In March I'm traveling from Ohio to Beijing and back through my school. The tickets are already booked and purchased. Flying Continental.

I'd like to fly first class for the obvious benefits, and a friend of mine is getting into the whole "travel hacking" thing and recommended I check out this site.

I'm not sure where to start, or if I could even make this happen so quickly. I don't even fly much right now, so I have no idea how upgrades work for frequent flyer programs or how many miles it would cost.

If anyone has some tips or time to point me in the right direction, it would be much appreciated!!