Allowing gold and platinum AMEX SkyMiles members to board early is a brilliant marketing scheme. Because we all know that there are plenty of passengers aka "gate lice" who want to get on as early as possible in order to nab an overhead bin for their carry-on that they over-packed in order to avoid paying the $25 fee.

Now gate lice are feeling the squeeze. And many will go ahead and get the card.

What's interesting is that the other great benefit of the card is a free checked bag. I know that given the choice between lugging a 50 pound carryon and checking in a bag, I always go with the latter. Having the gate lice enroll in the card may have the unintended (or perhaps intended) benefit of actually freeing up overhead space for the non-card members.