Thanks for sharing the detailed back story ContinentalFan. I am so happy for your accomplishment of achieving GS!

I received some super useful advice from ContinentalFan on basic economy (BE) fares, and have really made it work with low CPM, and without ever sitting in a middle seat voluntarily. As per his note, it is not true assigned BE seats are not changeable; they totally are, and sometimes you might even luck out on E+ non-middle seats.