Atmos Rewards: Alaska and Hawaiian’s Joint Loyalty Program Launches Today

It’s the moment many of us have been waiting for.

“Atmos Rewards” is the name of Alaska and Hawaiian’s new joint loyalty program, which goes live today.

From what has been revealed about the program, Atmos Rewards has the potential to be even better than Alaska’s highly regarded Mileage Plan program, which it will replace.

The showstopper is that Atmos will be the first airline loyalty scheme that allows members to choose how they’d like to earn their status. Wow. Other notable changes include new names for elite status tiers, making the top 2 status tiers harder to earn, and new elite status benefits.

“We listened to what our members value most and built a program that’s grounded in generosity, personalization and practicality,” said Andrew Harrison, chief commercial officer at Alaska Airlines.

This is huge news, so let’s get started.

Atmos Rewards: Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines’ New Loyalty Program

Reading between the lines, from the comparisons and terminology used in the description of Atmos Rewards, the “combined” loyalty program is, in essence, an update of Mileage Plan and complete jettison of HawaiianMiles.

As of today, MileagePlan members’ accounts will automatically convert into Atmos Rewards accounts with the same membership number as before. HawaiianMiles members’ accounts won’t convert automatically until October 1, 2025. They’ll receive a new account number if they hadn’t previously linked their HawaiianMiles and Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan accounts.

Many of the features of the new Atmos Rewards program will be the same as what members of Alaska’s Mileage Plan previously enjoyed. An example is the ability to earn and redeem miles with Oneworld Alliance member airlines and other airline partners. On the other hand, this will be new for HawaiianMiles members.

The ability to earn 2x points per $1 spent on regular Lyft rides and 3x points per $1 spent on airport and premium Lyft rides is another example of an Alaska Mileage Plan feature that will continue with the launch of Atmos.

Atmos Rewards members will also notice some subtle changes, like the name of the currency used for redeeming flights changing from “miles” to “points.” Mileage Plan and HawaiianMiles members’ miles will automatically convert to Atmos Rewards points at a rate of 1:1.

However, the program boasts some exciting new features that need to be discussed in more detail. These include brand new status tiers, the ability to earn status points on award flights, new elite perks and benefits, and perhaps the introduction of the most customer-centric way to earn status in the industry.

Let’s take a look at these changes and what that might mean for your future travels.

Hot Tip:

The launch of the Atmos Rewards program comes hand in hand with changes to Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines co-branded credit cards. The branding of both airlines’ existing credit cards will automatically change to include the word Atmos. Additionally, a new premium Atmos credit card is launching today.

Atmos Rewards Status Tiers

No new loyalty program would be complete without a set of new names for its status levels. The levels are called Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Titanium. Intermediary Milestone Rewards levels remain the same, though the airline hinted those might see slight adjustments in 2026.

The new status levels replace Hawaiian’s Pulani Gold and Pulani Platinum as well as Alaska’s MVP, MVP Gold, MVP Gold 75K, and MVP Gold 100K.

The number of points required to move through the status levels has changed slightly at the top. Despite the Atmos program launching today, the new status-earning criteria won’t be effective until 2026.

Here’s what you’ll need to earn going forward:

Now that we know what the status levels are called, we should probably go over how you go about earning that status.

The Only Loyalty Program That Lets You Decide How To Earn Status

Atmos Rewards is bucking the trend of basing status on how much its members spend. In an industry-first move, Atmos will give its members the option to choose how they earn their status.

“We’re putting our members in the pilot’s seat, giving them control over how they
earn and redeem, while honoring the legacy and values of both Alaska and Hawaiian,” said Harrison.

Set to be introduced by the end of 2026, Atmos Rewards members will be able to decide whether they’ll pursue status through distance traveled, money spent, or number of segments flown. Earnings will be calculated as follows:

• Distance traveled: Members earn 1 status point for every mile flown
• Price paid: Members earn 5 status points for every $1 spent
• Segments flown: Earn a set 500 status points for every segment flown

Better still, once a year, members will be able to change their status-earning method on a rolling 12-month basis.

The move gives members the power to tailor their Atmos status-earning experience to best suit their personal travel patterns. This is in complete contrast to the vast majority of major airlines, which continue to make it harder and more expensive to earn status by forcing all members into a spend-based method.

Hot Tip:

Atmos members also have the option to boost their status points (and regular points) earning on their every day spending with the new Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite^® card and Hawaiian Airlines Mastercard credit cards.

Examples of Earning Status With Atmos Rewards

Let’s take a look at how many status points you’d earn by flying Hawaiian’s new route from Seattle (SEA) to Seoul, South Korea (ICN), which starts in September.

The price of a round-trip flight in economy departing on November 6 and returning November 13 is $841.

The difference in the number of miles you’d earn for the 10,402-mile round-trip journey for each of the status-earning methods is quite significant:

• Distance traveled: 10,402 status points
• Price paid: 4,205 status points
• Segments flown: 1,000 status points

The clear winner here is the “distance traveled” method, which would get you just over halfway to earning Atmos Silver status. If you were a semi-infrequent flyer making a mix of a few long- and short- haul trips per year, then the “distance traveled” method is likely to be best for you.

Here’s another scenario.

Let’s say you’re based in Seattle and commute once per month to San Francisco (SFO) for work meetings. Your company lets you book your own first-class travel, so you spend around $436 per month.

Here’s how many status points you’d earn for you’d earn for these 12 trips at 1,356 miles each:

• Distance traveled: 16,272 status points
• Price paid: 26,160 status points
• Segments flown: 12,000 status points

This time, the winner by almost 10,000 miles is “price paid,” with segments coming in last place again.

However, those who take numerous short trips, such as residents of Hawaii hopping between islands or those who take Alaska Airlines’ short flights in California, could come out ahead by choosing segments.

Hot Tip:

Before choosing how to earn your status, it would be worth doing some math. Calculating your distance traveled, price paid, and segments flown for the previous 12 months and planning the next year of travel should help you figure out which option is best for you.

New Status Perks and Benefits

Complimentary upgrades are better than ever before. Atmos Titanium members and 1 companion can now enjoy same-day upgrades on global business class itineraries without the need to use points or an upgrade certificate.

Elite status holders flying on Hawaiian Airlines-operated flights will also be eligible for complimentary upgrades starting in Spring 2026.

Later in 2026, Atmos Rewards will also introduce a new concept called “Communities,” designed to benefit members in ways that are most tailored to them. We’re waiting to hear more on what this part of the program will look like.

All Atmos Rewards members will have free access to Starlink Wi-Fi if it has been installed on the aircraft they’re flying.

The installation of Starlink Wi-Fi on Alaska Airlines planes is expect to start in 2026 and be completed by the end of 2027.

Earn Status Points Even on Award Flights

Most airline loyalty programs only award their frequent flyers with status-earning points when booking a cash ticket. Not Atmos. Atmos Rewards member will earn status points even on flights reserved using points.

Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club members are also awarded their status-earning currency (Tier Points) on award bookings.

Other Things To Know About Atmos

Transferring points from a frequent flyer program to a hotel loyalty program isn’t for everyone. However, if you’d be interested in doing so, here’s how that will look for Atmos Rewards.

The program will start with 5 hotel transfer partners, with differing transfer rates:

• IHG One Rewards (1:1)
• Marriott Bonvoy (1:1)
• Preferred Hotels I Prefer (1:2)
• Shangri-La Circle (8:1)
• Wyndham Rewards (1:1)

IHG One Rewards transfers will only be available permanently until early November. After that, transfers will be offered for limited-time periods.

Final Thoughts

Take a bow, Alaska. You’ve overhauled an entire loyalty program without irreparable damage to its value.

Aside from increasing the thresholds to earn top-level status, introducing unique and customer-centric innovations — like being able to choose how to earn status — is a great way to show loyal passengers that you actually care about them.

While it’s very early days and we’re yet to test the program out for ourselves, we think Atmos will mostly be a hit.