I seem to have, without realizing it, made premier silver status -- my first ever status. I doubt I will ever get the occasion to repeat or go higher. Would anyone be willing to offer help to a newbie figuring out what can be done with this, or point to helpful guides on the web?

What could be useful is this "Instant upgrades to the premium cabin on Economy tickets". I see this is for certain fare classes, I get that. But is there some way to tell, in advance, if the upgrade will be instant on any given flight? Is it only if a certain fare class of first is available on that flight, so that there is some way to check?

What would you say to a newbie, who wouldn't know, about which benefits have been most useful to you?

thanks in advance, zc