Atmos earning calculator
Compare distance, spending, and flight segments for travel starting January 1, 2027.
Enter a typical flight
Use yearly totals if your trips vary.
Paid Alaska & Hawaiian flights · Main fares and above
Try an example flight
Saver / Basic Economy earns no points or status points. Fare rules and exceptions
Distance traveled
750 more points per flight than price paid.
Per flight · before bonuses
Compare earnings
PER FLIGHT2,000 miles × 1 point
$250 × 5 points
1 segment × 500 points
Each total is earned separately as redeemable points and status points, before bonuses.
Where your choice changes
For 2,000 miles across 1 segment, price paid catches up at $400 in eligible airfare per flight. Above that fare, it earns more.
When each option wins
- Distance traveled
- More than 500 miles and a fare below 20¢ per mile.
- Price paid
- A fare above $100 and above 20¢ per mile.
- Segments flown
- Fewer than 500 miles and a fare below $100.
Use average miles and eligible airfare per segment, before bonuses. At a boundary, two options may tie.
Rules and exceptions
Your earning choice applies across future flights, not separately to each ticket.
When does this start, and can I switch?
You can select an earning method starting October 1, 2026, for flights departing on or after January 1, 2027. You can change your choice once per calendar year for future flights. Existing members default to distance; members joining January 1, 2027 or later default to price paid.
Which flights should I put in the calculator?
Use eligible paid Alaska and Hawaiian Main fares and above. Under the announced 2027 rules, Saver and Basic Economy fares earn no redeemable points or status points, whichever earning method you choose. Exclude them from your totals, along with award tickets, government taxes, and unrelated fees. Include base fare, carrier surcharges, and eligible paid cabin upgrades or seats. Do not include baggage or service fees.
For a Saver ticket booked before June 11, 2026, check Alaska’s booking-date exception. That page retains 30% distance earning for those older bookings; the 2027 overview does not clarify their treatment. This calculator excludes Saver tickets.
One flight number counts as one segment, even with an intermediate stop. Connections with a different flight number add segments. Use the average distance and eligible fare per segment, or enter yearly totals.
For a year with a mix of travel, yearly totals give a more useful recommendation than one representative flight. This estimates one method for all the travel you enter, before bonuses. The old 500-mile minimum and fare-class bonuses do not apply to the new distance choice.
What if I fly on award tickets?
Award flights earn status points only: 1 per mile with distance, 500 per segment with segments, or 1 per 20 Atmos points redeemed with price paid. Don’t enter an award ticket’s taxes as airfare here.
Award flights are excluded from this calculator. If you fly a mix of cash and award tickets, compare those award status points too before choosing your method.
What about American or other partner airlines?
The 5-per-dollar comparison also applies to eligible Alaska/Hawaiian-issued tickets (beginning 027) and American-issued tickets (beginning 001), including eligible partner flights. American paid seat fees do not count toward eligible spend.
On other partner-issued tickets, the price-paid choice instead uses distance and cabin: 250% for international Business/First, 150% for domestic Business/First, 100% for Premium Economy, 50% for Economy, and 25% for Discount Economy. Distance earns 100%; segments earn 500. These bookings are outside this calculator’s dollar-based comparison.
Packages with undisclosed fares can use distance-based rules, and some partner bookings cannot earn status points. Check Alaska’s 2027 partner earning chart.
Are status and community bonuses included?
No. Results are base points and base status points. Elite bonuses, promotions, and community bonuses are excluded. Huakaʻi members earn 50% more points and status points on eligible Hawaiian interisland flights; Global Locals members earn 10% more status points on eligible international flights.
A bonus applied equally to all three methods for the same flight won’t change its winner. Bonuses across a mixed year of travel can change the overall comparison. Credit card and non-flight earning are unaffected by your flight earning choice.
How is the recommendation calculated?
We compare miles × 1, eligible airfare in USD × 5, and flight segments × 500. The highest total is the best fit for the estimates entered. Ties are shown as ties, and a lead under 5% is flagged as a close call.
Points are rounded for display only. Actual airline posting and eligibility may differ. This tool does not change your Atmos account selection.
Based on Alaska’s Choose How to Earn fact sheet, earning-choice details, 2027 partner chart, and program terms. Community terms: Huakaʻi and Global Locals. Reviewed October 1, 2026. Rules can change.
Independent tool. Not affiliated with Alaska Airlines or Hawaiian Airlines.