Originally Posted by
enzian
No credit card benefits I know of, but I will check my AmEx next time we fly here to be sure. We have been flying in First with our AS miles for the past year, and appreciate the Alaska lounges at SEA. I didn’t realize they were so limited elsewhere! Next time we’ll fly home from SFO instead of SJC. I believe they have a new AS lounge there.
But for now we are OK at SJC. The airport is quite empty, so we have the whole gate area to ourselves, and it is too early for a glass of wine anyway. 😌
If you have the Amex Platinum, that does give priority pass access but you need to enroll in it beforehand. It's worthwhile to do so; you never know when you will be in an airport where it's useful (and it's included in the card's annual fee; there's no extra charge .
The Chase Sapphire reserve gives access as well, and their access includes a $28/person credit at many airport restaurants (which the amex version does not). There are a few other cards that give access as well; I'm not exactly sure which ones though.
Unfortunately with the exception of a few "premium" routes (like AA's premium transcons), I believe that AS is the only domestic airline that gives lounge access with domestic first class tickets, and that's only in the AS lounges, of which there are a limited number. So having some form of lounge access through a credit card or paid membership is useful even if you generally pay for first class domestically.