Bottom Line

Why You Might Want This Card

Great Card... If You Fly Alaskan

Normally, you have to contrive some backdoor, double-card point redemption for a companion pass. Not so with this card. You'll get a companion pass every anniversary. All you pay are taxes and fees for your companion. Plus get a free checked bag for you and 6 of your friends whenever you fly Alaskan. The sign-up bonus is 40,000 miles after spending $2,000 in the first 90 days. And you'll earn 3x miles for every dollar spent on Alaskan Airlines purchases.

This business card also helps you manage what's being done with your money, giving you full access to setting employee spending limits, cash flow management tools, and protection against unauthorized employee charges.

If you travel Alaskan Air frequently, you definitely want to consider this card. People on the East Coast might not target this card -- although with its affiliate being Iceland Air, that may be changing soon. The companion pass is hands down a huge benefit, plus the sign-up bonus is easy to achieve. Alaskan Air does have limits, however. And if you don't like being tied down to specific airlines -- or if you live in a smaller city that doesn't support Alaskan's partners -- you might want to shop around for something with broader rewards.

Exceptions To The Rule

About Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan

Alaska Airlines is one of those fun mileage programs that you need to be flexible and clever with to get the most value out of it.

Let's start with the bad news: Alaska Airlines utilizes four different distance-based levels for points redemption. So point redemption can vary widely depending on how far you're going and what class you want to fly in. They also do not offer lay-down seats -- so if you’re splurging for premium seating, don’t be disappointed or shocked when your seat doesn’t go all the way down. The last thing people don’t love about Alaska Airlines is that they only fly domestic, Canada and Central America.

So, why would you want Alaska Airlines miles? One of the biggest reasons is the stopover option. This may not look like a whole lot since they don’t fly very far, but another beautiful thing about Alaska Airlines is their partners, which include Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines and Japan Airlines, to name a few. You can book a round-trip ticket and have a stopover on the way there and on the way back, attaching essentially 3 different trips. Not that domestic is all that bad because Alaska Airline miles can get you to Hawaii and Alaska on some really excellent deals -- and even during peak travel time you can almost always find a reward seat.

Where Alaska Airlines Visa Business Fits In This Point Ecosystem

Personal Experience