Yeah, the ironic thing is that I never bothered with UC membership because there were no effectively-free options; I just mixed international access with the "walk straight from the curb to my seat" plan for domestic flights.

But with DL, I have two SC credentials (Amex Plat, Amex DL Reserve), both of which I consider to be free. And yet DL seems to invest more in their lounges, despite what are assuredly countless freeloaders like me (and their own top elites)

It's not even a capex thing in a lot of places - the SFO Rotunda club for example is beautiful, and it can't be that hard to offer more than cheese cubes.