There is a travel article at MSNBC offering 5 tips for getting the star treatment - Sure-fire strategies to reap first-class rewards. My favorite tip is, Toot your horn.

"Are you celebrating a birthday, anniversary, wedding, or graduation? Let your travel agent know. A good travel planner will have the connections to make your experience more memorable. All of the travel suppliers want happy clients and will go out of their way for you if they can."

This tip comes in very handy when making restaurant reservations. Any restaurant worth it's salt should take special requests very seriously.

I also had an airline stewerdess once tell me - if you're on your honeymoon, make sure to let the ticket agent know when you check in for your flight. If the flight has room, sometimes they'll bump you up to first class.