Like on the personal Alaska Airlines card, Bank of America is making similar changes to the Alaska Business card as well.
Negative Changes (effective March 2023):
- Annual fee is increasing from $75 to $95 per year
- No more day pass benefit
- First checked bag free – now only when the card is used to buy the tickets
Positive Changes:
- Priority boarding when you pay with your card.
- $100 discount off an annual Alaska Lounge+ Membership when you pay with your card.
- (Starts in March 2023) 10% rewards bonus on all miles earned from card purchases if you have an eligible Bank of America business account.
- (Starts in March 2023) 2x miles on gas, local transit including rideshare, and shipping.
Hat tip to Travewithgrant
Any idea if the free first bag benefit will apply for award tickets bought using BA miles but on AS? Taxes paid using Alaska credit card.
The personal card 2% earning categories are gas, transit, cable and select streaming services. Also, my letter says my annual fee anniversary date will be extended to September. The relationship bonus of 10% applies to eligible Bank of America accounts or Merrill. No annual fee shown.
I got this letter but my version doesn’t have the box at the top with the language about the annual fee increase. (I got a letter re: my personal card that does have the language.) What does that mean? Is it because my card is only a few months old?
Same experience here for both myself and P2 for our B of A Alaska Business Visa cards: the letter sent via postal mail arrived today. No mention of an increase in annual fee. Applied/approved for this card in August 2022, with a $75 AF. Hmmm.
Same for me. Probably depends on anniversary.
Do they claw back the bonus if cancel before a year? I hate these changes and just want to dump this before the AF comes due.
No consequences for canceling USB AS card. Many do it often bc this bank has worked for churning. You can no longer churn the personal cards since they implemented a once-per-24 month bonus rule, but churning is still possible on the biz account. I have usually kept the biz card for only 3-6 months, canceled, and then gotten a new biz card 90 days after cancelation. Never had a problem.
Do you get your annual fee prorated at all? I’m not happy with the new changes and would like to cancel but don’t want them to claw back my SUB but would like my annual fee prorated.
How can I cancel this junk card? I tried calling, the voice computer won’t accept “representative” and infuriates me with stupid options like “hear your balance”.
If I buy tickets for my employees (they do not have a card) and pay with the Alaska card, but I am not on the itinerary, do my employees still get the priority boarding and free checked bag?
Terms say benefits apply when you use YOUR card to pay for YOUR flights.
No. You have to be on the PNR.
I fly First Class exclusively so bad thing is irrelevant.
Everyone is extremely impressed.
I can’t imagine anyone keeps these Alaska cards open unless you’re a literal road warrior and fly alaska 90% of the time.
Churn and burn baby.
FYI, Alaska just made some changes to the program which is widely viewed as a deval.
No. I had 2 waived fees due to covid. Do not know if I can get another one.
I assume one will still get the free bag on award tickets if you pay the taxes with the AS card, but would love confirmation…
Nobody knows & we probably won’t know until after the new rule takes effect.
I was told by an agent yesterday that paying the taxes with the Alaska card on an award flight gets the job done. I personally won’t believe it until I hear actual confirmation that such is the case. If the lawyers that drafted the latest letters to the public had thought about the issue, one would expect them to have addressed such a subtle issue.
Isn’t the checked bag a negative change since you’re now required to purchase the flight with the AS cc?
Correct; it’s absolutely a negative change.
Yup, you did not need to charge the flight to the card before. You got the free bag just for holding the card.
Alaska is just making me love Delta more 😂
Are you eating your words now after the recent Delta news?
Definitely not. I don’t fly enough for status or to MS status & limiting frequent fliers trips to the Skyclub is good news for me since I only visit maybe half a dozen times year.
Fixed, thanks