Atmos Rewards Business Card review: Earn valuable points, free checked bags and more

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The Atmos™ Rewards Visa® Business Card earns valuable rewards and has more than enough benefits to offset its annual fee. If you regularly travel with Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines or any Atmos Rewards partner airlines, you'll be able to unlock excellent value with the Atmos Rewards program.

However, this card charges a $25 fee for every employee card you add to the account, and most of the ongoing benefits only apply to travel with Alaska Airlines or Hawaiian Airlines. So if you need employee cards and don't frequently travel with Alaska or Hawaiian Airlines, then an alternative business card, such as the Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card (see rates and fees) or Capital One Spark Miles for Business, may be a better fit.

You can earn 70,000 bonus points and a $99 companion fare (plus taxes and fees from $23) after spending $4,000 or more on purchases in the first 90 days after account opening. The companion fare is valid for a round-trip or one-way economy flight with Alaska or Hawaiian Airlines within North America.

The Atmos Rewards Business Card offers a range of valuable benefits, particularly if you frequently fly with Alaska Airlines or Hawaiian Airlines.

• Annual Companion Fare: If you spend $6,000+ on your card in a year, you'll receive a $99 companion fare (plus taxes and fees from $23) on your card anniversary. You can use this perk to bring a travel companion along on an eligible Alaska or Hawaiian Airlines flight within North America.
• 20% back on onboard purchases: When you use your Atmos Rewards Business card for onboard purchases with Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines, you'll receive a 20% statement credit.
• Free checked bags and preferred boarding: You and up to six guests on the same reservation receive preferred boarding and one free checked bag on Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines flights when you pay for the flight with your Atmos Business card.
• Earn elite status credit: For every $3 you spend on your Atmos Rewards Business card, you'll earn 1 status point.
• Alaska Lounge+ discount: You can receive a $100 discount on an annual Alaska Lounge+ membership purchased with your Atmos Business card.
• 10% rewards bonus: If you have an eligible Bank of America business bank account, you'll receive a 10% bonus on all points you earn from purchases.

Earning Atmos points

You earn Atmos points at the following rates:

• 3X points on eligible Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines purchases
• 2X points on gas and EV charging stations
• 2X points on shipping
• 2X points on local transit (including rideshare)
• 1X points on all other eligible purchases

Redeeming Atmos points

Atmos points are valuable for flights beyond the destinations served by Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines. The Atmos Rewards airline partners include oneworld airlines, such as American Airlines, Qatar Airways and Cathay Pacific, plus other partners such as Icelandair and Air Tahiti Nui.

The Atmos Rewards award chart features dynamic pricing with starting costs that vary by region and distance. The award chart offers North American flights with Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines starting at 4,500 to 20,000 points each way in economy.

There are also great partner award prices if you can find flights at the starting price. You can fly from Los Angeles to Tokyo for 30,000 points each way in economy or 60,000 points each way in business class. Or you could book a vacation from Chicago to Milan for the same prices.

There are other ways to use Atmos points; however, these are typically suboptimal compared to flight redemptions. So unless you don't have enough points for a flight, they aren't the best option.

The Atmos Rewards Visa Business card has a $70 annual fee for the company, plus $25 per card (including the primary cardholder's card). It has no foreign transaction fees.

Atmos Rewards Visa Business Card vs. Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business Credit Card

Southwest Airlines offers more flights than Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines and serves some of the same destinations, including Hawaii (and interisland flights). The Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card has a similar bonus and rewards structure to the Atmos Rewards Business Card; however, you may find Southwest points more useful for domestic travel, especially if you don't live on (or frequently travel to) the West Coast.

Also, all of the points you earn from the Southwest Performance Business card's welcome bonus and from spending count toward earning a Southwest Companion Pass. Once you qualify for Southwest's Companion Pass, it's valid for the rest of the year and all of the following year. It allows you to bring a companion along on any Southwest flight for the cost of taxes and fees. While it's harder to earn, this companion pass far outshines the single-use companion fare you can earn with the Atmos Rewards Business Card.

The Southwest Performance Business Card has a larger $299 annual fee, but you can add employee cards for no additional fee.

Atmos Rewards Visa Business Card vs. Capital One Spark Miles for Business

The Capital One Spark Miles for Business has a $0 annual fee for the first year, then $95 and there is no additional fee for employee cards. Depending on how many employees you have, that could amount to significant savings.

The Spark Miles for Business doesn't have as many travel benefits as the Atmos Rewards Business card, but the miles you earn (2X miles on every purchase) are more flexible. Capital One miles transfer to over 20 airline and hotel loyalty programs, and you can use them to offset travel purchases at a rate of 1 cent per mile. That means you have far more redemption options compared to Atmos Rewards.

The Atmos Rewards Business Card earns airline points that are valuable, even if you don't have plans to fly with Hawaiian Airlines or Alaska Airlines. Atmos points are useful for booking domestic flights on American Airlines and international travel on Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, British Airways, Iberia, Qatar Airways and many more. And Atmos Rewards has valuable features other loyalty programs lack, such as complimentary stopovers on award travel.

As valuable as Atmos points can be, most of the Atmos Rewards Business Card's benefits only apply to travel with Alaska or Hawaiian Airlines. And it's not exceptionally rewarding for spending, so it may be hard for you to justify the annual fee.

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Information about the Atmos™ Rewards Visa Business Card has been collected independently by CNBC Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of the card prior to publication.