Minor note, and I only post it because many don't know this. We can ALMOST place them on our schedules as we please. You can only put them in 3 different off day blocks, which is supposedly a "system limitation." As someone who usually has more than 3 off day blocks, I find this a bit ridiculous. Also, golden days have to start on a off day immediately following a reserve day. Thats ok, if you're happy with your schedule, but not great if you plan on moving reserve days. Since we can't move golden days, if you move reserve days over one, it's simply lost.

But really golden days are kind of silly. Every off day should be a golden day, and we should never have to worry about being worked into an off day. That said, I've never really been worked into an off day, though I know it occasionally happens. As Fangs mentioned, the true value is the automatic noon release on the last day of a reserve block.