Review of the Alaska Airlines Visa® Signature Credit Card
("Card issued by FIA Card Services, N.A.")

The Alaska Airlines Visa® Signature was last reviewed on 31th August 2008

alaska airlines visa signature

Summary - We recommend the Alaska Airlines Visa® Signature Credit Card to the frequent flyer of Alaska Airlines because :

You can earn double miles

You can earn unlimited miles

You get a roundtrip $50.00 companion ticket every year

You get 2,000 bonus miles every year when you renew your card

Let us look at this card in greater detail.

Miles Formula - The Alaska Airlines Visa® Signature allows you to earn double miles for every dollar you spend on the card on Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air tickets and vacation packages. You can earn unlimited miles. Miles expire in 3 years but do not expire if your account is active during a 3 year period.

Bonus Miles - When you are approved for this card, you will get 20,000 bonus miles. Furthermore, if you apply through the internet, you get an additional 1,000 bonus miles. You will also get 2 Board Room pass upon approval and a $50 roundtrip-companion ticket on approval and each year you hold the card.

Anniversary Bonus - Every year, you will get $50 round-trip Companion Ticket upon approval and every year as long as you are a cardholder.

Annual Fee and APR - The Alaska Airlines Visa Platinum has an annual fee of $75.00. The APR is prime rate plus 6.99%. The average daily balance method (including new purchases) is used to calculate the monthly balance.

Verdict - Frequent Flyer of Alaska Airlines should consider getting the Alaska Airlines Visa® Signature Credit Card to earn faster miles. The strengths of this card are that : you can earn double miles, earn unlimited miles, get a $50 round-trip companion ticket every year, which goes quite a bit towards recouping the annual fee you have to pay.

Update - 1/1/2009 - Bank of America (which issues this card) has drastically cut back on all credit card issuance due to the credit crisis and expectations of increased loan losses. It is very difficult to get a BOA card at this moment. As an alternative, we suggest getting the Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express instead. The reason is that Starwood allows you to exchange points into Alaska Mileage Miles at a one for one ratio. Furthermore, you get 5,000 extra bonus miles when you convert 20,000 points! The annual fee is also only $45. This card was voted again the best affinity card in the 19th Freddie Awards.

Positives

Earn double miles

Earn unlimited miles

$50 roundtrip companion ticket that you get every year

Negatives

High annual fee. But those who take advantage of the $50 companion ticket every year will offset a big part of the annual fee.

Alaska Airlines Visa Signature
Miles Formula
Miles per Dollar	1 miles
Miles per Dollar spent on Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air tickets and Vacation Packages	2 miles
Yearly Limit on Miles you can earn	None
Bonus Miles	Approval : 5,000 Miles
Other Bonus Miles	Additional 1,000 Miles when you apply and are approved online
Anniversary Bonus Miles	$50 round-trip Companion Ticket upon approval and each year you hold the card 2 Board Room passes upon approval
Perks/Notation*
Various Internet account related services. Up to $1,000,000 in travel accident insurance Auto rental insurance Extended warranty protection Various travel and emergency assistance services Medical referral services Legal referral services Lost luggage recovery Emergency airline ticket replacement No liability for unauthorized Internet transactions Optional personal photo on card Discounts on auto rentals Optional Mini Card See website for additional benefits
Cost/Fees/Interest rates
(APR) Purchase	Rate - Variable risk based rate is Prime + 6.99%
(APR) Balance Transfer	Rate - Variable risk based rate is P + 6.99%
(APR) Cash Advance	21.99% Variable * minimum 19.99% . (P + 15.99%)
Finance Configuration	Average Daily Balance (including new purchases)
Annual Fee	$75.00
Additional Cardholders	$0
Grace Period	20 days (Min)
Late Payment fee	Based on Account balance on the fee assessment date - $15 for balances less than or equal to $100, $29 for balances $100.01 to $250, $39 for balances greater than $250.
Over-the-limit fee	Based on the highest Account balance during the Billing Cycle - $15 for balances less than or equal to $500, $29 for balances $500.01 to $1000, $39 for balances greater than $1000.
Cash Advance fee	3% min $10.00