This interview is part of Seatmates, a Window Seat series decoding the travel habits, global itineraries, and design-forward recommendations of today’s most compelling tastemakers.
There are a lot of credit cards out there. It’s overwhelming! People ask me all the time: how do you know which one to choose? Which one gives you the best benefits? And when it comes to prioritizing travel, navigating a complex points and rewards system might as well be its own foreign language. What if instead of learning it, your credit card just…gave you VIP access to experiences that were otherwise nearly impossible for you to get?
That’s exactly what Patrick Mrozowski set out to build with Atlas, a members-only credit card that comes with its very own concierge service. The value prop is that this card quite literally opens doors that no other perks can, helping its members secure super-exclusive experiences like impossible dining reservations, sold-out tickets, high-end hotel perks, private jet arrangements, and more.
We cover the sneaky-useful airport service he thinks you’re missing, his go-to business class window seats, and the unexpected travel tech that always makes his packing list.
Tell us a little about yourself.
PM: I’m Patrick Mrozowski, co-founder and CEO of Atlas. I started my first company when I was 19 years old, and I’ve been building companies ever since. I’ve always been drawn to problems that feel unnecessarily complicated and to figuring out how to solve them. That’s a big part of what led me to Atlas. We’re building a different kind of product around access, service, and removing friction from the experiences people actually want.
The idea really came from needing something like this myself when I first moved to New York. I wanted one place where I could get help with the things that are difficult to access or time-consuming to figure out, without having to know who to call or spend hours making it happen. So I built it with the Atlas team.
I still spend a lot of my time talking directly to our members. I’ve personally taken thousands of member calls, and I think that’s one of the best ways to understand what people actually want. You learn a lot from listening to your members, instead of based on the data and numbers. We’re still evolving into what the full potential of Atlas can be, and I’m excited about building a product that can be genuinely useful across more of our members’ lives, wherever they are in the world.
Atlas seems to be built around access rather than just points, offering members hard-to-get restaurant reservations, luxury hotel bookings, sold-out events, and private and semi-private aviation. What does “access” mean to you, and where do you think traditional premium cards have fallen short there?
PM: Access is unlocking something that isn’t easily accessible to everyone else. A hard-to-book table, a sold-out event, or a place where you normally need the right relationship to get in the door. If you want to get into Or’esh or The Corner Store, for example, having more points on your credit card isn’t going to help you. Atlas removes that friction. You just send a text and it’s done.
Traditional premium cards have optimized around value: points, miles, lounges, credits. Those are useful, but they don’t necessarily create access. And some of those benefits become less compelling as you travel more. If you’re flying business or first class, or even private, an airport lounge isn’t necessarily solving your biggest problem. For Atlas members, the real luxury is having someone who can open the right door.
You have access to a lot of data about how affluent people travel. What’s one travel behavior or trend you’ve seen among Atlas members that surprised you?
PM: Even billionaires are constantly looking for value and savings. What has also surprised me is how much our members use virtual cards for family and the people around them. You can issue a card instantly, set daily, weekly, or monthly spending limits, track the spend, and cancel it just as easily. It’s become a really useful way for members to extend access to their family or people in their orbit while still having control over the spending.
What’s one travel “luxury” you think is completely worth the money? One that’s overrated?
PM: I’m a big fan of having a private car when it actually saves you time. Wheely is a great example. You can schedule it in advance; they track your flight for delays or early arrival, meet you inside the airport, and help with your bags. You don’t have to think about any of the logistics, which is exactly what I want when I’m traveling.
Airport lounges are probably the thing I think is most overrated. They’re fine, but I don’t really want to spend extra time at an airport just to sit in a lounge. I’d rather spend less time in the airport altogether.
What’s been your most memorable stay?
PM: La Ponche in Saint-Tropez. It’s not the first place that comes to mind when you think of luxury hotels in the South of France, which is part of why I liked it. It has a lot of history. It was originally a place frequented by Picasso and other artists. It feels deeply French and very locally connected. The service was also really good. The food was great. And there were little gifts every day. The whole experience felt very warm and personal. But what I liked most was that it actually felt like Saint-Tropez. It felt unique and special. It didn’t feel like a hotel you could find anywhere else in the world.
Is there a destination or property at the top of your wishlist?
PM: Hotel du Cap. I want to see what all the hype is about.
What are your must-haves when it comes to luggage and items you travel with?
PM: I travel with a RIMOWA backpack, RIMOWA carry-on, and a Brooklinen eye mask. And I always have AirPods.
More recently, I’ve started traveling with a Starlink Mini. Working from Europe really drove that home for me. When you’re working remotely and taking calls across time zones, having reliable Wi-Fi becomes incredibly important. I’ve even started choosing transportation based on connectivity. I’ll take JSX between LA and San Francisco partly because of Starlink. I’ve taken full Zoom calls from takeoff through landing and then continued the call in a car to the office. It’s a pretty good example of how much I’ve come to value a reliable internet connection when I travel.
What is your go-to airport outfit?
PM: I don’t really have an airport outfit. I have a pretty simple uniform that I wear most days, which is usually pants and a T-shirt. I’m not particularly fashion-focused, especially when I’m traveling. I mostly want to be comfortable and keep things simple.
Do you have any rules or rituals when it comes to air travel?
PM: I want to spend as little time in the airport as possible. I usually cut it pretty close and use CLEAR at LAX or similar services wherever they’re available. I also think airport greeters are really underrated when you’re somewhere unfamiliar, especially with a tight connection, a complicated airport, or a language barrier. They can meet you when you land, help you navigate the airport, and get you where you need to go without having to figure everything out yourself. That’s one of the reasons we included an Airport Service Credit as an Atlas member benefit, which can be used for greeters, private airport terminals, and lounges. These are the kinds of things that actually make a difference when you travel frequently.
Last question: aisle or window seat?
PM: Always window. Ideally, I want a business or first-class configuration where you have your own private row. JetBlue Mint and United Polaris both do this well. On a short flight, though, I’m not that particular. If there’s Wi-Fi, I’m pretty happy.
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Window Seat covers the intersection of luxury hospitality, aviation innovation, and the culture of modern travel, written by Tori Simokov, a writer and designer based in New York. For partnership opportunities: tori@v1projects.com. You can also connect with her on Instagram, TikTok, or ShopMy.
“Access” is really shorthand for saved time, fewer dead ends, and someone knowing who to call. Points are lovely, but they’ve never talked a bouncer into moving the rope 😅 The human network is still the benefit technology can’t quite manufacture.