I never argued with anyone in CX, so I cannot comment on whether there is any black list for that. If you read my posts, you can also tell that I have not been op-upped often lately. With all cabins full, the chances of op-ups on many CX long-haul flights are small these days. For my flights to/from the Mainland, I mostly take KA, and I have never had an op-up on KA flights.
Some airlines have some well defined op-up/upgrade policies - AA, BR, etc. However, in the end, it is just a trade-off.
Guests are not allowed for lounge access for the lowest tier, but as I remembered (I still have 150,000 miles in UA, but I have not flied UA for years), in the case of Star Alliance Silver, there is no lounge access even for the member.
You should be a Gold member by now. You can take your wife with you.
Last edited by cxfan1960; Jun 23, 2007 at 5:30 pm
Reason: Clarify