The US Bank Altitude Connect card will soon add Priority Pass airport lounge access and more travel protections

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• The U.S. Bank Altitude® Connect Visa Signature® Card will add valuable new travel benefits in February 2023.
• According to the card's most recent monthly statement, it will add Priority Pass Select airport lounge membership, trip interruption/cancellation insurance, and trip delay insurance.
• These are great perks for a card with an annual fee of U.S. Bank Altitude® Connect Visa Signature® Card.
• Read Insider's guide to the best travel rewards credit cards.

Relaxing with complimentary drinks, snacks, and Wi-Fi in an airport lounge before your flight can turn a dreary tip into a more pleasant event. There are a number of credit cards that offer free airport lounge access, but most charge a high annual fee so are best suited for frequent flyers who can maximize their benefits.

For occasional travelers, there are a couple of card options with modest annual fees that offer limited Priority Pass airport lounge access, and now a new card is joining the fold. According to my most recent account statement, the U.S. Bank Altitude® Connect Visa Signature® Card will add Priority Pass Select membership as a benefit as of February 2, 2023.

Effective the same date, the card will also offer additional travel insurance, which is an excellent improvement since the U.S. Bank Altitude® Connect Visa Signature® Card already earns 5x points on prepaid hotels and car rentals booked through the Altitude Rewards Center and 4x points on other travel.

Here's what to know about the changes if you have or are considering opening the U.S. Bank Altitude® Connect Visa Signature® Card.

We're focused here on the rewards and perks that come with each card. These cards won't be worth it if you're paying interest or late fees. When using a credit card, it's important to pay your balance in full each month, make payments on time, and only spend what you can afford to pay.

US Bank Altitude Connect adding Priority Pass Select, more travel protections

If you already have the U.S. Bank Altitude® Connect Visa Signature® Card, you should see the following text toward the bottom of your most recent card statement:

From February 2, 2023, the U.S. Bank Altitude® Connect Visa Signature® Card will offer:

• Priority Pass Select airport lounge membership
• Trip cancellation and interruption insurance
• Trip delay insurance

Unfortunately, the card's guide to benefits doesn't yet reflect the changes, so the terms of each new perk are unclear. We've reached out to US Bank for clarification but have not yet received a response.

Priority Pass Select membership

Considering the U.S. Bank Altitude® Connect Visa Signature® Card only charges an annual fee of U.S. Bank Altitude® Connect Visa Signature® Card, it's likely the Priority Pass Select perk will not come with unlimited visits, like memberships offered by premium cards such as The Platinum Card® from American Express, Chase Sapphire Reserve®, and Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card.

Instead, we might see a Priority Pass membership similar to what's offered with the U.S. Bank Altitude® Reserve Visa Infinite® Card-annual-fee U.S. Bank Altitude® Reserve Visa Infinite® Card (four complimentary cardholder and four guest visits per year). 

We can also look at a couple of American Express cards for clues as to what the U.S. Bank Altitude® Connect Visa Signature® Card might offer. Both the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card (Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card annual fee) and The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card (The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card annual fee) come with a Priority Pass Select membership that includes 10 complimentary visits a year. Since the U.S. Bank Altitude® Reserve Visa Infinite® Card is at a similar price point, it's possible the new membership will be similar.

Trip interruption/cancellation and trip delay insurance

The U.S. Bank Altitude® Connect Visa Signature® Card currently offers a handful of travel-related benefits, including a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit, roadside dispatch, and travel emergency assistance services.

The addition of trip cancellation/interruption insurance and trip delay insurance will make the card much more appealing for booking travel, especially now, when travel disruptions are commonplace. Again, we don't have specifics as to coverage limits or conditions, but we can look to other Visa Signature cards with similar annual fees for an idea of what to expect. For example:

• The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card-annual-fee Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card's travel insurance includes up to $10,000 per ticket in trip interruption/cancellation insurance, and up to $500 per ticket in trip delay insurance if your flight is delayed by at least 12 hours or overnight.
• The Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card (Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card annual fee) comes with up to $2,500 in coverage for trip cancellation/interruption, and up to $500 per ticket in reimbursement for trip delays of 12 hours or more
• The United℠ Explorer Card (annual fee of United℠ Explorer Card) offers up to $3,000 per passenger in coverage for trip cancellation/interruption, and up to $500 per ticket for trip delays of at least 12 hours or overnight

Other reasons to consider the US Bank Altitude Connect card

I opened the U.S. Bank Altitude® Connect Visa Signature® Card earlier this year because I was looking for a new credit card for gas station spending in particular. The card has a strong earning structure in several other categories, as well. Cardholders earn:

• 5 points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and car rentals booked directly through the Altitude Rewards Center
• 4 points per dollar on travel (including airlines, hotels, car rentals, taxis, limousines, passenger trains, and cruise lines) and at gas and EV charging stations
• 2 points per dollar at grocery stores and on grocery delivery, dining, and eligible streaming services
• 1 point per dollar on all other eligible purchases

The card comes with a terrific welcome bonus offer of U.S. Bank Altitude® Connect Visa Signature® Card (worth $500) and a $30 annual credit when you use your card to pay for eligible streaming services for 11 consecutive months. I charge my Netflix and Spotify subscriptions to the card to earn 2x points and take advantage of this credit, which effectively lowers the annual fee (after the first year) to just $65.

You can read more about all the card's benefits and perks in our full US Bank Altitude Connect card review.