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Last week, news leaked (hat tip VFTW) that Alaska Airlines will replace its Mileage Plan and Hawaiian Airlines’ HawaiianMiles with a new joint program called Atmos Rewards.

According to reports, the unified scheme is slated to launch on 1 October 2025, when HawaiianMiles balances will convert to the new currency. At this point, little else is official – Alaska hasn’t offered a rationale for the name or a detailed timeline beyond the October conversion. We don’t know what award charts will look like or how elite benefits will be harmonised.

Of course, a name alone doesn’t make a programme. As Gary over at View From The Wing notes, great loyalty brands are defined by the value they deliver – not their logo. Marriott’s Bonvoy shows how a generic rebrand can flop if the underlying programme stumbles.

The lesson for Alaska is that Atmos Rewards will succeed only if it offers compelling redemptions, valuable elite perks and reliable customer service.

Bottom line

The leaked name gives us a glimpse of what’s coming, but we’ll learn more later this month when Alaska officially unveils Atmos Rewards.

Hopefully Alaska will keep at least some of the features that currently make Mileage Plan such a great programme…