I'm normally someone who would just move on, and not complain much - but the Christmas holiday trip I experienced had me furious.

Outbound flight:
1st attempt is partially my fault for not being at airport soon enough, even though plane is delayed I'm denied boarding. I'm at the counter 35 mins+ early, I have Pre-Check, and can likely bypass TSA - even though plane is late and hasn't arrived- I'm rebooked for following day.
2nd attempt, last flight of day is cancelled (not due to weather.)
3rd attempt / day, flight is delayed ~3 hours due to mechanical problem- but does get me where I'm going.

Return flight:
1st attempt: Plane boards 1 hour late, and then it's announced that plane is over weight. No volunteers, and staff moves down list for involuntary de-boarding. Last in is actually a flight crew, and instead myself and another passenger are selected for de-boarding. I had checked in 2 hours prior, and 2nd passenger claimed 6hrs. I'm given a flight voucher and a taxi credit for different airport arrival.

2nd attempt: rebooked on later flight with a wait time of about 6 hours. One hour past depature time, flight is cancelled. I have company arriving, so I grab a rental car and drive through the snow for several hours - arriving home at 3:30AM.

3rd day - I go to pick original airport to pick up my bag, and ask desk to cancel 2nd leg; I'm told that there is nothing that can be done - and that I'll have to contact customer service via website.

I was too furious to call at this point, and I just called tonight to have 2nd leg cancelled. I was told that I could rebook the 2nd leg for a $150 change fee since I did not call within 7 days. It's suggested that I contact customer support via the website to have the fee waived.

I'm trying not to be melodramatic or ask for anything unrealistic; I'm leaving out some other more minor details that made this trip even less desirable.

I ask this as someone who only travels a half-dozen times a year or so, if you were in my shoes- what would you ask of US? The change fee is obviously obnoxious - and I've restrained myself from exploding on anyone at US at this point.

I've thought about asking for status, or some value of points - but it's difficult for me to put a value on any of this. The original ticket was worth about $1K.