Tonight I attempted to secure an upgrade for FRA-YYZ on January 1st. I'm traveling with myself and my E partner. They upgraded me with no problem; however, they informed there was only one seat available and therefore could not upgrade my partner. Knowing that as an SE I'd have better luck on the standby upgrade list, I asked to upgrade him rather than myself.

The agent put me on hold and came back to tell me that she could not switch the seats as I could not upgrade my partner unless I was already upgraded. As he was only an E he could not be upgraded on his own until the 4 day window.

So now I'm in I, and he is on a wait list with the other E's. I cannot find this documented anywhere, has this always been the rule, or are they just trying to stop me from working the system to my maximum advantage? Anyone else experienced this?