@BES, I don’t think it is. I’m pretty sure the underwriting is the same on each of the HH cards. I started out with the base HH and the Delta Gold in November. About 5 weeks ago I had preapprovals for Ascend ($99) and Aspire ($450), as well as Bonvoy, DB, DP, and DR. Being that the AF for that batch of cards ranges from $0-450 and I had preapproval for all of them, I’d think underwriting is pretty much the same and it comes down to how much you’re willing to pay annually for the perks provided.
I ended up getting the Ascend and am happy to have it. The earnings are much better than the base card, and there are several other perks it brings to the party, which make it easily worth the AF. Later on I’ll shift as much limit from the base card as I can onto the Ascend, and then close the base card after the first of the year, when I have well over a year with it. Plus I got a 125k-for-$2000-spend SUB on it, which adds up to just under 5 nights based on my average redemptions of 26-28k per night for rooms in the $150-170 range. That’s $750+ in dollar value for a $99 AF.
