I can understand the mindset of buying up to F - and all of the options for upgrading with $$$ these days (although I do recall an offer years ago EWR-DEL to upgrade at check-in for about $600 maybe with some miles also from econ to BF...couldnt pass that up... but the question then is how much of a premium is it worth to upgrade.... $1000 to $6000 for a TATL of 6-8 hours - even on a full polaris experience is kinda hard to justify?
but back on this topic - I would love to get back into INT travel - but with everything going these days and the randomness of it all - not sure I have the energy to fight..... sure the IST lounge is nice for a long layover, but imagine getting stuck there with a positive COVID test......when you were negative when you left