Stepping in from the UA side.

About the question of earning miles on discount fares when flying various *members. I would think that the deal for CO would be more or less the same as for UA pax, and some of the partners are much stingier that others. For a general idea, see the chart in the UA FAQ:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...y-partner.html

Since the miles granted are the decision of the individual *airline, I would think the list will be very similar for CO pax. Even frequent fliers sometimes get tripped up, and the lack of miles on cheap LH fares has been a well-documented source of frustration and confusion to many MP members.

On the issue of your *Gold card. LH in particular is adament about the need to have that card for admission into their Senator lounges. Maybe they'll find a way to temporarily let CO people in with their old CO card, but many people report having been turned away even when presenting other evidence of their status - BP, printout, etc. LH runs by the rules. Period. Don't expect to get let in without a card that has the *Gold logo on it.