BoA Alaska Credit Card Review (2021.1 Update: 65k or 50k Offer!)

2021.1 Update: There’s a new 50k offer! It only requires $2,000 spending, significantly less than the 65k offer.

2020.9 Update: The 65k offer is now publicly available! See application link below. Note that the spending requirement for the 65k offer is significantly higher than the 40k+$100 offer.

Application Link

Benefits

1. Currently there are 3 kinds of signup bonuses:
   1. 65k offer: earn 40,000 Alaska Miles after spending $2,000 in first 3 months, earn additional 25,000 Alaska Miles after spending $8,000 in total in the first 6 months. That’s 65,000 miles in total. Plus a companion fare in the first year.
   2. 50k offer: earn 50,000 Alaska Miles after spending $2,000 in first 3 months. Plus a companion fare in the first year.
   3. 40k+$100 offer: earn 40,000 Alaska Miles and $100 statement credit after spending $2,000 in first 3 months. Plus a companion fare in the first year.
2. We value Alaska Miles at 1.8 cents/point (Airline Miles Value), so the 65k highest sign-up bonus is worth about $1,170!
3. Earn 3 miles per $1 spent on Alaska Airlines tickets, vacation packages, and cargo purchases, 1 mile per $1 on other purchases.
4. Alaska Airlines has A LOT of partner airlines, although it does not belong to any of the airline alliances. Some of it’s partner airlines are American Airlines (AA), British Airways (BA), Delta Air Lines (DL). This makes Alaska Miles very flexible and relatively easy to redeem.
5. One round-trip Coach Companion Fare every year. Companion pays $121 for the round-trip. Companion Fare cannot be used on partner airlines flight.
6. First checked bag free.
7. New: Enjoy 50% off day passes at the Alaska Lounge, and 20% back on all Alaska Airlines inflight purchases.
8. No foreign transaction fee.

Disadvantages

1. $75 annual fee, NOT waived for the first year.

Recommended Application Time

1. We recommend you apply for this card after you have a credit history of at least one year.
2. You can have multiples of the same credit card from BoA. You must wait at least 90 days to apply for the same credit card, otherwise the application will be automatically cancelled.
3. [New] 2/3/4 Rule: BoA will only approve you for at most: 2 cards per rolling 2 months; 3 cards per rolling 12 months; and 4 cards per rolling 24 months. Because their IT system hasn’t been fully updated yet, you may not get declined because of this rule. Instead, you may get approved at first, and then the account will be closed because of “approved in error”.
4. [New] This card will not be available to you if you currently have or have had the card in the preceding 24 month period.

Summary

This card is suitable for those who want to earn Alaska Miles, or those who fly Alaska a lot. The 40k+$100 sign-up bonus is quite attractive because of the flexibility of Alaska Miles. However, the reward rate for spending is not impressive, which makes it not a great choice to keep unless you really fly with them a lot or you can make use of the Companion Fare.

After Applying

• Click here to check BoA application status.
• BoA reconsideration backdoor number: 877-383-0120 or 866-811-4108. It seems that the number is changing. Please inform us at once if it fails. The representatives here can get in touch with decision-makers directly.

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Best Downgrade Options

Historical Offers Chart

Application Link

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