I must have been a cheapskate for international travel LOL,we always ended up flying 'Cattle Class'
,we always checked up on upgraded seats but the difference in price was often enough to pay for the whole rest of the holiday (or at least a major part of it).I used to love flying in the 747 and as somebody else posted recently I usually tried to get in the rear window seats,the couple of rows which only had 2 seats together.7-11 hours of relative discomfort is doable when it (say) pays for your entire holiday car rental cost.
We have always been polite and well behaved with the CC's but possibly because we dress for practical comfort rather than style - have never been offered an upgrade (except for a couple of jump seats over the years
).