<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by jaqF:
I have 200k+ onepass miles but not elite. I'm trying to make the decision re EWR/HNL to use 150k miles to go BF or buy and try the upgrade. The standard cheap non-stop in June seems to be B/H/K going and V returning. Can someone point me to threads which explain all these terms hokey/eua/etc or lay out the different issues to consider?
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Effective 1/1/04, there are new rules for using OP miles to upgrade to BF. In addition to the miles you'll need to spend, there's now a one-way copayment (ranging from $200 to $400) on all fare classes but full-Y. Check CO.com under Frequent Flyer/Use Miles/Upgrade Rewards/Upgrade Reward Charts for the details.
IMHO, if you are not elite with CO, and don't plan on becoming at least Gold Elite in 2004, I'd burn the 150K miles and ride BF for free. No point in paying a thousand bucks for the privilege of burning 35,000 miles if your flihts to Hawaii won't help you get to CO Elite status.
Oh, and you'd have a heck of a lot harder time buying a ticket and using miles to upgrade (you'd most likely get put on a waitlist for months and months) than you would grabbing the BF seat outright using miles.