Compare the Features and Benefits of Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card and
Amazon Prime Visa

With an affordable $95 annual fee and a great introductory bonus to boot, there are many ways to justify keeping the Alaska Airlines card in your wallet. In fact, there are two types of travelers who would benefit from this airline credit card: one who’s loyal to the West Coast-based carrier and wants extra perks when flying, and the other who wants an easier way to earn Alaska Airlines miles for bucket-list, premium cabin redemptions.

Let’s talk about the first type of traveler: Alaska Airlines frequent flyers. To start, you get a free checked bag on every Alaska flight and get to board the plane soon after elite status holders. While potentially less utilized, the 20% discount for onboard purchases and a $100 statement credit toward a Lounge+ membership can still prove to be beneficial if you frequently fly on Alaska Airlines network.

Now, let’s discuss the second traveler: the travel optimizer. That’s because Alaska’s Mileage Plan loyalty program allow you to redeem miles at a reasonable rate for a broad range of global airline partners beyond just Alaska. From Oneworld alliance partners to highly-rated carriers like Singapore Airlines and Starlux, Alaska miles are easily some of the most valuable airline miles out there.

As well, Alaska miles can be quite difficult to earn compared to other airline miles — unless you open the Alaska Visa to earn both the bonus offer and miles on eligible card purchases. Fortunately, the Alaska Airlines Visa Credit Card comes with a solid earning rate on Alaska flights and purchases (3x miles); everyday purchases including eligible gas, EV charging, cable, streaming services, and local transit (2x miles); and a standard 1x miles pr dollar spent on all other purchases.

No matter what your travel goals are with this credit card, the final component to discuss is Alaska’s famous companion fare, which you’ll earn as part of the welcome bonus — assuming you meet minimum spend from account opening. Essentially, you’re able to score a round-trip companion ticket from $99 (plus taxes and fees starting at $23), which can provide excellent value to many destinations. Best of all, cardholders get the opportunity to earn another companion ticket every single year by spending at least $6,000 on card purchases in the prior anniversary year.

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As much as we love rewards credit cards with transferable bank points, for heavy Amazon or Whole Foods shoppers, it’s hard to deny that 5% cash back on all of these purchases with the Prime Visa (as long as you have an eligible Amazon Prime membership!) is pretty awesome.

I know some people that do absolutely all of their grocery shopping at Whole Foods and as much shopping as possible at Amazon. If this is you, the Prime Visa credit card is probably a no brainer, especially with no annual fee, no foreign transaction fees, and a wide range of consumer protections like extended warranty, purchase protection (which covers your new purchases for 120 days against damage or theft up to $500 per claim and $50,000 per account) and trip protections, although note that the trip protections aren’t nearly as rich as on many travel specific credit cards.

As a reminder, you’ll earn an unlimited 5% back at Amazon.com, Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods Market, and on Chase Travel purchases with an eligible Prime membership and an unlimited 2% back at gas stations, restaurants, and on local transit and commuting (including rideshare).

You’ll earn ah unlimited 1% back on all other purchases, so you may want to combo this card with a card that earns 2% back on categories not bonused on this card.