Thinking about splitting PNR with 3 people into 2+1, since my wife and I (Silver and Gold respectively), have a better chance of upgrading via a MUA on the outbound flight rather than the 3 of us (3rd person has no status). I have already applied a MUA to the inbound for all 3 of us on the current PNR and we're on the waitlist. Miles and $s came from my accounts. Outbound: IAH-ORD-FRA-Schengen. Inbound: Schengen-MUC-IAH. Inter Schengen flights are on LH.
Questions:
If I split the PNR on the outbound and apply a MUA for IAH-ORD-FRA, will the inbound upgrade request still be there for the 3 of us? I think the 3rd person will be further down on the waitlist after the split due to no status and it being separate from my Gold status?
If the inbound upgrades do not clear will I still get a refund of the miles and $s back to my account, more specifically for the 3rd person now on a separate PNR?
This is more of a curiosity rather than something I'll do, can I still buy up to First on the IAH-ORD segment even though I applied a MUA? Will the buy-up be visible?
Also, will this affect the LH PNR, will it be split as well? Fare class changes, complications? Have not changed anything on the LH flights yet.