How Earning Works and How to Choose a Track
Beginning in 2026, Atmos Rewards requires each member to select one of three earning tracks for all flight activity during the year. The track you choose determines both your redeemable points and your status points for every paid and award flight, and you may change your track once during the year. If you do nothing, the program defaults you to the Price track. This analysis focuses specifically on earning methods and the needs of members targeting Silver or Gold status. Travelers pursuing Platinum or Titanium operate in a different tier of travel activity and have additional considerations that fall outside the scope of this evaluation.
TL;DR
Atmos 2026 earning is based entirely on the track you select: Distance, Price, or Segments. Silver and Gold add 25 percent or 50 percent to redeemable points only, and Alaska-operated flights no longer receive class-of-service bonuses.
- Distance wins when fares are cheap relative to distance (below ~$0.20 per mile).
- Price wins when fares are high relative to distance (above ~$0.20 per mile).
- Segment wins only for short-hop or very low-fare flights.
- Status earning follows the same track rules, and you may change tracks once per year.
- Partner premium-cabin flights earn via separate multipliers (up to 250 percent) and should be evaluated independently.
This online calculator can give you a rough idea whether it is better to choose price or distance:
Atmos Rewards Track Helper
What follows is the detailed breakdown.
CORE MECHANICS
Earning Tracks
Distance Track: 1 point per mile flown (redeemable and status).
Price Track: 5 points per dollar of base fare (redeemable and status).
Segment Track: 500 points per segment (redeemable and status).
Status Multipliers
- Silver: +25 percent redeemable points
- Gold: +50 percent redeemable points
Status bonuses apply only to redeemable points, not status points.
Class-of-Service Bonuses Removed
All Alaska-operated flights earn the same regardless of fare class. No multipliers for First, Premium, or fare buckets.
Partner Airline Earning
Partner flights booked directly with the partner airline follow separate rules:
- Domestic Business/First: 150 percent
- International Business: 250 percent
- International First: 250 percent
These multipliers apply to both redeemable and status points and operate outside your Alaska track choice.
Status Acceleration and Credit Cards
Holding an Atmos Rewards Visa card can accelerate your path to Silver or Gold status. These cards earn status points through everyday spending, reducing the amount of flying required to reach an elite tier. Because elite status increases redeemable point earning rates by 25 percent (Silver) or 50 percent (Gold), reaching status earlier in the year can shift the overall value of selecting Distance or Price.
Status acceleration does not change the $0.20 per mile crossover rule, but it can influence which track is more beneficial over the course of a full year, especially for travelers whose flying alone would put them just below a status threshold.
Partner Travel and International Premium Cabins
Partner airline flights booked directly with the partner follow their own earning rules and are independent of your Atmos track selection. Long international flights in Business or First Class can earn at 150 percent to 250 percent of the miles flown. Both redeemable and status points receive these multipliers.
A single long-haul partner premium-cabin flight can contribute tens of thousands of status points, potentially securing Silver or Gold status by itself. This means partner travel can change the value you get from Distance vs Price on your Alaska-operated flights, since your elite tier may already be locked in.
Core Calculations
Let Miles = distance flown, Fare = base fare, Seg = number of segments, Multiplier = 1, 1.25, or 1.5.
Redeemable Points:
- Distance: Miles × Multiplier
- Price: Fare × 5 × Multiplier
- Segment: Seg × 500 × Multiplier
Status Points:
- Distance: Miles
- Price: Fare × 5
- Segment: Seg × 500
DECISION LOGIC
Distance vs Price
Distance earns 1 point per mile; Price earns 5 points per dollar. The crossover point is:
1 mile = 5 × dollars
→ dollars = $0.20
So:
- Below ~$0.20 per mile → Distance
- Above ~$0.20 per mile → Price
Multipliers do not change this crossover.
Distance vs Segment
- Above ~500 miles → Distance wins
- Below ~500 miles → Segment may win
Price vs Segment
- Above ~$100 base fare → Price wins
- Below ~$100 base fare → Segment may win
Decision Matrix
A quick reference for determining the best earning track:
| Base Fare per Mile | Distance Earn | Price Earn | Best Track |
|---|---|---|---|
| < $0.20 | 1 point per mile earns more | Underperforms | Distance |
| = $0.20 | Same | Same | Either |
| > $0.20 | Underperforms | 5 points per dollar earns more | Price |
Example Scenarios
Low Fare, Long Flight ($300 for 2,000 miles → $0.15/mile)
- Distance: 2,000 points
- Price: $300 × 5 = 1,500 points
- Winner: Distance
Typical West Coast Route ($400 for 1,400 miles → $0.28/mile)
- Distance: 1,400 points
- Price: $400 × 5 = 2,000 points
- Winner: Price
Short Hopper ($90 for 500 miles → $0.18/mile)
- Distance: 500 points
- Price: $90 × 5 = 450 points
- Winner: Distance
Expensive Short Flight ($300 for 500 miles → $0.60/mile)
- Distance: 500 points
- Price: $300 × 5 = 1,500 points
- Winner: Price
Where Segments Fit In
Segment track only beats both Distance and Price when:
- The flight is under 500 miles
- And/or the base fare is under $100
- And/or the traveler flies many short hops per year
For most travel patterns, Segment is not competitive. It works best for frequent short-hop travelers (intra-California, intra-Alaska, Pacific Northwest shuttles) where segment count exceeds practical mileage value.
PRACTICAL TRAVEL PATTERNS
Saver vs Main Cabin: How Fare Type Affects Track Choice
Saver fares are typically priced low relative to distance. Their CPM almost always falls below $0.20 per mile, making Distance the consistently better track for travelers who book Saver nearly all the time.
Main Cabin and higher fares (including Premium, First, and refundable fares) generally price well above $0.20 per mile, meaning Price almost always wins for travelers who book these fare types regularly.
If you know your yearly travel will be dominated by one fare type, you can often choose a track without further analysis.
Companion Fares and Couples
Companion fares add a skew for travelers with low yearly flight counts. A companion fare ticket has a fixed low base fare ($99), resulting in very low CPM. This makes Distance overwhelmingly better for the companion traveler, even when the primary traveler on the same itinerary favors Price.
Example: a 1,956-mile round trip at a $99 companion fare produces CPM ≈ $0.05. Distance earns ~1,956 points; Price earns ~495. The companion should almost always choose Distance.
This matters most when only a few trips are taken per year. One low-CPM companion fare can dominate the annual pattern and shift the optimal track to Distance. As flight volume increases, its impact diminishes and the standard $0.20-per-mile rule governs.
Couples should evaluate each traveler separately. The primary traveler uses their actual base fare; the companion uses the $99 fare. Track selection may differ between the two.
SUMMARY
Track choice is driven mainly by your average cost per mile. Distance wins when CPM is low; Price wins when CPM is high. Flights on partner airlines and use of companion fares should be evaluated separately. Saver fare travelers will usually choose Distance; Main Cabin and higher fare travelers will usually choose Price. Couples should evaluate each traveler independently when using companion fares.