Originally Posted by
nauce
....I'm finding that the gate is almost always more comfortable than the lounge....
It's hyberbole like this that reduces credibility. Lounges, while sometimes crowded, are not more uncomfortable than the gate areas. I'm cheap - if gate areas were almost always more comfortable than the lounges, I wouldn't have a Club Card.
What makes lounges crowded are the people in 'em who claim they're less comfortable than the gate areas (or horrible in other ways) and won't leave
.
You don't even mention your home base. If you're at a UA hub, the likelihood of AA or DL being better might to be very debatable depending on your travel needs (beyond just the FF program).