For a frequent flyer i don't see A3 earn/burn ratio attractive at all. If one is struggling with even reaching *A-Gold status it could be useful.

In my opinion star alliance should not have any member who are offering Gold-membership under 40 000miles or even less. This devaluates the whole program and the services/benefits are getting fewer and fewer. You can witness this by example looking one of the "Red Carpet Club" lounges in US. Sad.