Crowded lounges haven’t affected AC’s bottomline. How many people have stopped flying AC because they can’t get into the lounge? Does AC/partners release more reward space or make more spaces available at lower points? Does AC release R space based on the number of e-ups issued? Does AC hire/train more concierge or priority call centre agents based on the number of Elites? Only benefit that can’t be diluted I can think of, is the extra checked baggage allowance. Of course, some people are luckier and/or “smarter” than others and they can get more values from the benefits inflations, hopefully not by taking trips solely for “maximizing” elite benefits.

Sorry to be blunt, but what I am seeing here is AC is good at designing the game, and many people unfortunately don’t know what game they are playing.