If you're paying cash for a j ticket, amex plat has the companion pass perk where you buy full fare or almost full fare j ticket and the wife flies for free. They've worked on bringing the price down on some routes but I know from a *A perspective that LH participates in the program which you could credit to UA at probably 150% earning too. Might be worth looking at just from a price comparison standpoint and you save the miles that the wife would have used. Just a thought.

Go Gators