As a Gold calling the US Gold line a few years ago, they were willing to hold a seat (F redemption on the 246) for me, but made it clear it was something they only did for Golds. In my case, we were trying to find a day with two seats in redemption F, and as the revenue loads were quite light, it seemed there would be a chance of getting another seat released (which also was something they said they could request for a Gold member, but obviously made no assurance as to whether the request would be granted).
Within a day or so, the request for the additional seat was in fact granted, and I was able to confirm both the seat that had been held, and the additional seat that was requested. ^ This was one of my earliest (and best) experiences as a GCH making a redemption booking.
I don't know if they still do this kind of thing for a "mere" Gold (as opposed to GGL or some other level I will likely never reach unless someone starts paying me to fly more than I probably want to). I also have the sense it was a little bit of a luck of the draw with the telephone agent, as I might have spoken with someone else in my search who either said they could not place a hold, or they could not place a request for an additional seat. Once I got an agent who was keen to help, though, they were truly exceptional, and I think even called me back once the second seat had been released, rather than making me wait and try to guess when to call.
