Does AA purposefully make it a hassle to upgrade 2 people in a 4 person reservation? I've done it a couple of times but always with problems. AA splits the reservation into two separate reservations. The two people who aren't part of the upgrade request reservation (neither with status) lose any benefit of my status (pay for checked bags, no priority seating etc). However, if I hadn't requested the upgrade, they'd have all of the benefits but no one would potentially be in first.

Am I doing it wrong, does AA not care or is this well known to AA and a way to create more revenue?