Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: NYC (Primarily EWR)
Programs: UA 1K / *G, ALL Accor Diamond, IHG Platinum Elite, Marriott Bonvoy Gold, Avis PC, Hertz PC
Posts: 10,566
Since it's the red eye over, I would just take it and explain to your friend. You can try and upgrade her on your own dime if you're feeling generous.
That said, I wouldn't have new applied the GPU to begin with. If you had already done that to start with, I think it shows that you weren't really thinking about your friend being stuck back in Y to begin with...