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The Alaska Airlines Visa Signature Card from Bank of America now comes with the following enhanced benefits package:

  • 30,000 Alaska miles for spending $1,000 on the card within three months of opening it
  • $100 statement credit (also in return for meeting the minimum spending requirement)
  • One Companion Fare with $0 base fare and only taxes; following the first year, ever year on your card anniversary you’ll get another Companion Fare for $99 + taxes
  • Free checked bag on Alaska and Virgin America flights for you and up to six other passengers on the same reservation
  • 3 Alaska miles for every dollar spent on Alaska Airlines or Virgin America purchases
  • $75 annual fee (not waived first year)

This is better than the previous offer in two ways:

  1. The old offer did not come with any statement credit
  2. The old offer came with a $99 base fare + taxes Companion Fare the first year and on

Basically, this new offer is $199 more valuable than the old one. As far as I can see, this enhanced offer is only available for the personal card, not the Alaska Airlines Visa Business card.

Here is the specific application link for this offerWe do get commissions when you sign up for some cards, but not this one–we just want you to be aware of the best deals.

Remind me again, how does the Companion Fare work?

With this new offer, the first year you use your Companion Fare, your travel companion only has to pay taxes/fees (starting at $22), no matter what the cost of the ticket. As long as you’re flying on a paid ticket, it is valid on any economy ticket flying Alaska or Virgin America. And no, redeeming the certificate does not cancel out you or your companion’s eligibility to earn miles/status credit/upgrades.

Starting the second year of card membership (and every year thereafter), you’ll get another Companion Fare with a $99 base fare + taxes.

To redeem: Log into your MileagePlan account. Click Discount and Companion Care Codes on the left side of your account profileThe discount code will be listed under SHOP (blacked out in the screenshot). You can either input the discount code when searching or click SHOP in the Discount and companion fare codes section and the website will fill in the code for you.

Alaska miles are valuable because of the airline’s varied partners with lots of award chart sweetspots, and the ability to book a free stopover on every one way.

Check out these examples of high value redemptions with potential stopover destinations….

  • 70k Alaska miles: United States > Tokyo (stopover) > Delhi in Japan Airlines First Class
  • 70k Alaska miles: United States > Hong Kong (stopover) > Bangkok in Cathay Pacific First Class
  • 55k Alaska miles United States > Sydney (stopover) > Perth in Qantas Business Class
  • Two Half Trips for the Price of One, 20k Alaska miles: Barcelona > Philadelphia (stopover at your home) > San Francisco in American Airlines economy October 15 – May 15
  • 55k Alaska miles: United States > Fiji (stopover) > New Zealand in Fiji Airways Business Class
  • 50k Alaska miles: United States > Beijing (stopover) > Phuket in Hainan Business Class
  • 55k Alaska miles: United States > Reykjavík (stopover) > Brussels in Icelandair Business Class

You can read about them in greater detail in 7 Awesome Alaska Awards w/Free Stopovers & How to Book Them.

I heard a rumor the Alaska cards were churnable. Is that true?

For those that aren’t aware, let me clarify what I mean by churnable. Generally a churnable credit card is one you can get the same sign-up bonus over and over.

The last time I thoroughly checked into it, yes. But I haven’t applied for a new card myself in over six months. So in light of this enhanced offer, I plan on diving back into that topic to see what’s changed and more current data points regarding the state of applying for multiple Alaska cards. Expect more on this in the coming days.

Bottom Line

There is a new offer available for the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature Card from Bank of America. It is similar to the existing offer in that the sign up bonus is the same, but is better in that it offers a $100 statement credit and a Companion Fare for the first year that only costs whatever the taxes might be.

Hat Tip Frequent Miler

Earn $300 Chase Travel℠ Credit + 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

Just getting started in the world of points and miles? The Chase Sapphire Preferred is the best card for you to start with.

With a bonus of 60,000 points after $4,000 spend in the first 3 months, 5x points on travel booked through the Chase Travel℠ and 3x points on restaurants, streaming services, and online groceries (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs), this card truly cannot be beat for getting started!


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