Credit card showdown: Alaska Airlines Visa vs. Alaska Airlines Business Visa

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles are the highest-valued airline miles on the market — so getting one in every of their two cobranded bank cards may curiosity you.

Those two playing cards that you simply may need to take into consideration are the Alaska Airlines Visa® bank card and the Alaska Airlines Visa® Business card.

In addition to how helpful Alaska Airlines miles may be, one other good motive to think about these playing cards is that they’re each issued by Bank of America. That’s necessary as a result of if in case you have reached your restrict with American Express playing cards or are affected by Chase’s 5/24 rule, seeking to different banks on your subsequent bank card might be a good suggestion.

Let’s look at the main points of those two playing cards and talk about how they match up.

A fast comparability

Here’s a comparability chart of the 2 merchandise and their advantages:

Annual price

Although their annual charges are structured in a different way, if you’re getting a single card, you’ll pay the identical quantity for both one. The private model costs $95 per yr to maintain your account open, while the enterprise card will price $70 per account plus $25 per card.

So if in case you have a single card because the enterprise proprietor, additionally, you will should pay $95 complete per yr, although you possibly can take out extra playing cards at a further expense of $25 per card.

Sign-up bonus

The private model is providing 70,000 bonus miles plus Alaska’s Famous Companion Fare™ from $122 ($99 fare plus taxes and costs from $23). To qualify, make $3,000 or extra in purchases throughout the first 90 days of opening your account.

Meanwhile, the enterprise card at the moment gives 70,000 bonus miles plus Alaska’s Famous Companion Fare™ from $122 ($99 fare plus taxes and costs from $23) after making $4,000 or extra in purchases throughout the first 90 days of opening your account.

So the spend requirement is $1,000 greater on the enterprise card for a similar quantity of miles.

Based on our present valuations, these 70,000 Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles are value round $1,260. You can get a ton of worth out of your Alaska Airlines miles because of Mileage Plan’s phenomenal roster of Oneworld and non-alliance companions, together with British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Fiji Airways, Japan Airlines, Qantas and Singapore Airlines.

Related: Alaska Airlines Visa Business evaluation

Earning

Earning charges are comparable: each playing cards rack up 3 miles per greenback on eligible Alaska purchases, 2 miles per greenback on fuel and native transit (together with ride-hailing) and 1 mile per greenback on every thing else.

The private card additionally earns 2 miles per greenback on cable and choose streaming providers, whereas the enterprise card gives a 2-mile-per-dollar charge on transport.

Related: How to earn miles with the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan program

Alaska Airlines advantages

You received’t discover many variations between the 2 playing cards’ day-of-travel perks.

Both the Alaska Airlines Visa bank card and the Alaska Airlines Visa Business card afford cardholders a free checked bag for themselves and as much as six friends on the identical reservation once they pay with their card.

You’ll additionally get pleasure from precedence boarding and $100 off one Alaska Lounge+ Membership yearly when bought together with your Alaska card.

Cardholders with both product additionally obtain 20% again on Alaska inflight purchases together with meals and Wi-Fi.

Companion Fare

Both merchandise reward cardholders with an annual Companion Fare, one of the crucial beneficiant airline bank card companion certificates round. In impact, this can be a buy-one-get-one-discounted deal (plus taxes and costs).

However — and this can be a large one — it’s important to spend $6,000 or extra on purchases throughout the prior anniversary yr to earn the Companion Fare on both card (that is aside from the one which comes with the welcome bonus).

Related: Maximizing the Alaska Airlines Visa Companion Fare

When you e-book a round-trip financial system ticket on Alaska Airlines, you should use the Companion Fare to order a second ticket on the identical reservation from $122 ($99 fare plus taxes and costs from $23).

The Companion Fare have to be redeemed inside 12 months of the difficulty date, although the precise journey can happen after that, extending its usefulness to just about two years. Even higher, each vacationers accrue full mileage credit score for his or her flights and are eligible for upgrades.

The cardholder themselves doesn’t even should be flying, however they have to use their Alaska card to pay for the tickets. Depending on the way you redeem your Companion Fare, it may be value a whole lot of {dollars}, particularly on a few of the airline’s costlier routes, like these to Hawaii, and may greater than offset both card’s annual price annually.

Business vs. private

Given how related the 2 playing cards are, your closing and maybe most important consideration must be whether or not you want a private bank card or if it’s value making use of for a enterprise bank card.

There are many the explanation why a enterprise bank card may be a greater match on your wants. Carrying and utilizing one will assist you separate your private and work purchases, which in flip may even assist increase your private credit score rating over time. What’s extra, if you’re thinking about making use of for a Chase card sooner or later, the enterprise card won’t depend towards your total 5/24 restrict, which may open up your choices down the road.

You may even take into account making use of for each and raking in a ton of Alaska miles for future journey. While diversifying your factors and miles is at all times a good suggestion, contemplating the worth of Alaska miles and the truth that Mileage Plan doesn’t have many nice switch accomplice choices, opening each playing cards could possibly be a great way to lift your stability within the brief time period.

If you could have (or have beforehand had) different accounts with Bank of America, try our information to bank card software guidelines to make sure that you’re eligible for the welcome bonus on the cardboard or playing cards you have an interest in making use of for. For instance, the welcome bonus on these playing cards shouldn’t be accessible in the event you at the moment have or have had the cardboard within the previous 24-month interval.

Bottom line

The Alaska Airlines Visa bank card or the Alaska Airlines Visa Business card (or each) are value it, given the excessive worth of Alaska miles and the Companion Fare. With lower than $100 in annual charges, neither is that costly to hold yr after yr, and each confer first rate day-of-travel advantages when flying on the airline. Your alternative comes right down to which one is providing a better welcome bonus.

Apply right here for the Alaska Airlines Visa bank card or the Alaska Airlines Visa Business card.

Additional reporting by Ryan Wilcox and Chris Dong.