Congratulations, I know the feeling. I was a silver member for the first 7 years of this decade, now with increased LH travel I've made the jump to Gold last year and with current travel commitments for the foreseeable is going to see me finish around 2500 TP pa

The Flounge certainly isn't worth the jump but it's the little details that make the difference, the F wing is a huge bonus and seat choices are ones that come to mind the most. Also on really busy short hauls I've never been asked to gate check a bag when I made it to the gate at the close of boarding.

Enjoy!