Well, having net access here at the Ritz in Santiago after returning from IPC - a trip, by the way, that I highly recommend for a couple of days if you're doing an RTW ticket (think Hawaii if it was one island and 3000 people and a lot less developed), my experience was this:

1. LAX ground staff looked suspiciously at my big carryon garment bag, but once I showed them the A class ticket they left me alone. Flyertalk win #1.

2. Ask domestic connections guy if he can point out VIP lounge. He does, but then tells me I can't use it until I clear immigration. Mistake #1. If I'd just headed left I might have gone in the lounge and rolled the dice to see if they would have let me in. So much for following the rules

3. Go to shortest line at LA SCL check in after I clear immigration. Ticket desk explains that I need to talk to AA for miles for the flight as I'm trying to explain 3 times in both English and espanol que no es bien pero no es muy mal that I simply want to go through to the lounge and don't care about miles. Get shunted over to the special services desk, and have to go through two agents and get my IPC ticket reissued before I'm told I can use it but have to go back through customs as if I was exiting the country - and then clear immigration again! Given the immigration policia swore at me on the way through the first time and it was 0730 with my IPC flight in the other terminal at 0830 I give up. Push #1.

4. Pay $11 to use the shower at the domestic private priority pass lounge. Ripoff but I needed it. By the way, the domestic lounge supposedly has wireless but I think its Wireless G, not Wireless B, as I couldn't get my laptop to work with it. Still, it was basically all I needed as they had separate computers hooked up with broadband. Flyertalk win #2.

5. Haul big garment bag with me through domestic. Security questions but lets me through. Gate agents look askew but then look at D class ticket and say go for it. Get row 1 seat on both ways because I asked. Flyertalk win #3. Net score 3 wins, 1 push, 1 mistake.

Looking forward to trying out the lounges on my return to the States tomorrow. By the way, Lan F (and J on Easter Island) was something else on the food - magnifico. Service wasn't great on any of the routes (begging for water while the 2 FAs assigned to first class sit in the galley reading is not my favorite activity) but hey, I was asleep for most of it.