Credit card showdown: Alaska Airlines Visa vs. Alaska Airlines Business Visa

Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information.

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles are the highest-valued airline miles out there — so getting one of their two cobranded credit cards might interest you.

Those two cards that you might want to think about are the Alaska Airlines Visa® credit card and the Alaska Airlines Visa® Business card.

In addition to how useful Alaska Airlines miles can be, another good reason to consider these cards is that they are both issued by Bank of America. That’s important because if you have reached your limit with American Express cards or are affected by Chase’s 5/24 rule, looking to other banks for your next credit card is probably a good idea.

Let’s examine the details of these two cards and discuss how they match up.

A quick comparison

Here’s a comparison chart of the two products and their benefits:

	Alaska Airlines Visa credit card	Alaska Airlines Visa Business card
Annual fee	$95.	$95 ($70 per company, $25 per card, so $95 for the first card).
Sign-up bonus	70,000 bonus miles plus Alaska’s Famous Companion Fare™ from $122 ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) after making $3,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days of opening your account.	70,000 bonus miles plus Alaska’s Famous Companion Fare™ from $122 ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) after making $4,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days of opening your account.
Earning	3 miles per dollar on eligible Alaska purchases. 2 miles per dollar on gas, local transit (including ride-hailing), cable and select streaming services. 1 mile per dollar on other purchases.	3 miles per dollar on eligible Alaska purchases. 2 miles per dollar on gas, local transit (including ride-hailing) and shipping. 1 mile per dollar on other purchases.
Alaska benefits	Annual Companion Fare (each account anniversary after you spend $6,000 or more on purchases within the prior anniversary year). Free checked bag when you pay with your card. 20% off inflight food, beverages and Wi-Fi. $100 off one Alaska Lounge+ Membership annually when purchased with your card. Priority boarding when you pay with your card.	Annual Companion Fare (each account anniversary after you spend $6,000 or more on purchases within the prior anniversary year). Free checked bag when you pay with your card. 20% off inflight food, beverages and Wi-Fi. $100 off one Alaska Lounge+ Membership annually when purchased with your card. Priority boarding when you pay with your card.
Other benefits	10% rewards bonus on all miles earned from purchases if you have an eligible Bank of America account. No foreign transaction fees.	10% rewards bonus on all miles earned from purchases if your company has an eligible Bank of America account. No foreign transaction fees.

Annual fee

Although their annual fees are structured differently, if you are getting a single card, you will pay the same amount for either one. The personal version charges $95 per year to keep your account open, whilst the business card will cost $70 per account plus $25 per card.

So if you have a single card as the business owner, you will also have to pay $95 total per year, though you can take out more cards at an additional expense of $25 per card.

Sign-up bonus

The personal version is offering 70,000 bonus miles plus Alaska’s Famous Companion Fare™ from $122 ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23). To qualify, make $3,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days of opening your account.

Meanwhile, the business card currently offers 70,000 bonus miles plus Alaska’s Famous Companion Fare™ from $122 ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) after making $4,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days of opening your account.

So the spend requirement is $1,000 higher on the business card for the same amount of miles.

Based on our current valuations, those 70,000 Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles are worth around $1,260. You can get a ton of value from your Alaska Airlines miles thanks to Mileage Plan’s phenomenal roster of Oneworld and non-alliance partners, including British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Fiji Airways, Japan Airlines, Qantas and Singapore Airlines.

Earning

Earning rates are comparable: both cards rack up 3 miles per dollar on eligible Alaska purchases, 2 miles per dollar on gas and local transit (including ride-hailing) and 1 mile per dollar on everything else.

The personal card also earns 2 miles per dollar on cable and select streaming services, while the business card offers a 2-mile-per-dollar rate on shipping.

Alaska Airlines benefits

You won’t find many differences between the two cards’ day-of-travel perks.

Both the Alaska Airlines Visa credit card and the Alaska Airlines Visa Business card afford cardholders a free checked bag for themselves and up to six guests on the same reservation when they pay with their card.

You’ll also enjoy priority boarding and $100 off one Alaska Lounge+ Membership annually when purchased with your Alaska card.

Cardholders with either product also receive 20% back on Alaska inflight purchases including food and Wi-Fi.

Companion Fare

Both products reward cardholders with an annual Companion Fare, one of the most generous airline credit card companion certificates around. In effect, this is a buy-one-get-one-discounted deal (plus taxes and fees).

However — and this is a big one — you have to spend $6,000 or more on purchases within the prior anniversary year to earn the Companion Fare on either card (that’s apart from the one that comes with the welcome bonus).

(Photo by Wallace Cotton/The Points Guy) — WALLACE COTTON/THE POINTS GUY

When you book a round-trip economy ticket on Alaska Airlines, you can use the Companion Fare to reserve a second ticket on the same reservation from $122 ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23).

The Companion Fare must be redeemed within 12 months of the issue date, though the actual travel can take place after that, extending its usefulness to nearly two years. Even better, both travelers accrue full mileage credit for their flights and are eligible for upgrades.

The cardholder themselves doesn’t even have to be flying, but they must use their Alaska card to pay for the tickets. Depending on how you redeem your Companion Fare, it can be worth hundreds of dollars, especially on some of the airline’s more expensive routes, like those to Hawaii, and can more than offset either card’s annual fee each year.

Business vs. personal

Given how similar the two cards are, your final and perhaps most significant consideration should be whether you need a personal credit card or if it’s worth applying for a business credit card.

There are many reasons why a business credit card might be a better fit for your needs. Carrying and using one will help you separate your personal and work purchases, which in turn can even help boost your personal credit score over time. What’s more, if you are interested in applying for a Chase card in the future, the business card will not count toward your overall 5/24 limit, which can open up your options down the line.

You could even consider applying for both and raking in a ton of Alaska miles for future travel. While diversifying your points and miles is always a good idea, considering the value of Alaska miles and the fact that Mileage Plan does not have many great transfer partner options, opening both cards could be a good way to raise your balance in the short term.

If you have (or have previously had) other accounts with Bank of America, check out our guide to credit card application rules to ensure that you are eligible for the welcome bonus on the card or cards you are interested in applying for. For example, the welcome bonus on these cards is not available if you currently have or have had the card in the preceding 24-month period.

Bottom line

The Alaska Airlines Visa credit card or the Alaska Airlines Visa Business card (or both) are worth it, given the high value of Alaska miles and the Companion Fare. With less than $100 in annual fees, neither is that expensive to carry year after year, and both confer decent day-of-travel benefits when flying on the airline. Your choice comes down to which one is offering a higher welcome bonus.

Apply here for the Alaska Airlines Visa credit card or the Alaska Airlines Visa Business card.

Additional reporting by Ryan Wilcox and Chris Dong.