Good point. And when I'm #1 on the AA upgrade list and there are multiple, non-crew/marshal, empty seats, I suppose I should take the same philosophy and just chalk it up to my failure to buy a full-fare biz class ticket.

Or I could just treat both situations as the transactions that they are according to the terms and conditions of the programs and that neither I nor the property can unilaterally suspend on-the-fly because we should just both feel grateful for one another's loyalty and good spirit.