I too feel that UC has whored themselves out to too many creditcard companies. I was traveling with a Japanese colleague and was astonished that they had a credit card that would get them into ALL StarAlliance , OneWorld, and Sky Team lounges. Like ...? I felt totally betrayed as an Elite flier and this woman who hardly flies at all can get into every lounge on the planet. I have no idea what they paid per year in fees but still...
Back to the UC situation, I agree that the lounges have got better in recent years. Best UC lounge is still LAX (IMO) and that StarAlliance lounge at LAX is hands down the best lounge in North America and I doubt it came cheap. If higher membership fees means further improved lounges (can we get Polaris access for domestic business class?) then I am willing to pony up. Sure $650 will cut some traffic, but you know AA and DL are already doing the same so they got nowhere else to go.