Lets do the math, if you consider you will need at least one of the Rapid Rewards cards for free bags.. $229 - ( 7500 points - 3000 points )*1.3cpp - $69 (lowest tier annual fee) = $101.50. If you dont have A-List, but plan to travel a few times, Priority(And Business Performance) are the only cards slated to give you the ability to pick a seat at booking. So its all up to how much seat selection will cost. If we assume seat selection will be $20-30 bucks, you are looking at 4-5 tickets a year to break even. So if you travel with someone else, that's 2 flights, or possibly one round trip. If you plan multiple round trips a year, but not enough to get A-List, it still holds value.