As in IB's approach within OW - allocate you a s**t seat then begrudgingly move you to a better one at check in when you remind the agent of the elite status entered in the booking. I can't concur with your experience of *A, though I must admit that my experience is largely restricted to flying in the pointy end, therefore seat selection is never an issue. Whenever I've taken short hops on LH in Y it seems that *A Gold status was as immaterial as non-BA/QF elite status is on BA.