A premium Alaska Airlines credit card has been rumored for some time and it’s now definitely on the way.
As you can see in the image above, the new card will be launched next summer, but there’s no exact date yet as to when it’ll be launched. Alaska Airlines has opened a waitlist though which an earn you up to 5,500 bonus miles on top of whatever bonus will be offered as part of the welcome offer.
You’ll receive 500 bonus miles simply for joining the waitlist by December 31, 2024 – there’s no obligation to subsequently apply for the card in order to receive those miles. If you do subsequently apply for the card using the link they’ll send you next summer, you’ll get 5,000 bonus miles on top of the welcome offer, similar to how things worked with the new Aeroplan credit card a few years ago.
There are limited details about the new card right now, but here’s what we do know about some of its upcoming benefits and features:
- Annual fee will be $395
- Earn Global Companion Award Certificates
- Receive waived award ticket fees
- Earn 3x miles on
- All eligible foreign purchases
- All eligible dining purchases
- Receive Alaska lounge passes & Wi-Fi vouchers
- Get same-day confirmed fee waivers
- Earn elite status on an accelerated basis
How some of these features and benefits will be implemented remains to be seen. For example, will the Global Companion Award Certificates be earned at renewal, or will they be part of the welcome offer too? Will you have to spend a certain amount on the premium card to earn those?
Similarly, will the Alaska lounge passes and Wi-Fi vouchers be earned once you hit a certain spending threshold, or will you receive perhaps a couple of both when first applying for the card, with the ability to earn more when hitting spending thresholds? Will an unlimited number of award ticket fees be waived, or only a certain number of those each year? As for earning elite status more quickly, how will that work? Will spend on the card earn elite-qualifying miles at a faster rate in order to reach their new milestones more rapidly?
As you can see, there’s a lot that’s unknown as things stand right now. However, one thing that is certain is that joining the waitlist is a no-brainer. If the card comes out and the details don’t interest you, you’ll have earned 500 bonus miles nonetheless. If it does interest you, you’ll earn an additional 5,000 bonus miles courtesy of being waitlisted.
For me, one of the most interesting features of the card is that it’ll earn 3x on all eligible foreign transactions. Provided this new premium card doesn’t charge foreign transactions fees, earning 3x on purchases when you’re outside the US could come in very handy for expats and other people who spend a significant amount of time outside of the country.
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