My take on the robot-era as an Elite is that I feel very uncomfortable filing for anything other than straightforward upgrade requests for myself (plus 1 optional pax max, on same PNR), in terms of assessing any kind of likelihood of upgrades clearing before T-7, day of, gate, etc. It just doesn't seem to work reliably, and I personally don't like having to make calls to chase/push/clarify, other than a call to check on R class. Even when there is R class (including still available the day after you lodge), it doesn't always go through for 2x pax on same booking. Any variants on upgrade approach just feel too risky and uncertain for me these days.