Let me try to summarize in case you don't feel like reading thru the above link:

HOKEY: HoKeY was coined on this board about a year ago (I can't remember who came up with the term though). At one time Continental only permitted coach fares purchased as H, K and Y fares to be upgraded to international BusinessFirst. H K and Y fares, in case you don't know are more expensive coach fares. All fares of a lower coach class (Q, T, etc) were NOT eligible for upgrade.

BendForward: Then about a year ago, CO introduced the BendForward fare.....CO now allows upgrades on any international coach fare, provided you are willing to pay an extra "fee". Depending on which fare you originally bought, this fee costs a few hundred bucks each way. So now you are eligible to purchase a cheap Q or T fare and then pay extra to get on the BendForward list.

72 Hour rule/30 Day rule: CO will release seats from BizFirst into Coach only 30 days prior to the flight. CO stops processing upgrades into BizFirst at 72 hours (3 days) prior to departure. This was supposedly done so that CO could cut down on phantom bookings to allow people to upgrade....in reality all it has done is increase the available pool of seats to CO employees and friends travelling on buddy passes.

Now the reason why most people can't stand the Hokey/BendForward/72 hour rules is that by paying an extra fare, you are merely paying for a CHANCE at getting an upgrade. CO doesn't guarantee an upgrade. To top things off, CO prohibits upgrades on the day of departure at the gate....so a Plat who flies 100K a year and dishes out $2000-$3000 for a H coach fare to Europe can get trumped at the gate by a CO employee at the last minute.

CO does not issue a refund for the difference between the BendForward/HoKeY fare and the cheapest coach seat. It is tactics like this that keep me and dozens others on this board from flying Continental internationally.