BofA Atmos Rewards Ascent Credit Card: Record-High 80,000 Miles + One Companion Fare

This card’s welcome offer has increased to 80,000 miles plus a Companion Fare. With the Companion Fare, after one person buys a ticket, a second traveler can join for just $99 plus taxes. It’s a pretty good deal if you can use it. The card also offers priority boarding and a free checked bag. If you have friends who fly Alaska from time to time, this card may be worth keeping long term.

• Apply here

BofA Atmos Rewards Ascent Credit Card

Highlights

• 10% mileage bonus: Both this card and the business version have added a new 10% mileage bonus benefit. You must have a BofA bank account (checking or savings) or investment account (Merrill). An account with activity or a balance greater than $0 qualifies. This 10% bonus looks fairly easy to earn.
• Airline benefits:
  • Buy your ticket with this card to get priority boarding and one free checked bag. Authorized users also get this benefit, even when traveling separately!
  • The first checked bag is free for up to six people traveling together (everyone’s ticket must be paid for with this card).
  • 20% back on Alaska Airlines inflight purchases, including food and Wi-Fi, and 50% off Alaska Lounge day passes.
• Alaska Lounge+ Membership discount: Get $100 off when you purchase this lounge membership with the card.
• Companion Fare benefit: You must spend $6,000 on the card to receive one Companion Fare each year. After one person buys an Alaska Airlines ticket, one companion can join for just $99 plus $22 in taxes. Valid only on domestic flights operated by Alaska Airlines and Virgin America. The Companion Fare can be especially valuable for flights to Hawaii. In the example below, a $99 fare gets you an $800 ticket. Search directly when using the fare, and Alaska and Virgin America flights will be combined automatically. Alaska Companion Fare FAQ

BofA card benefits

• Free museum admission: On the first weekend of each month, BofA cardholders can get free admission to major museums nationwide. You can add family members as authorized users so they can get free admission too. See the list of participating museums by state here.
• BofA Deals: Offers 5%–15% cash back or a fixed amount back at various merchants. Past offers have included 15% back at Sears (up to $25) and 15% back at Nordstrom Rack (up to $37.50). Using any BofA Deal can also earn you an extra $5. See the BofA Deals guide.
• Free credit score: BofA credit cards now provide a free TransUnion credit score. See our comparison of free credit scores.
• Product-change option: You can product-change this card to another no-annual-fee BofA credit card if you don’t want to pay the annual fee after the first year. See our product-change guide.

Alaska Airlines Mileage Overview

• Point value: Each mile is worth 1.6 cents (points value chart)
• Redeeming miles: Alaska Mileage Plan has been integrated into Atmos Rewards, and existing miles were converted to the new points at a 1:1 ratio. You can redeem flights on Alaska, Hawaiian, and oneworld and other partner airlines such as AA, Cathay Pacific, and Japan Airlines. Short-haul awards and some partner business class awards still offer decent value, but long-haul and multi-segment itineraries are no longer as cheap as before. See Alaska miles redemption
• Redemption advantages: Eligible international one-way award tickets can include one free stopover of up to 14 days, and round-trip awards can include up to two stopovers. The award chart is priced mainly by region and flight distance, with partner-airline short-haul awards starting at 4,500 points, and some Japan Airlines, Cathay Pacific, and AA business class awards can still deliver strong value.

My Take

Application experience: I had already had a BofA credit card for more than two years when I applied for my first Alaska card. I was instantly approved for a $6,000 credit limit without any issues. But this was LD’s first BofA credit card, and the limit was only $3,500. LD had no prior relationship with BofA, so we couldn’t increase the limit to $5,000 by transferring credit from another card to qualify for the 30,000-mile welcome offer. We had to settle for the $5,000 Platinum offer. That said, if your first BofA application is for another no-annual-fee card, its welcome offer won’t be very high either. You might as well get a downgraded version of this card, which can still earn you $100 plus 5,000 miles.

I applied for this card again recently, and the process was a bit of a roller coaster:

• Applied in early November. After a few days, I was automatically approved with a $4,500 credit limit.
• The next day, I called and transferred $500 in credit from my BBR card. After the transfer, the representative asked to upgrade the card to the Visa Signature version. However, I was told that once the credit limit reached $5,000, I could call Alaska Airlines and request the 30,000-mile welcome offer. (Note: Don’t call the customer service number on the back of the card to request a credit-limit transfer, as it may result in a hard pull. Ask to be transferred to a credit analyst. A credit analyst may be able to transfer credit based on your circumstances using a soft pull.)

• In mid-November, I received the card without the upgrade. After meeting the spending requirement, I received only $100, 5,000 miles, and a $50 discount code. The annual fee was just $50 (the offer and annual fee for the Visa Platinum version).
• In late November, I received a letter saying that my request to upgrade to the Visa Signature version was being processed.
• In early January, the card still hadn’t been upgraded, and I hadn’t received the additional 25,000 miles. When I called, customer service said the upgrade could take two months to process and that the mileage difference would be credited automatically once the upgrade from Visa Platinum was complete.
• In mid-January, I saw that the card had been upgraded on my account. A few days later, I received the new card; a few days after that, I received the remaining 25,000 miles and a Companion Fare. I wasn’t charged another annual fee for the first year.
• In the end, after all that back and forth, the welcome offer became $100, 30,000 AS miles, a $50 discount code, and a Companion Fare code, with an annual fee of only $50. Not bad! If you’re willing to take a risk, you can apply without lowering your credit limit, then transfer credit and upgrade to get both offers and the lower annual fee.

Redeeming miles: For domestic redemptions, Alaska Airlines’ recent acquisition of Virgin America has expanded its route network and made award bookings more convenient. For flights between the U.S. and China, Alaska miles are among the few remaining programs that allow a stopover on a one-way award. You can stop for a few days in New York, Chicago, Beijing, or Shanghai on your way to China before continuing your trip. For business- and first-class awards, even after the devaluation of AA miles, using Alaska miles to book AA business and first class is still the best value.

Is it worth keeping long term?: I don’t fly Alaska Airlines often, so I won’t keep this card long term. I’ll earn the welcome offer and then product-change to another no-annual-fee BofA credit card.

How to Apply

• You’ll need to enter your Alaska membership number when applying. If you have one, be sure to enter it; otherwise, a new number will be assigned automatically.

• BOA application status check link, or call: (800) 732-9194
• 2/3/4 rule: at most 2 cards approved within 2 months, 3 within 12 months, and 4 within 24 months. However, BofA’s system is not very reliable, and sometimes a card may be approved at first but later shut down.
• The welcome bonus on the same card can only be received once every 24 months, and you need to make sure the card is closed before applying again>
• You need to be a Resident to apply for a BOA credit card online: when applying for a BofA credit card online, if you select Non resident alien, you will not be able to continue and must apply by phone. However, BofA’s definition of Resident alien is different from the IRS definition of Resident alien for tax purpose. No matter what immigration status you used to enter the US, if you have lived in the US for 183 days within the past two years, then select Resident Alien. If you just arrived in the US and cannot meet this requirement, follow the prompt on the online application page and call 1.800.932.2775 to apply.
• You can call the reconsideration line (888-593-6092) to speed up credit card approval or request a review of a denied application.
• More about applying for BofA credit cards

Application Link

• BofA Alaska Airline Credit Card