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I am STONGLY considering the new Hilton Honors Ascend AMEX. It would be my second AMEX. I do occasionally stay at Hilton's, so I could see myself getting "some" of the benefits by racking up some of the points, but my main purpose for getting it would be for the Priority Pass Select - 10 Free visits. This seems like the most logical option for getting access to the Priority Pass Select lounges without having to shell out the $450.00 or $550.00 through a premium card. Even though I would like to think I will, I most likely will not need lounge access more than 10 instances in a year. I do currently have the Delta Gold AMEX, so if I need access and am on a Delta flight, it would only be $29.00, so I am thinking that $95.00 for the AF to get access would be great.
Are their any other cards out there that you all are able to think of for Priority Pass Select that have a lower fee than $450.00 or $550.00? A limited number of enterances is okay for me.
Chase Sapphire Reserve also comes with PPS that theoretically allows free unlimited guests as long as the lounges allow you. Annual fee is $450 but there is also annual credit of $300 for travel related spendings, effectively bringing it to $150. No hotel/airline elite status, unfortunately. But I think Hilton Ascend would be the only one offering PPS at $95 range.
I can't think of any card that offers complimentary Priority Pass without a $450-550 AF. It sounds like if you only plan to use it a handful of times per year, you have the cheapest option. However, most of these hefty AF cards have other benefits that can potentially satisfy or exceed the cost of the AF itself. You're probably already aware of this, but for the sake of discussion, the Amex Platinum reimburses up to $200 Uber credits per year + $200 Airline credit per year + $100 TSA pre-check credit, which pretty much covers the annual fee.
@Anonymouswrote:
The only high AF cards that I'd truly value the travel credit enough to consider them at full value are the CSR and Citi Prestige since you can cleanly and openly use the travel credits for airline tickets: if you're gonna use lounge access then you're definitely gonna buy airline tickets ...
I can't remember the last time I bought an airline ticket. I fly for free thanks to all of these signup bonuses!
The Ascend is a fantastic card, especially in light of the situation the original poster described. Do it!