Originally Posted by thenewflesh
Finally, how much better is reward travel availability for Silver elites compared to non-elites, as I'd actually like to be able to use the miles I earn? If a Silver elite could try checking out upgd and cap ctrl econ. both signed in and not signed in between EWR-SEA, that'd be much appreciated.
Okay, I just got credited for miles I'd forgotten I'd flown and that apparently put me over for Silver.
So, doing a comparison I see that on that route for June, there are 6 more days with STD economy that show up when signed in as silver (12.5k OW), and a couple more firsts (at 45k each way). For July there are no std econ seats available without signing in, but when signed in as silver 5 std econs come up along with some additional firsts. In August I see ten more std economy with Silver, and a few more firsts. That's pretty much the trend as far as I can tell. The return leg showed pretty much the same trend as the outbound.
Interestingly, I got the "Continental.com could not find any available flights viaje de premio meeting your requirements. You may modify your search criteria, or in the U.S. and Canada call 1-800-300-1547; the U.K., phone 0800 096 1885; elsewhere contact your local Continental Reservations Office for assistance." error message when I actually tried to pick a couple of flights with the SILVER account. Not sure what the "viaje de premio" is about.
(A search with Gold cranked out the same seats as Silver, also, FWIW).