a 20% award flight discount for children 12 or under, bonus points for interisland Hawaiian travel, free bags for Alaska and Hawaii residents, a 10% bonus on earnings for international travel, and the opportunity to earn up to 10,000 bonus points and elite-qualifying points in every community.

Here are some additional details you should know:

• The destination list for the 10,000-bonus-point challenge varies for each community. Visit each community’s page to view the specific list for the community you join.
• Global Locals: The 10% earnings bonus applies to paid and award tickets, and the eligible partners for the transfer promotion are currently Bilt Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy.
• Families on the Go: The 20% rebate for children 12 or under will reflect in your account within 24 hours of travel, and children only need to be members of the community at the time of travel, not booking. The rebate can be used as many times as you wish and applies to up to 7 children on the same reservation.
• Joining a community is optional. You can do so by logging into your Atmos Rewards account and selecting “Join a Community”
• Members can change communities once per calendar year.

Final Thoughts

Atmos Rewards Communities is an innovative and surprisingly rewarding sub-program within Atmos Rewards. If you fly with Alaska or Hawaiian Airlines often, there’s no downside in joining a community, as it’s completely free to do and there’s nothing but upside for you. Remember to choose carefully, though, since you can only change communities once per year.