OK, so I'm a little tired from a week on the road.

In the span of a few days, I experienced:

-A front desk clerk (at a W) telling me that an upgrade was not possible even though the hotel was empty and SPG.com showed tons of inventory. A call to an SPG ambassador cleared it up, but I had to make the effort to call her on it.

-A gate agent with USair told me that everyone in F had checked in even though I could see on her screen that this was not the case. I saw it coach and had to grit my teeth at an empty seat on the other side of the curtain.

-Someone at the Avis Preferred desk telling me there wasn't a single car on the lot that had a USB jack.

I'll admit, none of these are awful experiences. But they underline that even experienced frequent travelers must battle for what they deserve or settle for less. It makes traveling less pleasant. You commit loyalty and money and time to these programs and instead of just enjoying your earned benefits you must often push to get what you deserve.