lilycali:

Despite what you may hear from all my fellow grizzled road warriors out there Premier is at least a step above the general Mileage Plus level. You are accorded advanced boarding, and you can earn upgrade coupons which, as a Premier, you can use to upgrade from any fare to the next level of service.

You are not traveling as much as some but more than others and these perks are still nice. I still remember appreciating those perks myself.

Of course once you have experienced 1K you become very spoiled. Kind of like the first time you drank a truly extraordinary cabernet - you never want to drink the cheap stuff again.