Baby on board: Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards just made it much cheaper to fly with lap infants on award tickets

If you’re looking to redeem points and miles for airline travel and have a lap infant traveling with you, Alaska Airlines’ Atmos Rewards program just made an incredibly generous policy update.For long-haul international Atmos Rewards redemptions, including those operated by partner airlines, lap infants will now only be charged government-mandated international taxes when the award ticket is issued on “027” stock, meaning issued by Alaska or Hawaiian. Lap infants are defined as passengers under the age of 2 on the date of travel of all flights of the trip who do not require their own seat. They will continue to fly free on Alaska-operated domestic award flights (including Hawaiian Airlines flights) when accompanied by an adult.For some other airlines, lap infants are charged 10% of the adult revenue fare, plus taxes and fees, whether an adult passenger redeems miles or pays cash for international flights.On short-haul international services, where cash rates are just a few hundred dollars, lap infant costs are affordable. However, it becomes more expensive to redeem for long-haul business-class flights. So even if you find a sweet spot international business-class redemption for 50,000 points, for example, you’d need to pay 10% of the cash fare to bring a lap infant along. That means on a $3,000 one-way business-class fare, you’d spend $300 for a lap infant who doesn’t have their own seat and probably won’t eat or drink anything offered on board.If you are traveling internationally with a lap infant on an award ticket, this 10% fee, which is common across the industry, can be a significant added expense to your points and miles redemption.That’s why this surprise policy change from Atmos Rewards is so generous and so welcome. It not only covers international flights operated by Alaska (which is steadily adding pins to its route map) but also the impressive roster of Atmos Rewards partner airlines, including British Airways, Japan Airlines, American Airlines, Icelandair and Starlux, giving you more choice to save when you travel with your family.Bottom lineAtmos Rewards now has the most generous lap infant award policy of any major loyalty program. On long-haul international redemptions, you pay only government-mandated taxes and fees for a child under 2 traveling on your lap, which are usually very low, with no percentage of the adult cash fare and no points payable.That applies to Alaska and Hawaiian metal and flights operated by partner airlines, and lap infants must be added by phoning Atmos Rewards. Lap infants on international revenue fares are still subject to the 10% charge, so consider redeeming Atmos Rewards points instead.Related reading:11 lessons I learned flying long-haul business class with my toddlerEverything you need to know about booking award flights with a lap infantWhy 7,500-point economy awards are my go-to Atmos Rewards redemptionFly to Tokyo and London from 20,000 points with the September Atmos Rewards Global GetawaysHow I’ve kept traveling — even after having a babyEditorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.