Dive Brief:
- Alaska Air is giving its loyalty members the ability to customize how they earn points in an effort to provide customers more choice and better fit their specific travel needs, the airline announced Tuesday.
- Beginning Oct. 1, members can choose how they will earn points and status points — by distance traveled, price paid or segments flown — for flights starting in 2027.
- Alaska Air is building Atmos Rewards for all types of travelers, according to Brett Catlin, SVP of network, loyalty and partnerships at Alaska Airlines. “While many loyalty programs focus their richest rewards on a small group of travelers, we're expanding choice, flexibility and value for members across a wide range of travel styles," Catlin said in a prepared statement.
Dive Insight:
Atmos Rewards is a key part of the company’s Alaska Accelerate strategic plan, as the carrier works to turn loyalty into a greater competitive advantage.
Launched last year, Atmos Rewards combined Alaska Airlines' Mileage Plan and Hawaiian Airlines' HawaiianMiles into one joint program. Active membership has grown at roughly four times the prior pace since launch, according to the carrier.
Membership is also skewing younger: The average member age is below 40, and more than half of new status members are Gen Z.
The carrier appears keen to grow that cohort. In addition to its customizable points, Alaska Air is launching an Atmos Rewards debit card in early 2027, with pre-registration available now. Younger and “new-to-country guests” are often interested in debit options, making it a vehicle to expand the program’s reach, the company said.
Alaska isn’t alone in offering debit options. Last year, Southwest Airlines launched a Rapid Reward debit card to provide younger customers another option to earn points, while United launched a MileagePlus debit card.
Alaska is planning on offering customers more options to transfer and spend points. In 2027, it plans to enable customers with eligible Bank of America cards to transfer points into Atmos Rewards.
