At YVR transborder MLL last week I was travelling on an upgraded J ticket and the dragon actually punched it in to check its (original) status before she noticed I was also E. So in this case I wouldn't have been allowed on the ticket alone.

I'm not sure how diligent they are in checking this, but Mrs. YVR and Mrs. YVR-in-law are travelling on an upgrade next week and I'm going to equip. them with some certs just in case.

On the return they'll be in SFO so if I manage to upgrade them they should have no problem accessing the RCC since all they care about is the J ticket.