Originally Posted by
ashill
Upgrades are allowed, either elite status-based upgrades or Gold guest upgrades. I think paid upgrades are allowed too. But upfaring (ie paying the fare difference to move into a paid first class fare) is not allowed. So it depends whether it was really an upgrade or an upfare. If it's a paid upgrade, you should be charged for each passenger; the companion fare discount should not apply.
If you were willing to pay the fee to upgrade each passenger, I definitely would not have cancelled the tickets. If they let you pay the fee, I can't imagine it would be any problem. If you were only willing to pay the fee if it was one fee for two passengers, then I would have requested a refund on the upgrade rather than refunding the whole ticket.
I routinely buy GGU upgradeable fares with companion passes for flights to Hawaii, set alerts on Expert Flyer. In most cases, upgrade will become available, I am able to quickly grab them. If not, the higher fare puts me in a better position to receive an T-72 upgrade. Some will suggest buying the lower fare, pay the ~$50 premium if/when the upgrade become available, but it is then necessary to pay for both passengers, much more complicated.