Part of a series: ATMOS REWARDS: PART I | ATMOS REWARDS PART II
Coming soon to Atmos Rewards 2026: Choosing Your Status Earning Path
DISCLAIMER: This is what is known as of now, the process may and will likely change over time.
In approximately two months, the way you earn elite status will move to a “Choice” model. Instead of one set path, you can select the method that best matches your travel habits:
- Distance-Based: Earn 1 Status Point per 1 mile flown.
- Segment-Based: Earn a flat 500 Status Points per flight
- Spend-Based: Earn 5 Status Points per $1 spent on airfare.
It is important to note, these are Status Points, or Elite Qualifying Miles (EQM). Spendable miles are typically earned at 1 spendable mile per mile flown. For spendable miles, the 500 minimum per segment rule applies.
For the purpose of status (which this relates to), almost every Hawaii-based traveler will do best under the Distance-based model, with the exception of those that make frequent trips to the neighbor islands. Even then, it’s not entirely clear that the Segment-based model will be better. I’m inserting a table below so you can see how different flights might earn miles under each of the choices.
The interesting part is that you can only choose one method of earning EQM each year. Once you pick a method, you stay with that method until the next reselection period, presumably in 12 months, but with this being a new process, possibly sometime around January 1, next year.
| Round Trip to Hilo from Honolulu, $160 Ticket Price ($140 Base Fare + $20 Taxes) | |||
| Category | Distance Model | Segment Model | Spend Model |
| Status Points (Scorecard) | 432 | 1,000 | 700 |
| Spendable Miles (Currency) = 1000 | |||
| Winner for Hilo, Segment Model | |||
| Round Trip to Las Vegas from Honolulu, $450 Ticket Price ($400 Base Fare + $50 Taxes) | |||
| Category | Distance Model | Segment Model | Spend Model |
| Status Points (Scorecard) | 5,520 | 1,000 | 2,000 |
| Spendable Miles (Currency) = 5520 | |||
| Winner for Vegas, Distance Model | |||
| Round Trip to Haneda (Tokyo) from Honolulu, $700 Ticket Price ($600 Base Fare + $100 Taxes/Fees) | |||
| Category | Distance Model | Segment Model | Spend Model |
| Status Points (Scorecard) | 7,700 | 1,000 | 3,000 |
| Spendable Miles (Currency) = 7700 | |||
| Winner for Haneda, Distance Model | |||
Under the past HawaiianMiles model, miles, both spendable and status, were calculated by distance. The minimum earned on any segment was 500 miles, both spendable and status. Additionally, if you flew 15 round trips interisland, that was sufficient for Pualani Gold status. Under ATMOS, you will still get a minimum spendable 500 miles per segment, but if you choose EQM earning under a different model, the EQM will be changed to the selected method.
The 15 round trips in a calendar year to earn Pualani Gold status is gone. You will now need 20 round trips to earn the lowest ATMOS status, Silver. This is the equivalent of 20,000 EQM if you go by the segment model.
If you fly 20 round trips to the neighbor islands in a year and all you want is Silver status, you can pretty much stop reading now. Using the segment-based earning selection will get you to Silver ATMOS status.
Short Summary: Sometime soon, probably around April, ATMOS will ask you for your preferred EQM earning method. You have three choices: (1) miles-based, (2) spending-based, or (3) segment-based as outlined at the top of the post. Most Hawaii residents have the best chance of achieving status under the distance-based model.