I'm debating whether it's worth it to pursue *A Gold via A3 with one weekend MR and $1000+...

I fly economy (and while J or F are nice, I'm personally fine with flying Y as someone barely over 5') and only for personal travel. The last couple of years I've been averaging a couple of large international trips a year and maybe half a dozen domestic trips a year. It varies depending on good deals being available as I will jump on a short trip for the miles. To me, the appeal of *A Gold is the lounge access and the free baggage/priority baggage (I have pre-check so the priority line is meh), but I don't know if it's worth the ~$1050.

I'm based out of SFO and need to be in BOS one weekend in Nov. The economy flight would cost me at least $350, but it would be 2 relatively easy nonstop flights and I'd probably make UA Silver this year with it. I could also fly on F/A fares and get the 19000 miles necessary to make gold with Aegean, but it would be a pretty painful itinerary: 2 positioning flights to and from SNA in Y. SNA-IAH-LGA. LGA-IAD-BOS in Y. BOS-SFO-SNA. Extra day off of work.

FWIW, I have a trip planned to Asia at the end of November. The airline decision is still up in the air, but I usually fly *A for the long-haul and then use Avios/SkyPesos for intra-Asia travel. Lounge access sounds nice for this.

Is *A Gold worth the money or should I just opt for the Explorer card (and the 50K bonus)? I'm kind of wary of getting more CC as I'm young and lacking in a lot of disposable income...plus I'm pretty satisfied with my CSP right now. Do both?

Thanks- long post I know.