How to book American Airlines flights with Atmos Rewards points

If you’re a frequent American Airlines flyer like I am, your award strategy doesn’t have to be limited to American Airlines AAdvantage miles.

Say hello to Atmos Rewards, the joint loyalty program between Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines. I firmly believe American Airlines loyalists should pay attention to Atmos Rewards since I’ve found that the currency can be incredibly valuable.

Thanks to the airlines’ membership in the Oneworld alliance, you can book American Airlines flights using Atmos Rewards points — often at lucrative redemption rates.

Don’t be intimidated by booking through partners. It’s as easy as running any award search.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to use Atmos Rewards to book American Airlines flights.

Step 1: Identify the American Airlines flight you wish to take

For this example, I’ll walk you through booking a one-way economy ticket for a direct flight from Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) on American Airlines.

First, I navigated to American Airlines’ website to see what was available.

I found multiple options on the date I was hoping to fly out, but that $555 price tag was a little too high for me. While I could explore award travel options, I was low on AAdvantage miles.

Thankfully, there was another option for me: Atmos Rewards. For context, I collect Atmos Rewards points by transferring from my Bilt Rewards account. (Bilt Points transfer at a 1:1 ratio to Atmos Rewards.) You can also collect Atmos Rewards points by adding an Atmos Rewards credit card to your wallet.

This first step was to find a flight I wanted to take. The following steps take place outside of American Airlines’ website.

Step 2: Sign in with Atmos Rewards and navigate to Alaska Airlines’ booking site

From here, I signed into the Atmos Rewards website on the right-hand menu.

I then navigated to “Book” and selected “Alaska Airlines.” This took me to the booking page for Alaska and its Oneworld partners.

I entered my origin and destination airports and clicked “Use points” to find redemption options with Atmos Rewards points.

Finally, I pressed “Search flights.”

At this point, it’s worth noting that you may not always find award availability for every flight. While many American Airlines flights are bookable with Atmos Rewards points, it’s not a guarantee. Adjust your dates and routes if you’re unable to find availability with your first-choice travel arrangements.

Step 3: Find an American Airlines flight on the Atmos Rewards website

I filtered by “Nonstop only” to find the exact flights from CLT to SFO that I identified on American Airlines’ website.

I immediately found the exact same three flights, marked with “Operated by American Airlines” designations. Instead of paying $555 for the flight, I could redeem 17,500 Atmos Rewards points and pay $19.

TPG would consider this a good use of Atmos Rewards points. Because our November 2025 valuations place Atmos Rewards points at 1.5 cents apiece, we would deem those 17,500 points to be worth about $263. When I added $19 in taxes and fees, the total value was brought to $282, which is $274 less than the $555 I would have had to pay for this one-way economy flight.

Step 4: Select your flight and finish booking

I decided on the 9:35 a.m. departure from CLT and continued by selecting “Add to cart.”

The rest of the process was as straightforward as booking any other award ticket.

I reviewed the details of my cart and pressed “Continue to checkout.”

After this, I filled out my passenger and contact information and continued to payment.

Related: I’ve never flown Alaska Airlines before — here’s why I want its new premium credit card

How to earn Atmos Rewards points

As I mentioned above, I collect Atmos Rewards points through Bilt Rewards. I hold the Bilt Mastercard® to collect points on rent without a transaction fee, but you don’t have to have the credit card to leverage the Bilt program.

The information for the Bilt Mastercard has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

However, there are three cobranded Atmos Rewards credit cards (issued by Bank of America) that allow cardholders to earn a haul of points. Here’s what to know:

• Atmos™ Rewards Ascent Visa Signature® Credit Card: Earn 60,000 bonus points and a $99 Companion Fare (plus taxes and fees from $23) after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 90 days from account opening, plus receive a 30% global flight discount code for a qualifying future flight after opening a new account.
• Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® Credit Card: Earn 80,000 bonus points and a 25,000-point Global Companion Award after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 90 days from account opening.
• Atmos™ Rewards Visa Signature® Business Card: Earn 60,000 bonus points and a $99 Companion Fare (plus taxes and fees from $23) after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first 90 days from account opening.

Related: Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines’ Companion Fare discount no longer available for stopovers

Bottom line

Booking an American Airlines flight with Atmos Rewards points doesn’t have to be complicated or confusing.

Of course, remember that award availability isn’t a guarantee, and you’ll want to check TPG’s valuations to ensure you’re getting a good deal for your hard-earned points.

If you follow the steps outlined above, you should be able to redeem your points with ease.

Apply here: Atmos Rewards Ascent Visa Signature Credit Card

Apply here: Atmos Rewards Summit Visa Infinite Credit Card

Apply here: Atmos Rewards Visa Signature Business Card