Is the Alaska Airlines Credit Card Worth It? Editor’s Review for 2024 (2024)

Pros

• High rewards rate
• 60,000 miles initial rewards bonus
• No foreign fee

Cons

• Membership fees
• No intro APR on purchases
• No intro APR on balance transfers
• Requires good/excellent credit

Is the Alaska Airlines Credit Card Worth It?

The Alaska Airlines Credit Card is worth it for travelers with at least good credit who regularly fly with Alaska Airlines and its network of 24 partner airlines, both domestic and international. It offers 1 - 3 miles per $1 spent on purchases and has a $95 annual fee.

The regular earning rate breaks down like this: 3 miles per $1 spent directly with Alaska Airlines, 2 miles per $1 spent on gas, EV charging station, cable, streaming services and local transit, and 1 mile per $1 spent on all other purchases. In addition, you can get an initial bonus of 60,000 miles plus a companion fare ticket after spending $3,000 in the first 90 days.

The Alaska Airlines Credit Card comes with some other valuable perks, too. For example, you can get free checked bags on Alaska Airlines flights for you and up to six other passengers on the same reservation, 20% back on in-flight purchases, and $100 off an Alaska Lounge+ membership.

What You Need to Do to Make the Alaska Airlines Credit Card Worthwhile

To make the Alaska Airlines Credit Card worthwhile, you should make sure to earn the initial bonus of 60,000 miles plus a companion fare ticket after spending $3,000 in the first 90 days. That will cover the $95 annual fee for a few years.

If you disregard the initial bonus, you’d have to spend around $2,800 to $7,900 in a normal year to break even on the annual fee, depending on what you purchase. Alaska Airlines miles are worth up to 2.38 cents each when redeemed toward flights. Ideally, you’ll want to spend at least $6,000 on the card each year, though, because that will allow you to purchase a companion fare for just $99 (plus taxes and fees) after each account anniversary.

So, if you spend a lot on Alaska Airlines, its credit card should prove worthwhile. But if you don’t, the card’s annual fee will skew the offer against you.

Alaska Airlines Credit Card Highlights

60,000-Mile plus a Companion Ticket Initial Bonus

Spending at least $3,000 within 90 days of account opening scores you 60,000 bonus miles plus a companion ticket — redeemable for roughly $990 in airfare, according to our calculations. That’s not quite as much as some other travel rewards cards currently offer, but they tend to have far higher spending requirements. And that makes this bonus particularly helpful to relatively light-spending travelers as well as those who’d rather not put all of their monthly expenses on Alaska Airlines plastic, even for just a few billing cycles.

Up To 3 Miles Per $1 Spent

This maximum earning rate applies on Alaska Airlines tickets, baggage fees, in-flight purchases and vacation packages. You'll also earn 2 miles per $1 spent on gas, cable, streaming services and local transit. On all other purchases, you will earn the industry-standard 1 point per $1 spent.

Free Companion Ticket Each Year

Let’s say you and your significant other enjoy taking a yearly trip to Alaska. Well, as far as your wallet’s concerned, only one individual will be on the itinerary. That’s because your card entitles you to a free round-trip ticket, which covers a base fee of at least $99 and $23 in fees, for one companion each year. And your travel partner will still earn miles for the trip. Pretty nice.

All you have to do to qualify the first year is spend at least $3,000 in the first 90 days. And you merely have to keep your account in good standing to earn this bonus in subsequent years. If your account is closed or changed from a Visa Signature, you will lose the benefit.

Free Checked Bags

Each time you fly Alaska Air, you and up to six companions won’t have to worry about your first checked bags. All of the tickets must be on the card’s bill, however, so getting reimbursed by your travel companions (if you require it) will be on you. Nevertheless, this single feature could save a frequent flyer hundreds of dollars each year, not to mention the points you’ll earn for picking up the tab. But it still shouldn’t be overstated given that other airlines extend similar generosity to customers, cardholders or not.

Alaska Airlines Credit Card Lowlights

$95 Annual Fee

The annual fee that is charged starting with the first year is nearly four times higher than the market average of $22.29, according to WalletHub’s latest Credit Card Landscape Report, and is the primary negative against which you must weigh the card’s positives.

In other words, will this card prove to be worth at least $95 more than the best no-annual-fee card you could get? Does it beat out other offers that also come at a cost but sport different types of rewards? The answers to those questions depend on your credit standing and spending habits, and we’ll do our best to help you fill in the blanks throughout the remainder of this review.

No Low Intro Financing Offer

Many credit cards, even some obviously geared toward travel rewards, offer 0% introductory interest rates applicable to new purchases, balance transfers or both. The Alaska Airlines Credit Card is not among them. That means the ability to always pay your monthly bill in full should be a prerequisite for applying.

Other Things To Consider About Alaska Airlines Credit Card

Platinum Possibility

Not all applicants who get approved for an Alaska Airlines credit card will get the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature Card. Instead, those whose credit is good but not great will get the Platinum Plus version. Although Platinum costs $25 less per year, this is not an upgrade.

Platinum Plus offers only a 5,000-mile initial bonus and a $50 annual airline credit in place of Signature’s companion ticket worth at least $121. It also comes with a lower credit limit. According to the terms and conditions, applicants who get approved for a limit of at least $5,000 get Signature cards and everyone else gets Platinum Plus.

17 Airline Partners

Don’t worry; it’s not exclusive. Getting the Alaska Airlines Credit Card doesn’t marry you to the carrier or its route schedule. In fact, you have the ability to transfer your miles to 17 partner airlines. In other words, 60,000 Alaska Airlines miles would become 60,000 American Airlines miles.

The following is a list of partners. And if you decide to avail yourself of this feature, just make sure that you’re getting a fair transfer ratio (hopefully at least 1:1, or 1 Alaska Airlines mile equals 1 partner airline mile), and keep in mind that you may have to pay fees that are not covered by the miles.

Miles Usually Don’t Expire

The only two scenarios in which your miles can expire are if you don’t use the card at all for the first two months your account is open or if there is no account activity for 24 consecutive months. Otherwise, you can redeem your miles at will. Just bear in mind that the number of miles needed to book a given ticket could rise in the future, thus making your miles worth less. It’s called rewards devaluation.

Potential For Above-Average APR

Depending on your creditworthiness, you could get approved for an interest rate befitting someone with excellent credit or one more suited to someone with fair credit, according to our latest Credit Card Landscape Report. More specifically, it could be between 20.24% to 28.24% (V). That means you shouldn’t count on carrying a balance with this card, which is wise considering that any finance charges would eat away at your rewards earning.

No Foreign-Transaction Fee

Sure, Alaska’s a domestic carrier, so a foreign-transaction fee wouldn’t be horribly out of place, but it’s certainly nice to know there isn’t one. Many of the card’s partner airlines are internationally based, after all, and you never know where your travels will take you.

Overdraft “Protection”

You have the option of signing up for overdraft protection to cover the cost of transactions that exceed your available credit, which would ordinarily be declined. But don’t. Maxing out your credit line is quite harmful to your credit score, and the overdraft amounts are treated as cash advances. That means they will immediately begin to accrue interest. A $12 fee will also apply when the amount covered by overdraft protection is at least $12.

Alaska Airlines Credit Card VS the Competition

Which airline credit card flies the highest? You can check out our editors’ picks for the best airline credit cards to get the complete story, but here’s a quick snapshot of how the Alaska Airlines Credit Card compares to some of its most popular peers:

Alaska Airlines Credit Card Review Methodology

This Alaska Airlines Credit Card review is based on WalletHub’s proprietary 100-point credit card rating system. By using a consistent methodology to evaluate the Alaska Airlines Credit Card and all other cards, WalletHub’s credit card experts make it easy for people to compare their options and find the best credit cards for their needs.

The WalletHub rating system uses 16 key metrics grouped into seven categories: Fees, Rewards, Two-year Cost, Interest Rates, Approval Requirements, Special Features, and Reviews. Each metric has a maximum number of points allocated to it, based on the metric’s importance as determined by our editors. The points are added up to create an overall rating for the Alaska Airlines Credit Card out of a maximum of 100 points, which is then converted to a 5-point scale.

Ratings for each category reflect how close Alaska Airlines Credit Card is to WalletHub’s definition of a 5-star credit card, which is based on market conditions and what we believe are reasonable terms. We compare Alaska Airlines Credit Card to that standard to give a numerical approximation of how reasonable and competitive its terms are compared to other cards.

To learn more about how WalletHub rates credit card offers, check out our full credit card review methodology.