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I love Atmos
Here's how I got $2,509 in positive value from this card during the first year.
Atmos Ascent Visa Card Welcome Offer
Bank of America issues the Atmos™ Rewards Ascent Visa Signature® credit card which is currently offering 50,000 bonus points + $99 Companion Fare (plus taxes and fees from $23) after spending $1,500 or more in purchases within the first 90 days of opening your account.
This offer allows you to bring a second person on a paid Alaska or Hawaiian Airlines flight with you, paying just the taxes and fees on that ticket. And the bonus points? AwardWallet users average 2.34¢ in value from Atmos points. To get an idea of what you can do with those points, check out our favorite sweet spots.
- Earn unlimited 3 points for every $1 spent on eligible Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines purchases
- Earn unlimited 2 points for every $1 spent on eligible gas, EV charging stations, cable, streaming services and local transit (including ride share) purchases
- Earn unlimited 1 point for every $1 spent on all other eligible purchases
Atmos Ascent Visa Card Ongoing Benefits
Beyond the welcome bonus, the Atmos Ascent Visa Card has several cardholder perks that I find valuable — especially after a 2023 update to the card:
- Receive a Companion Fare ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) on each account anniversary when you spend at least $6,000 on the card in the previous year.
- Get a free checked bag on Alaska or Hawaiian Airlines flights when paying with this card; benefit extends to up to six companions on the same reservation.
- Priority boarding on Alaska or Hawaiian Airlines flights.
- $100 discount on an Alaska Lounge+ membership.
- 20% back on Alaska or Hawaiian Airlines in-flight purchases.
- No foreign transaction fees.
And when spending on the Atmos Ascent Visa Card, I earn the following:
- Earn unlimited 3 points for every $1 spent on eligible Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines purchases
- Earn unlimited 2 points for every $1 spent on eligible gas, EV charging stations, cable, streaming services and local transit (including ride share) purchases
- Earn unlimited 1 point for every $1 spent on all other eligible purchases
Read our full Atmos Ascent Visa Card review
How I Got $2,509 From the Atmos Ascent Visa Card in the First Year
Let's look at how two trips gave my wife and I so much value from the Atmos Ascent Visa Card in the first year:
- $342 from the Companion Fare: My wife wants to go to Belize for her birthday this year. Alaska Airlines flies direct to Belize City from Los Angeles, which is great for us living in Southern California. Those tickets in the mid-summer tourist boom aren't cheap. Using the Companion Fare knocked $342 off our cost, and this was much better than redeeming points at a poor rate on this route or having a long layover to save money on a connecting itinerary.
- $140 in baggage fees: We're going to Belize for some scuba diving, so checking luggage to take our gear on this trip is mandatory. Saving $35 per person times two people makes for $140 in checked bag fees (round-trip) we won't pay by having the Atmos Ascent Visa Card. Note: From 2026, this fare increased to $45 per person.
- $2,122 on a business-class award: My wife already had some Atmos points in her account, so we both had enough points now to book Condor business-class tickets home from a trip to Europe. Cash price of these tickets: $2,300 per person. My welcome bonus covered my ticket, and I paid just $178 in taxes and fees. That saved me $2,122. Alternatively, what would we really pay? Not $2,300 to fly home. The economy ticket on that flight costs $300 if you want to look at it from this perspective. Of course, I wouldn't redeem my Atmos points for that price, so we'll stick with the $2,122 number.
If you add up those numbers, you'll get $2,604. After subtracting the card's $95 annual fee, that leaves me with $2,509 in net positive value. Alternatively, taking the “what would we really pay for a flight if we couldn't use points?” approach, I still got $687 in positive value from this card. And the year is still young! I've got time to get even more value from my card over the next nine months.
It's also worth pointing out that we redeemed 55,000 points each for that Condor business-class redemption. You'll pay more with an impending Atmos Rewards points devaluation.
Bottom Line
The Atmos Ascent Visa Card can provide much more value than its annual fee year after year, but it provides especially great value during the first year when you can obtain the welcome bonus. Even if you don't consider the use of the points — just focusing on saving money on checked bag fees to take scuba equipment on a trip where we used the Companion Fare — we're saving hundreds of dollars in the first year of this card. And the points from the welcome bonus provide several multiples of value on top.
