Really tough to argue with paid upgrades getting priority, It seems reasonable to me that cash wins, within a time window.

For me though, @ 150K seat miles a year on HA for the last 5 years, the 2019 changes stung. I posted a topic here about it and no one ever replied. I guess it didn't really resonate at the time.
Even United where I am a inch from 2 Million seat miles engendered more loyalty for me.
Paying for EC to secure it at time of booking is too much to ask , maybe United spoiled me?
HA Customer service does not know the rules, misinforms about availability, quotes the wrong rules to secure upgrades, etc.... basically its like a lesson each time I try to use certs. Takes hours.
How many certificates do you have ???? You need to ask customer service only to discover a whole host of mistakes i.e. double pulled, unwilling to return certs.
The redemption of 2 certs for INTL flights really killed me. There is little precedent in the industry for top level elites using 2 certificates to gain a business upgrade (except underlying fare class limitations).
You cant book straight in with Certs within the 72 hour window. Even if its available, agents cant confirm, they keep referring to "the new system" and WEB Support.
HA NON-REV in business is an issue.
Forget about the IT situation, how hard is it to leave my R/L in "my trips" after my first leg INTL or get credit for a flight that I don't have to call in to get credited for (50% of the time) for INTL.
But the real killer is there is no one to talk to when things go bad.

There are positive things about their program but they are getting overrun by the devaluations and hassle factor dealing with them as an elite.

I will continue to deal with it because their routing is the best for me living in Hawaii.
Hawaiian's revenue for me is up every year, they are winning with me for now.
I suspect change will come again some day soon, for the better or worse? ...we will see.