late Oct: GM, ticketed DCA-JFK-SNA/SNA-ATL-DCA; signed my wife up just so she could be listed as companion on the PNR
> DCA-JFK cleared 24 hrs out (after FO window)
> at JFK the GIDS showed "Standby upgrades available for sale" and 2 F seats available but GA couldn't explain why we hadn't cleared ... called SMS who fixed it in about 3 minutes; said the trick was to reprint all BPs at the originating airport
> at SNA we were 4 and 5 for 4 seats (I hadn't split the PNR) ... Y was only about 60% full on a Sat afternoon so we kept our D/F seats and the UGs went to 1,2,3,and 6
> ATL-DCA cleared after FO window for the originating flight

there have been about a dozen posts on each of about a dozen threads on this subject in the last 3-4 months, and the underlying theme is pretty consistent: YMMV