Hmm thanks for all the feedback! From what I'm reading, I'll check out both Aegean and AC Aeroplan.

One thing I'm still confused about... does *A gold get complimentary upgrades? I'm based out of Raleigh (RDU) and while RDU-TPE and RDU-SEA will be the most frequent trips, I will often head to LA, Charlotte, Chicago and NYC. Would I have to joined a domestic FF and earn *A gold through them in order to ensure that I will get seat upgrades on these local shorter flights?