I had the same problem when I booked a flight on Continental's website as a NW gold. Initially the computer let me book seats up front and even showed confirmation after I completed the purchase. When I went to check the next day at "my itineraries", all my seat assignments were "airport checkin". It seems the CO computer would not recognize my NW gold status. Yet, 48 hours before the first flight I was upgraded, but it still kept losing my preferred other flight seats. When flying on CO, be sure and call the reservations line to confirm your seats and get preferred seating.

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