Thanks for all your comments.
Funny-no one answered at the time I wrote my question about the AQS on here; I checked the reviews at the website suggested and they were favorable. Through another list I found a couple of women who have had the AQS for awhile and they told me what they liked about it. The dealer told me about taking it on a plane with her and sticking it under the seat in front of her (which I assume you could do with all the Jems as they're all about the same size, aren't they?).
Then I took my own quilt sandwiches, a Quilt for Kids quilt that was ready to be quilted, etc., and went and sewed on it one Saturday afternoon. Brought it home with me and have made a few things on it as I was getting ready to take a class at the LQS.
Has less decorative stitches than the Platinum 760, but I don't use the decorative stitches on my Bernina, so that wasn't a concern. It does have user-adjustable stitch width, which I believe the Jem Gold does not. I like that you can have the needle stop either up or down and that there's a push button you can use to sew instead of using the foot control.
$300 including cover and "quilting package" of walking foot, quarter-inch foot, and a few other things.
Does just what I want and for a price I thought was reasonable. Well satisfied so far!