cynicAAl and aamilesslave,

Please note I acknowledged that upgrading as an EXP is a minor effort (I know all you have to do is check the box). Also note the following quote, from my original post [emphasis added] ...

"FWIW, I don't mind riding in Y at all--most of my trips these days are for personal and not business travel; as such, reservations are typically made 2-4 weeks in advance and I can get exit row seats..."

As long as I get an exit row, I don't plan to upgrade SAT-DFW in either direction--I'm quite happy in the exit row and I think it would be nice to leave a few seats for GLD and PLT to have some upgrade success. Maybe I'm naive, maybe I'm too nice, maybe I'm craazy ... I won't debate it, though.

You may be thinking "better for me--more upgrades!!"--and you're right. If upgrading on a short-hop is that important to you, have at it! I won't complain one bit.

cheers!