I had a PRIORITY PASS for many years before Alliances started up and my AC or CP lounge access (part of mid and top elite tier FF program benefits here in Canada, as everywhere else but US programs) got me into hundreds of affiliated lounges just about everywhere I flew. I rejoined PP this year when it became a benefit of the revamped DINERS/MASTERCARD program for us North Americans. This version is the basic membership, and we pay about U$26 for each entry. So you should confirm which version -- all inclusive, no charge access is the higher cost one -- you are being offered for the discounted price.

Like others, it really depends where you travel to and from. For those flying within NAmerica, I think RCC may still be your best option. As noted, many of the PP lounges are likely to be in different terminal buildings and thus a problem to access, or just to get from to your own airline's flight. If you travel outside NAmerica, then PP likely provides more access as RCCs are limited to UA's major overseas hubs: LHR, HKG, NRT...

RCC does have reciprocal benefits when flying UA or LH/HP/US/AC which permits access to their lounges, but this falls quite short of the access you'd have as a STARGold (i.e. UA/MP PremEx or 1K).

Another option for overseas lounges is to get a Diners/Mastercard or any type and even without the premium card PP benefit, there are dozens of Diners lounges at overseas airports (most of which are actually also PP lounges). The big gap in Diners lounges right now is found in the UK/Ireland, where these cannot be accessed as Diners lounges for some odd reason, but can be as paid PP lounges.

Anyhow, sounds as if the RCC is still the way to go for your travel patterns. As a back-up, get a Diners/MC card for access to that network of lounges rather than paying for the PP option. Note also that there are many American Express lounges at international airports overseas. Any Amex cardholder (Green, Gold or Plat/Black) can use these free as well. Not well advertised in NAmerica, but you can get details from Amex. But note, these are not the same lounges that are included with the NAmerican Platinum card. With that card, you can access NW WorldClubs, DL CrownRooms and CO Presidents Clubs when flying those three airlines.)