Originally Posted by WineCountryUA

well, yes and no

The question was vague and the agent was correct that cash upgrades at purchased will count for PQDs.
However, the question did not mention mileage upgrading, where the copay for a mileage upgrades does not count for PQDs. (But the word "Reward" should have trigger the the agent to realize the question was about copay.)

The core problem is there are many different ways to upgrade and for some the cash counts toward PQDs and for most the cash does not. The system has got too many sub-cases.

This was a case of the agent misinterpreting a question -- the questioner and responder where not talking about the same thing. Happens frequently here on FT.
PQDs are discussed Premier qualifying dollar FAQs