Alaska Airlines Debit Card and Check Card Review
The Alaska Airlines Check Card or Debit Card is available to those who have checking accounts with Bank of America. This card allows you to earn frequent flier miles. Let’s explore this card in greater detail.
Rewards and Fees – By now, you should know how a check card works (functions as an ATM card and can be used like a credit card at check out counters – but money is drawn from your bank account), so let’s jump straight into the rewards. The Alaska Airlines Debit Card allows you to earn one mile for every dollar that you spend on Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air tickets and vacation packages. For other regular purchases, you will earn one mile for every two dollars that you spend. New check card holders get 3,000 bonus miles after the first purchase.
There is an annual fee of $30.
Other Debit Card Features – This debit also has some interesting features. For example, you could set your own daily cash limits. You could put your photo on your debit card for extra security.
Verdict – So what do I think of this? Well, firstly, let’s get this straight. Check cards or debit cards have inferior rewards compared to credit cards. That is also the case with the Alaska Airlines debit card. For example, the Alaska Airline credit card allows you to earn triple miles for purchases or Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air tickets and one miles for every dollar you spend on regular purchases. The debit card only allows you to earn half of what you can earn with the credit card. With the credit card, you get 25,000 bonus miles after spending $750 on the card and get an annual $99 companion ticket discount. Having said that, the annual fee is $75.
I suspect that a true frequent flier of Alaska Airlines would rather get the credit card rather than the debit card. But there many be instances where you do not charge every thing to your credit card (though you should!) or if your spouse likes to use the debit card sometimes rather than a credit card. In these instances, I guess getting this debit card makes sense.
