My non-elite hubby is cool with it if I'm upgraded to First Class and he isn't. When I just did online check-in at Continental as a NW Gold, the computer offered me an upgrade to First Class and said it would go ahead and separate our records and give me a new confirmation number if I wanted it since my husband didn't qualify for the upgrade. That seemed like a nice gesture of them to ask instead of just leaving me in coach because I was flying with a non-Elite but got too busy to call and request our records be separated.

Is this a new thing? Never noticed it before.