It’s been a very busy Tuesday in Seattle, with Alaska Airlines releasing a variety of press releases. One covered improvements to the passenger experience, with new business class suites for the Alaska 787s, Hawaiian A330s, and an all-new flat-bed product for a set of ‘premium transcon’ 737s, to be delivered as of 2028.

Then, Alaska also had a press release about Atmos rewards, and this spanned several bits of news that included an all-new debit card, issued by Bank of America, new ‘communities’ that provide certain perks and benefits, and the likely addition of new Atmos transfer partners.

Truthfully, it’s all a bit old news now, so why am I still posting about this? First of all to provide a rundown for whomever had missed that news, but also to give my take on it and where I think new opportunities for value may be created. Let’s dig in!

Most Exciting: Is a Bank of America Points Currency in the Works?

This is potentially a huge deal, and the most exciting among the Alaska Airlines announcements of this week. To be specific and true to the source, here’s what Alaska announced:

In 2027, Alaska also plans to deepen its Bank of America relationship by enabling customers with eligible Bank of America card products to transfer points into Atmos Rewards. The new capability will give Bank of America cardholders another path into Atmos Rewards while creating an additional revenue opportunity for Alaska through the sale of points.

In short, Alaska says that it plans to have certain BoA card holders transfer points to Atmos Rewards. This is a strange thing though: BoA does NOT currently have a points currency. Instead, all their credit cards that are not co-branded only earn cash back!

So as I see it, there’s two possibilities:

• Earned cash back can be converted into Atmos rewards points.
• BoA is on the verge of establishing a points currency that can be transferred to partners in the same way that Chase, Citibank, Amex, Wells Fargo and Capital One already have.

It’s certainly possible that this would be a cash back transfer kind of thing, but I’d find it way more exciting if BoA is working on a points currency of its own. Only time will tell, but to me this could be by far the most consequential reveal.

Also note that there’s no details known at this point: no transfer ratio, and no credit cards, so it’s all up in the air for now.

Alaska Plans to Add Additional Atmos Rewards Transfer Partners

The same paragraph among the Alaska Airlines announcements that mentioned the Bank of America points transfer had another interesting nugget:

Over time, Atmos Rewards also plans to add points-transfer opportunities with other select global financial institutions, creating incremental revenue while building the program’s global relevance.

It’s nice to see Atmos Rewards expanding to include other transfer partners. Out of the available currencies, currently Alaska only partners with Bilt as an Atmos Rewards transfer partner. However, many people don’t have a Bilt card or may have never heard of it, and so gaining access to the Atmos ecosystem isn’t so easy. Having a partner in one of the major points currencies would make it somewhat easier to leverage the great value that one could get from Atmos – if you can find availability!

Now to be fair, since Alaska specifically says ‘global financial institutions’, none of these enw partners may be in the US. So, this could also be completely useless to us…

On the flip side, Alaska partnering with additional partners could also have the same effect we’ve been seeing with Japan Airlines: the flood gates were opened and now finding business class availability has become exponentially more difficult.

Alaska Adds Flat Beds on New Premium Transcon 737s, an Alaska First

Besides all the transfer partner news, Alaska has also announced a slew of improvements to the passenger experience. While that touches the widebodies of Alaska, the most exciting of all of these, in my view, is about Alaska’s Boeing 737s.

having just flown back from San Francisco to New York on an Alaska 737 on a red-eye, I can tell you: these flights can be brutal. 5-6 hours in an economy seat, especially one configured for domestic flights with a few inch of recline and the padding of a bench don’t make for good sleep, even if you sleep the entire flight. And that’s more or less true in first class too, where Alaska currently only has recliners.

So it’s great to see that there are some changes coming to this: Alaska will have a subfleet of ‘premium’-configured 737 MAX 10 aircraft. These will have reverse herringbone flat bed seats in a 1-1 configuration:

And that’s not all, because these planes will also have a dedicated Premium Economy cabin, branded as ‘Premium Reserve’. Currently, Alaska has a ‘premium class’ product, but this represents economy seats with extra legroom (like what AeroMexico also has). In Alaska’s new Premium Reserve cabin, you can expect first class-like recliner seats in a 2-2 configuration, which have 16″ seat back monitors:

As for economy, except for new upholstery in the same color scheme, those seats look rather standard. It’s not clear right now if Alaska’s ‘premium’ economy cabin (extra legroom seats) will retain the same size or shrink, perhaps in an effort to get people to buy up to Premium Reserve.

I for one am excited about this development. Since I’m based in New York, I have very little opportunity to fly Alaska Airlines, so I make an exception to fly them when I can, in large part because I like the service style (i.e. ‘friendly’). However, without seat back entertainment and rather hard seats, I can’t say Alaska has a particularly competitive onboard hard product. These planes should go some way to right that wrong.

Truthfully, I don’t think I’ll be flying a flatbed on Alaska anytime soon, but I might spill the cash for the Premium Reserve experience. I have become quite a fan of premium economy products, as they provide superior comfort over economy without necessarily breaking the bank. I can see myself paying for this upgrade. But note that American, Delta and United all have similar planes in the works, so in some way Alaska is a bit late to the game.

We will have to wait some time though, as these planes will only start flying in this configuration in 2028, so we’re still more than a year away from experiencing their onboard product.

I did note that the color scheme here is reminiscent of Alaska’s new lounges at Portland PDX and San Francisco SFO. It’s nice to see Alaska implementing a cohesive design language.

Alaska Airlines Revamps 787, A330 with New Business Class and Premium Economy

In other news, Alaska is also upgrading its entire widebody fleet, including Hawaiian’s aging A330 aircraft. Aging in the sense that the onboard product is quite uncompetitive, with a 2-2-2 seating configuration in First Class (domestic Business Class) – though at least it’s a flat bed.

Fortunately these planes are about to undergo a radical change, as Alaska plans for these aircraft to get 22 reverse herringbone seats in a 1-2-1 configuration. This product will be referred to as Leihōkū Suites, and it looks like a lovely design, with a color scheme that is reminiscent of the Hawaiian islands’ sandy beaches and topaz-colored waters. The seats offer flat beds and 19″ screens.

These planes will also be equipped with a premium economy cabin (again marketed as Premium Reserve) with 28 of the same kind of recliner seats as on the 737 MAX 10. Here they will be in a 2-3-2 configuration but are otherwise the same product, just with upholstery in the (new?) color scheme of Hawaiian.

And then last but not least, Alaska is updating its Boeing 787 planes. Now, these planes aren’t at all old, and the renderings basically show the product that Alaska already has on these planes when they were taken over from Hawaiian – who was the original owner of these planes pre-merger. This is the Adient Ascent seat, which for example Qatar Airways also has on its Boeing 787-9, and Alaska will install 34 of these on its Boeing 787-9. Alaska will be referring to this cabin as Aurora Suites. However, the color scheme is changing a bit it seems:

Alaska will be introducing its Premium Reserve cabin on these planes as well, with 35 seats total in a 2-3-2 configuration. These are the same seats as on the Boeing 737 MAX 10 and on Hawaiian’s A330, just in the Alaska color scheme rather than the Hawaiian one:

I’m by far the most excited about the modernization of the A330. Those panes have been flying around for quite a while and are really in need of an overhaul of the passenger experience. Again, a lot of this work will only start in 2028, so we’ll have to wait for a bit.

A New ‘Aurora’ Lounge to Open in Seattle, a New Hawaiian Airlines Lounge in Honolulu

To complement the new onboard passenger experience, Alaska will also open new premium (business class) lounges to match. This is along the same line as Delta’s Delta One Lounges, United’s Polaris Lounges and American’s Flagship Lounges, and now also JetBlue’s BlueHouse Lounges. Thus there will be a dedicated Aurora Lounge in Seattle for those traveling on intercontinental flights on Alaska’s Aurora Suites:

This complements an all new, massive Alaska Lounge in Seattle as well, in the color scheme and with the design language already seen at the Alaska Lounges at PDX and SFO.

Alaska has announced the following features for these two lounges:

• A 500-seat Alaska Lounge on the main level welcoming travelers who can currently access the Lounge under existing policies
• A 200-seat Aurora Lounge for Aurora Suites guests traveling on intercontinental flights
• Outdoor patio with a fireplace
• Private work pods
• Locally sourced food and beverage offerings, including seasonal menus, a pizza oven, coffee lab and fresh pastries
• Three premium bar areas across two floors, offering craft cocktails, curated wines and beers from select local breweries
• Exclusive to the Aurora Lounge: Private shower suites; wellness spaces; and chef-prepared, made-to-order cuisine, à la carte dining and tableside service

There will also be an all-new 13,000 sqft Leihōkū lounge in Honolulu, with access for those that currently hold access to Hawaiian’s (small) Plumeria Lounge, including those flying in Leihōkū Suites. Here’s what we have to look forward to according to Alaska:

• Locally-inspired food and beverages
• A signature local coffee experience 
• A full-service bar with specially crafted cocktails 
• Private workspaces  
• Artwork and installations by local artists 

Overall, I’m very excited for all of these lounges, but especially so for the Leihōkū lounge in Honolulu. The current Plumeria Lounge is accessible with Priority Pass, so I have been able to visit this lounge a few times. The food options are a bit mediocre and it’s also a rather small lounge, with just one seating area that tends to get very crowded. This massive new lounge looks breezy and stylish – precisely what you’s expect from Hawaiian’s lounge at its hub airport.

For that matter, I also love the look of Alaska’s new lounges in Seattle. It’s great that Alaska is really looking to invest in the passenger experience of those flying its business class suite, by establishing a full ground experience around it. These days, investing in premium is all the rage, and truthfully, Alaska will need to go that way if it wants to be able to compete against likes of Delta and united, who are continuously investing in the premium passenger experience.

The best airline brands ensure that there is a seamlessness between the ground and inflight experience, by providing dedicated check-in facilities, easy access to dedicated lounges and an onboard experience that matches what came before. Also in the US, that’s increasingly what we’re seeing, such as Delta’s Delta One check-in facilities and lounges. It’s exciting to see Alaska planning to join that mix.

Selected Other Announcements

That sums up the big ticket announcements, with the implications for Alaska’s Atmos rewards transfer partners and Bank of America’s plans for points transfers being the highlights. There’s a few more nuggets I thought to share:

• Alaska has launched a ‘communities’ concept. You can choose 1 of 6 communities, and this comes with extra perks. See below the chart with all the perks listed, but you’ll notice that most lucrative are ‘Global Locals’ and ‘Families on the Go’, which provide a few extra perks, including bonus points. Note that Club 49 is for Alaska residents only, and Huaka’i is for Hawaii residents only. Joining of these is free and I see nothing but benefits from it, so I really don’t see a reason not to join.

• Alaska will be launching an all-new debit card, issued by Bank of America. Personally I rarely, if ever, use my debit cards given that credit cards provide so much more value (and Alaska’s Summit Card is a favorite of mine). However, not every person wants or is eligible for a credit card, so it’s nice to still have the possibility of earning some perks with a debit card. Coming in 2027, we know very little about the actual perks and features these debit cards will offer, so we’ll have to wait and see what this will entail.

• As of 10/1/2026 Alaska will allow Atmos members to pick by what metric they will be earning both status and Atmos Rewards points: by distance flown (the previous default), price paid (the new default) or segments flown. Given that $1 will translate to 5 points, you’d have to crunch the numbers to understand with which earning scheme your personal situation best aligns. A crude rule would be that if you often fly short flights or often fly in premium cabins, price paid and segments flown will likely out-earn distance traveled.

• In a separate press release, Alaska Airlines announced that it (and Hawaiian Airlines) are working to join the oneworld trans-pacific and trans-atlantic joint ventures. This is no doubt a good move for Alaska as it will be able to better compete: a joint venture is an advanced form of cooperation between airlines that allows them to cooridnate schedules and fares. As such, this may be bad for consumers, as it could lead to higher fares across the board. As such, there are significant governmental hurdles to clear, so this is by no means final.

Summary

Alaska Airlines released a massive batch of announcements this week, and I am sharing my take ordered from most to least exciting. The standout teaser is that Bank of America cardholders will be able to transfer points into Atmos Rewards starting in 2027, hinting that BofA may finally be launching its own transferable points currency. Atmos Rewards is also expanding transfer partners beyond Bilt, adding “Communities” perks, rolling out a debit card, and letting members choose whether to earn by distance, price, or segments starting October 2026.

In the air, Alaska is adding lie-flat suites and “Premium Reserve” premium economy seats to select transcon 737 MAX 10s starting in 2028, alongside upgrading Hawaiian’s aging A330s to 1-2-1 lie-flat “Leihōkū” suites and refreshing its 787 “Aurora” suites. Finally, to complement the onboard upgrades, new dedicated Aurora and main lounges are opening in Seattle, alongside a spacious 13,000-square-foot Leihōkū Lounge in Honolulu.