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As I wrote about this morning, Atmos™ Rewards is the name of the new loyalty program for Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines. One of the most generous and new exciting benefits for top-tier, Atmos™ Titanium members is the addition of complimentary global upgrades to Business Class. This is unheard of at American, Delta, and United. Alaska will be the only US airline to offer complimentary day-of-departure upgrades into Business Class without points or a certificate. Atmos™ Titanium members plus a companion can get upgraded to destinations like Rome, Tokyo, Auckland, and more. Alaska has been growing its international offerings rapidly and these members will soon have even more choices.
Atmos™ Tianium members will need to earn 135,000 status points to qualify for this level. That’s a 35% increase over the current MVP Gold 100K, but the upgrade benefits alone might be worth pushing for this extra amount. This will start in spring 2026. Upgrades on domestic routes remain unchanged at all levels and will clear based on the following criteria:
- Status level
- Million Miler status
- Atmos™ Rewards Summit card members
- Corporate travelers
- Status points earned in current and previous year
- Time of booking
Starting October 1st, upgrade certificates will also be able to be used join the Business Class waitlist on select international routes (including flights to Tokyo, Seoul, and Australia).
Atmos™ Rewards elite members can get upgrades on all Hawaiian Airlines flights. The member and one companion on the same reservation will be eligible for complimentary upgrades on Hawaiian Airlines flights within North America. Available upgrades include Leihōkū Suites, which feature lie-flat seating, premium amenities and luxurious details.
Anthony’s Take: It’s certainly not a given due to the demand for paid premium travel, but Alaska offering complimentary global upgrades sets it apart from all of the other US carriers. This benefit could be worth thousands of dollars and help some employees that are forced to book Economy Class on business trips sit up front (like Amazon employees out of Seattle, for example). Wow…just wow. Alaska really is treating its top-tier members to an exciting perk.
(Image Credits: Alaska Airlines.)
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
