My experience on UA is similar - it's a flight and the service is fine, but if you're a primarily domestic flyer, AS MVP is arguably better than UA gold, and definitely better than silver. On AS as an MVP the upgrade to PC at T-48 reduces your seat risk by a lot more than the silver Y+ at check-in benefit, and an MVP has a much better chance of getting upgrades than a UA Gold (except maybe if you're SEA based). And AS also lets you check a bicycle for the cost of a regular bag, which is $0 if you're MVP or have the credit card.