If I'm paying 500%+ of Flex fare with my J fare but only getting 150% of the miles - that doesn't seem reasonable. There should be a parallel qualification option based on spend IMO.

In terms of the benefits that are missed by those that buy J fares but don't make SE - IMO by far the biggest is the ability to actually use AE miles. Even in its watered down state IKK is a HUGE benefit. Even more important than the meal priority, being shunned by concierges etc.

As the Bens noted there are some E50s/E75s etc that spend far more than SEs - and yet we get virtually nothing from AC whatsoever.