Originally Posted by SeattleDavid

2/28 is a long way off (J bookings tend to happen in the 1-3 weeks before the flight) but at the moment AA127 has only eight seats taken in J. 4/3 is even further off, but currently AA176 has just 6 seats taken. Those would suggest your chances are pretty good. I wouldn't split the PNR now, but I would subscribe to Expertflyer and set an alert for C1 on those flights. Then you could review the seating situation at that moment and call and split the PNR if it seems like the right thing to do.

Originally Posted by ijgordon

Agreed -- your chances of both getting upgraded are higher if you keep the PNR together; you both get EXP priority in the waitlist (although at 15k EQD it's probably not that high). I'd monitor the flight via ExpertFlyer, and if you see business class inventory availability start to dwindle in the 2-3 weeks before departure then you can re-assess.