Hi Everyone, thanks for your comments and below are some answers to your questions. Please let me know if I missed anything.
Sorry PhillyPhlyer40, at this time our new System-wide Upgrades will only be valid in conjunction with published fares, not travel rewards.
Hi Delta3MM, we will allow you to waitlist up to 24 hours before the first segment in your itinerary departs. After that point, you will be transitioned to the airport standby list upon check-in. For more information about our waitlist and airport standby policy for System-wide Upgrades (which will be identical to our policy for OnePass Upgrade rewards), please check out our System-wide Upgrades FAQ.

There are a number of considerations that factored into this, Delta3MM, not the least of which was the extraordinary cost! In simplest terms, we wanted to make sure that we rewarded our members who flew us a bunch with a confirmed roundtrip upgrade for themselves and a travel companion, and without a lot of complication. While these can be used in numerous other combinations, like four one-ways, this nonetheless was the motivation behind the four.
Hi cova, I can't blame you for asking, but I'd respectfully ask that you not hold your breath for this one. Commercial reasons aside, this would be a nightmare to administer.
Hi GeneDoc, the answer is yes, if the Million Miler has earned Presidential Platinum status, then his or her designated spouse or significant other will also get Presidential Platinum status. The one difference is that the spouse/significant other membership will not include the fee-waived Presidential Plus credit card benefit (or 25,000 miles for offshore customers).
Hi OnePassMan, I hope you will agree that Infinite Platinum in itself was an extremely generous proposition, and that we have delivered on our end of the bargain. Simply put, Presidential Platinum is a private tier and will be limited to those who we choose to invite. For now, this means Platinum Elite members who reach a certain spending threshold, our Four Million Milers and our Chairman’s Circle members. As an Infinite Platinum Elite, you do have one less hurdle than everyone else who has qualify for Platinum in addition to meeting the spend threshold.
Hi okrogius, not at this time.
Hi CObigtimefan, the operating carrier is the one who gets the dough, therefore a CO-coded flight operated by one of our partners would not count toward your Presidential Platinum spending qualification. For the revenue (or prorated portion of the revenue) to count, the flight has to be operated by Continental, Continental Micronesia, or one of our Continental Express/Continental Connection regional affiliates.
Hi cova, Presidential Platinums will be prioritized ahead of Platinums for all upgrades and standby.

Yes, cova, as long as you're a Platinum Elite, you're eligible to be invited into Presidential Platinum provided you meet the established spending threshold. Doesn't matter how you got there.

Chairman’s Circle members will be considered Presidential Platinum for the purpose of upgrade and airport standby prioritization. Worth noting, however, for waitlists, Presidential Platinums and Platinums will have the same priority classification (PA, for those in the know). This is more of a systems/alliance-level issue than a philosophical issue.

I wouldn't read too deep into this, cova. As mentioned further up, we consider Presidential Platinum invitation-only because it is a private tier that is limited to those who we choose to invite. Unlike our three earn-based tiers, where we barely ever dare change the qualification levels, the spend threshold for Presidential Platinum likely will change (although probably not drastically) every year or two in order to preserve the exclusivity (i.e. size) of the program.
Hi sedonanative, the flights need to take place Jan. 1 through Dec. 31. It doesn't matter when you actually bought your ticket.
Although I don't have anything concrete to add to this right now, cova, we will be sure to clarify what counts with respect to eligible spend when our transatlantic joint venture takes effect.
Hi Steph3n, in terms of the spend threshold for Presidential Platinum, the published fare and the operating carrier are what matters, not the booking channel or the ticket stock.
Hi SS255, great question. The base fare and, when applicable, the fuel surcharge are what will count. All other taxes, fees and add-ons will not count as qualifying spend. This means that a buy-up to First Class would count, because the revenue paid is in the fare. Co-pays and change fees, on the other hand, would not, because they're considered fees and not part of the ticket price. As you might imagine, we ultimately want to count fees and ancillary services as much as we can, but don’t want to commit to anything until after the program is well underway.

Not right off the bat, SS255, but possibly in the future. With specific regard to flexible EQMs, these wouldn't help you achieve Presidential Platinum, that is, unless you needed them to meet the must-be-a-Platinum-member pre-requisite.

It’s entirely within the realm of possibility, SS255, but no such on-ramp is currently planned.
Sorry, mikeef, she's not that kind of girl.
Hi TWA Fan 1, it will be the traveler who gets the spend credit, not the purchaser.

We do have programs to reward our high-volume purchasers, TWA Fan 1. Presidential Platinum just isn't one of them! Specifically, we have both RewardOne and the continental.com Club, which are designed to reward travel planners who purchase a lot of tickets with us.

Hi Live4Upgrade, we are still evaluating if and how the CoStar program will co-exist with our Presidential Platinum status. No update to give at this time.