[matwood]

> until I started to fly very frequently

This is a key point. When I used to fly once or twice per year to go on vacation it didn't really matter too much. Now I'm flying sometimes more than twice/month often international and all these little niceties add up. Global Entry is a must, some type of lounge with wifi and snacks is nice. Getting on early enough so I don't have to worry about them forcing me to check which then adds a ton of time when I land (or worse, lost luggage which happens all the time). And yes, I can relax and get back to what I was doing - likely reading a book :)