Mileage upgrades may be requested at the time of booking by selecting the OnePass Reward Upgrade checkbox in the options. You must be logged in to do this. You can then select which parts of your trip you wish to upgrade. Mileage upgrades can also be requested on the website by selecting your reservation and then clicking on the Upgrade Reservation Using Miles link at the top of the page. This link is only available if at least one part of your trip is available for immediate upgrade (F bucket 8available).

You will see the amount of miles needed displayed underneath the fare price. You will also see a red message under the flight option if certain segments are not available for upgrade, either based on lack of F fare bucket availability or the lack of a First class cabin (i.e. ERJ flights).

Upgrade charts listing required mileages are found on the Continental website here. Mileage amounts are for each direction of the trip (i.e. outbound or inbound) so to upgrade a simple roundtrip journey you will need double the miles listed. For Series 0 upgrades, only Y is considered "Full Economy" and eligible for 5,000 mile upgrades. All other fare classes are "Select Economy" requiring 15,000 miles.

Note: Special conditions exist for Series 0 upgrades in the contiguous 48 US, Alaska and Canada. Non-elite OnePass members must purchase Y, H, K, M, N and B (or equivalent) fares to be eligible for mileage upgrades or they must pay a co-pay fee ranging from $50-150 to be able to upgrade. Also non-elite members are not permitted to waitlist for Series 0 upgrades.

If there is no immediate F bucket availability you can waitlist for upgrades by calling the Continental Reward Desk: 800.621.7467 (7:00am - 8:30pm Central Time). Waitlists are cleared by elite status (Presidential Platinum > Platinum > Gold > Silver) then by time on the waitlist. Fare bucket and fare paid do not play a role in the waitlist placement. Waitlists must clear 24 hours before departure and you cannot waitlist within 24 hours of departure. However, while mileage waitlists will clear before complimentary EUAs. For example, if you are a Silver elite waitlisted for a mileage upgrade at the time that the Platinum upgrade window runs (5 days before departure), and there is F bucket availability, you will receive an upgrade before a Platinum EUA will.

Note that these flights are eligible for EUA and for automatic upgrades for elite members booking Y class tickets so if your upgrade has not cleared by the time you get to the airport you can hope for a battlefield upgrade.

A very good summary of the upgrade program is given on the Continental website here.

Please see the dedicated post regarding partner upgrades for additional information on upgrades for flights not operated by Continental.