Personally I don't think that LAX is that bad. There are plenty of place to park nearby (I don't park in short term parking unless I'm really late) and the traffic seems to flow thru the airport fairly well.

I also find that AA's terminal 4 is the best in the airport. You go directly through security (which flows pretty well, especially from the eltie site) to well laid out gates (not some of those circular relics from an earlier era in some of the other terminals). The AC is pretty good, and there are a number of food & newstand choices.

I can't speak to EXP but I will say that as a Plat upgrades to JFK/DFW/MIA are very hard to come by