Alaska Air Group just launched a “new” reward program, along with its first-ever super premium credit card. However, that doesn’t mean the changes are stopping, as unfortunate Atmos partner changes are on the horizon, along with another tweak to fleet planning.
When airlines merge, it’a almost a given that there will be negative changes to their loyalty programs. This, by and large, hasn’t been the case for the Alaska-Hawaiian tie-up, likely due to the promise AAG made to the Department of Transportation to obtain its final approval. Yet, there are other aspects of the program that can be changed without affecting the inherent value of its currency, and we’re seeing that now with Atmos partner changes. It’s just too bad that one of these changes is gut-punch, as it eliminates what was a really great redemption option for those going to and from Hawai’i.
Atmos Partner Changes
Notice that I said that there are Atmos partner changes coming. That’s right, there are multiple changes on the horizon. First up, let’s talk about LATAM.
LATAM
Of the two, this is the only relationship that is terminating in its entirety. However, the end will occur in stages:
- Flights booked through August 31, 2025, will continue to earn Atmos points, regardless of travel dates
- For flights booked between September 1 and 30, 2025, you’ll need to complete travel by December 31, 2025, to earn Atmos points
- Flights booked after October 1, 2025, will not earn Atmos points, regardless of travel dates
- Award bookings on LATAM via Atmos ends October 1, 2025
This change is a huge loss to anyone who travels frequently to Latin America, though it should really come as a surprise, given Delta’s 20% equity stake in LATAM.
For me personally, the LATAM loss isn’t that big. However, the next one is another story.
Singapore Air
That’s right, the second of the two Atmos partner changes is Singapore Air. This one isn’t a full-termination of the relationship, thought it might as well have been, in my opinion. That said, like the LATAM change, the Singapore Air one is also occurring in phases:
- Flights booked through August 31, 2025, will continue to earn Atmos points, regardless of travel dates
- For flights booked between September 1 and 30, 2025, you’ll need to complete travel by December 31, 2025, to earn Atmos points
- Flights booked on September 1, 2025 and later, with travel occurring on January 1, 2026, and on, can only earn Atmos points if the flight was booked via alaskaair.com
- Reciprocal redemptions will end on October 1, 2025
Essentially, what’s happening here is that you’ll only be able to earn Atmos points if you book your Singapore Air flights via Alaska Air’s own website – you won’t be able to book directly with Singapore Air anymore. However, the change that stands out to me is the loss of using Atmos points to book Singapore Air flights and Singapore KrisFlyer points to book on Alaska and Hawaiian.
Why? Well, first of all, KrisFlyer is a transfer partner for most major points currencies, such as Chase Ultimate Rewards and Amex Membership Rewards. But, beyond that, their partner award chart with Alaska Air has noteable sweet spots for those of us who call Hawai’i home or travel to the islands often:
- To/from California/Oregon/Washington: 27,000 points RT in Main Cabin or 110k in First
- To/from Arizona/Colorado/Idaho/Montana/Nevada/New Mexico/Wyoming/Utah/Canada: 26,000 points RT in Main Cabin or 95k in First
- To/from Illinois/Texas/Wisconsin/bunch of others in the area: 28,000 points RT in Main Cabin or 105k in First
- To/from Alaska: 28,000 points RT in Main Cabin or 106k in First
To highlight how crazy good the above prices are, let’s take a look at what Alaska/Hawaiian is charging at the end of the current schedule (late July 2026):
- HNL-SEA: 30,000 points RT in Main Cabin and 110k in First
- HNL-LAS: 30,000 points RT in Main Cabin and 230k in First
- HNL-ORD: 44,000 points RT in Main Cabin and 140k in First
- HNL-ANC: 52,500 points RT in Main Cabin and 165k in First
This is why the loss of Singapore Air is, to me, the worst of the two Atmos partner changes to occur so far.
Dreamliner Order Shift
While no formal announcement has been made yet, it’s been reported that Hawaiian Airlines has converted five of its outstanding Boeing 787 slots from the -9 variant to the -10. As a reminder, Alaska Air Group exercised five of Hawaiian’s remaining eight options back in July, meaning that they’ll have a fleet of 17 Dreamliners when all are delivered. Of course, 12 of those will continue to be 787-9s, while five will be 787-10s.
The biggest differences between these two variants are, naturally, capacities and range. The maximum capacity of the 787-9 is 420 passengers, while the 787-10 is 440. Range, on the other hand, is trickier to calculate. However, according to Boeing, a “typical” 2-class 787-9 with 296 seats can fly a maximum rage of 7,565 nautical miles, while a 787-10 with 336 seats spread across two classes can go 6,330 nautical miles. That’s a massive loss in range! Hawaiian’s current 787s are configured with 300 seats, which is a tad bit denser than Boeing’s “typical” configuration.
We also know that AAG is planning on installing premium economy on these birds at some point, and the 787-10 may very well be the first of these to feature this cabin. As such, it’s overall configuration could end up being a little less dense than Boeing’s “typical” configuration, which may give it slightly longer legs.
That said, in real terms, according to Boeing’s number, the 787-10’s reach from Seattle extends only as far as Hong Kong and Buenos Aires. Crucially, this circle includes destinations such as London, virtually all of Europe, and all of Japan. However, it also excludes Australia, New Zealand, South East Asia, much of the Middle East, etc.
One has to wonder, then, if Alaska Air expects high enough demand to fill these planes on certain routes, such as SEA-LHR? I guess we’ll see.
Atmos Partner Changes, Final Thoughts
The amount of changes that have occurred recently at AAG has been intense. It’s too bad that the last set around the Atmos partner changes are negative ones. For those of you who reside in Hawai’i like I do have have a bunch of Ultimate Rewards or Membership Rewards points you want to burn on a domestic trip with Alaska or Hawaiian, you have a little less than a month left to do so. Sure, there will still be other ways to do so, such as via Avios, but you won’t get quite the same value out of that relationship.
What do you think of the upcoming Atmos partner changes?
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