Sorry, Charlie. You are not able to upgrade into a BusinessFirst seat with miles when inside the 72-hour mark. It is Continental's strict policy. The 72-hour rule exists to generate revenue for Continental. It prevents false BF bookings, allows the possibility to exist where a customer can purchase one or more full-fare BF tickets at the last minute, and allows Continental to accommodate BF passengers on their other flights and other airlines flights which suffer flight irregularities.

I know it is frustrating, but there could be 20 J seats and still "no soup for you." You must have a seat in the upgradable bucket for it to clear.

Unfortunately for OnePass members, the upgrade rules can be hard to find in print and finding a knowledgable agent on the phone can be difficult.

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"We will not cut benefits from OnePass, our industry-leading frequent flyer program, because we remain committed to rewarding our most loyal customers."

-- Gordon Bethune (Continental's CEO) two weeks before significantly cutting benefits of the OnePass program

[This message has been edited by TransWorldOne (edited 10-29-2002).]