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Until August 20, 2026, Atmos Rewards is offering a 70% to 90% bonus when you purchase points, depending on the quantity purchased. The maximum 90% tier is triggered starting at 20,000 points purchased, bringing the cost down to 1.98¢ US per point, including federal excise tax.
The tiers are displayed in the purchase store once you are logged into your account, and they vary from one member to another. The offer terms mention a bonus “up to 90%”: there is no guarantee that your account is eligible for it.
The base price is US$35 per 1,000 points, plus a 7.5% U.S. federal excise tax. Here’s what each tier actually yields:
This excise tax often comes as a surprise, so let’s clarify it right away. It’s a 7.5% U.S. federal tax charged on the transaction, no matter where you live. Points.com collects it on behalf of Alaska Airlines, which is responsible for remitting it to the U.S. government.
It’s therefore neither avoidable nor negotiable, and it applies before Canadian taxes. That’s why the advertised price of US$35 per 1,000 points is never what you actually pay.
Purchases of 1,000 and 2,000 points receive no bonus: the point costs US$0.0376. The threshold to aim for is 20,000 points, where the 90% bonus is triggered.
You can purchase or receive as a gift a maximum of 150,000 points per calendar year. Atmos Silver, Atmos Gold, Atmos Platinum, and Atmos Titanium members have no annual limit.
Per transaction, purchases are made in increments of 1,000 points up to 60,000 points, then in increments of 5,000 points up to a maximum of 100,000 points.
Purchased points are non-refundable and do not count as status points, toward milestone rewards, or toward reaching an Atmos tier.
The transaction is in U.S. dollars. Canadian residents also pay GST or HST, and Quebec residents pay QST.
At the 90% tier, a Quebec resident therefore pays approximately US$865 for 38,000 points: US$700, plus 7.5% excise tax, then GST and QST (14.975%). The point costs around 2.28¢ US, not 1.98¢. The exact total is displayed at the payment step, before you confirm.
We recommend using a credit card that does not charge foreign currency conversion fees such as:
You’ll save 2.5% in fees with this points purchase!
Click on a card’s name to see all its details and current welcome bonus.
Only if you already have a specific booking in mind. I value Atmos Rewards points at 1.8¢ US, or approximately 2.4¢ CA. At 1.98¢ per point including excise tax, and 2.28¢ for a resident of Quebec, you are paying above this valuation.
In other words, buying “just in case” makes no sense at this price. The math only works out when you are aiming for a high-value redemption, and that is where the program remains profitable. I will return to this below with the best redemptions.
In Canada, since November 27, 2022, no credit card allows you to earn these points directly. The program also changed its name in August 2025: Alaska Mileage Plan and HawaiianMiles merged under the Atmos Rewards banner.
For details on status tiers, airline partners, and the best redemptions, see our complete Atmos Rewards program guide.
The other indirect route remains transferring Marriott Bonvoy points to Atmos Rewards. The ratio and transfer bonus are detailed in our tutorial on transferring Marriott Bonvoy points to airline partners.
Alaska Airlines joined the oneworld alliance on March 31, 2021, which opened access to a long list of partners. Atmos Rewards maintains this access and adds the Hawaiian Airlines network.
The award chart was modified in December 2022: the number of points to redeem for a ticket now depends on distance and departure zone, and varies according to demand.
It was then revised in March 2024 based on different geographic zones, and the redemption limits between certain zones were removed. Good news for anyone aiming for long itineraries.
Atmos Rewards still allows its members a free stopover on a one-way trip for most award tickets.
For example, you can travel from Boston to Singapore while stopping for free for several days in Tokyo.
Over the years, Alaska Airlines has diversified its partners across different airline alliances: Cathay Pacific, Fiji Airways, Qantas, or Icelandair.
Here are the redemptions I’m watching closely at Atmos Rewards. These are the ones that justify a point purchase, because they offer a value far superior to the 1.98¢ paid.
Don’t forget that the free stopover on a one-way ticket also applies to these tickets:
In concrete terms: buy 37,000 points at the 90% level and you receive 70,300 for US$1,295, or US$1,392 including excise tax. This is enough to cover a one-way first class flight to Asia with Cathay Pacific or Japan Airlines, free stopover included.
Buying Atmos Rewards points only makes sense in two cases: a very specific travel goal, or a balance you need to top up by a few thousand points to unlock an award ticket you’ve already found.
Outside of those two cases, at 1.98¢ per point (2.28¢ in Quebec), you’re paying more than the point is worth on average. And from Canada, the only other options are transferring Marriott Bonvoy points and the VIPorter partnership.
Savings are this way:
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