Hi afang, just wanted to let you know I was worried about the same thing of maybe never getting an upgrade, I just made CO Silver and have not even received my card yet. But the NW agents were able to verify my status on the computer and I flew FC last weekend. Not on the leg out, though they DID upgrade my luggage! but on the flight back I got on and I didn't even call at midnight, but the morning of the flight. So it is possible ...

another thing I don't understand yet, I made a reservation yesterday for a flight a week away (so too soon to upgrade). As the reservation agent processed my ticket, she asked, "How does seat 34C sound?" I said, "It sounds pretty far back." She then said that she had "just noticed" that I was silver elite - though what difference this could make so early, I don't know, and she put me on 7C on all 4 legs. This is not FC but is pretty close and I am still hoping to get the upgrade next week. Is it possible that I would have been stuck in 34C had I not been elite? I don't know, maybe someone can tell me what happened here? Makes me think that there might be other advantages to being elite, besides of course boarding first, even if I don't get the seat.

The other thing is, there is a lot of great information on these boards. Most of the Continental agents I spoke with did not understand how to upgrade CO elites on a NW flight. I didn't either which is why I was asking ... finally, I was able to tell THEM how it was done after reading info here. 1 in 4 agents knew how to do it (the others told me that it is now automatic - wrong, not for NW!), and 1 in 3 NWA check-in agents knew that they could check Continental elite status on their computers and knew how to do it. So, don't take no for an answer when you try to upgrade, or accept the first answer you get, they may know less than we do.