The one thing that I take a lot of heat for from my travelling coworkers is lounge access. I used to fly United all the time and had elite status with Air Canada. This got us into Maple Leaf lounges (which are arguably better than most) and Red Carpet clubs (which I imagine are similar to Admiral's Clubs). If the AC was similar to the Maple Leaf lounge, I might be willing to pay for it, but hearing they are more like Red Carpet clubs, I can't imagine why they charge top-tier AAdvantage members for access.

I certainly look forward to domestic upgrades (I have one confirmed right now) and the standby priority. I've missed going to the lounges this year except when flying UA or AC, but their upgrade structure is much worse, so I'd rather be comfortable in flight and use a restaurant in the airport.

I gotta get a job that sends me overseas so I can use the lounges and rack up the miles easier

Rothsix