Bank card showdown: Alaska Airways Visa vs. Alaska Airways Enterprise Visa

Alaska Airways Mileage Plan miles are the highest-valued airline miles on the market — so getting considered one of their two cobranded bank cards would possibly curiosity you.

These two playing cards that you just would possibly need to take into consideration are the Alaska Airlines Visa® credit card and the Alaska Airlines Visa® Business card.

Along with how useful Alaska Airways miles may be, one other good purpose to contemplate these playing cards is that they’re each issued by Financial institution of America. That’s necessary as a result of if in case you have reached your limit with American Categorical playing cards or are affected by Chase’s 5/24 rule, seeking to different banks to your subsequent bank card might be a good suggestion.

Let’s study the small print of those two playing cards and focus on how they match up.

Primarily based on our current valuations, these 70,000 Alaska Airways Mileage Plan miles are price round $1,260. You will get a ton of worth out of your Alaska Airways miles because of Mileage Plan’s phenomenal roster of Oneworld and non-alliance partners, together with British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Fiji Airways, Japan Airlines, Qantas and Singapore Airlines.

Associated: Alaska Airlines Visa Business review

Associated: How to earn miles with the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan program

Each the Alaska Airways Visa bank card and the Alaska Airways Visa Enterprise card afford cardholders a free checked bag for themselves and as much as six visitors on the identical reservation once they pay with their card.

You will additionally take pleasure in precedence boarding and $100 off one Alaska Lounge+ Membership yearly when bought together with your Alaska card.

Cardholders with both product additionally obtain 20% again on Alaska inflight purchases together with meals and Wi-Fi.

Each merchandise reward cardholders with an annual Companion Fare, one of the beneficiant airline bank card companion certificates round. In impact, it is a buy-one-get-one-discounted deal (plus taxes and charges).

Nevertheless — and it is a large one — you must spend $6,000 or extra on purchases throughout the prior anniversary yr to earn the Companion Fare on both card (that is aside from the one which comes with the welcome bonus).

Associated: Maximizing the Alaska Airlines Visa Companion Fare

If you e book a round-trip financial system ticket on Alaska Airways, you need to use the Companion Fare to order a second ticket on the identical reservation from $122 ($99 fare plus taxes and charges from $23).

The Companion Fare have to be redeemed inside 12 months of the difficulty date, although the precise journey can happen after that, extending its usefulness to just about two years. Even higher, each vacationers accrue full mileage credit score for his or her flights and are eligible for upgrades.

The cardholder themselves doesn’t even should be flying, however they have to use their Alaska card to pay for the tickets. Relying on the way you redeem your Companion Fare, it may be price lots of of {dollars}, particularly on a few of the airline’s dearer routes, like these to Hawaii, and may greater than offset both card’s annual price annually.

Given how related the 2 playing cards are, your remaining and maybe most important consideration ought to be whether or not you want a private bank card or if it’s price making use of for a business credit card.

There are numerous the reason why a business credit card might be a better fit to your wants. Carrying and utilizing one will provide help to separate your personal and work purchases, which in flip may even assist boost your personal credit score over time. What’s extra, if you’re inquisitive about making use of for a Chase card sooner or later, the enterprise card won’t depend towards your overall 5/24 limit, which may open up your choices down the road.

You possibly can even contemplate applying for both and raking in a ton of Alaska miles for future journey. Whereas diversifying your points and miles is at all times a good suggestion, contemplating the worth of Alaska miles and the truth that Mileage Plan doesn’t have many nice transfer partner options, opening each playing cards may very well be a great way to boost your stability within the quick time period.

You probably have (or have beforehand had) different accounts with Financial institution of America, try our guide to credit card application rules to make sure that you’re eligible for the welcome bonus on the cardboard or playing cards you have an interest in making use of for. For instance, the welcome bonus on these playing cards is just not out there when you at the moment have or have had the cardboard within the previous 24-month interval.

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

Further reporting by Ryan Wilcox and Chris Dong.