Does anybody have experience with obtaining UA status after booking a flight but while being status-less at time of booking? Is it all seamless to utilize the seating benefits (specifically free economy plus for UA Plat for everybody in the reservation) once the new status kicks in via status match on a future effective date, or do I have to jump through hoops to get mileage numbers removed and readded for the system to recognize the perk? I have a status match challenge which is starting in a week but I want to book some tickets now while the price is right and I want to confirm I won't have any issues grabbing E+ seats in a week

Secondly, how does the upgrade perk for member + companion work when there's a larger reservation with multiple people with and without status? In my scenario, there would be a reservation of 5 people -- 3 of the 5 would have UA Plat and the other 2 would have nothing.