Thanks, aacharya. We booked through continental.com so that we could use credit from previous cancelled trips. Had we booked on the phone as you suggest, would this have incurred any agent fees ?

Another related question, just so I'm clear : if my partner were tagging along with me on a business trip, where my corporate travel agent bought my ticket, and he bought his separately, there would be no way of extending my elite benefits to him ? Thanks for all replies.