Originally Posted by
ALLCAPSANDCRAZYEYES
Continental would give me platinum based on my status with United...I don't know about Alaska.
The plan I'm looking at would have me keep my United status by flying them internationally year-round as well as transcons from Feb-Sept. I'd then fly CO on transcons (ANC-WAS, ANC/BOS) from Sept-Feb, to get to SEA, and deposit any AS miles earned going to Frisco or LA into my CO FF account.
Questions:
-Are upgrades truly that difficult to get as a Plat on CO? The routes I think I'd be using would be ANC-SEA, ANC-HOU SEA-EWR, SEA-HOU, and HOU-WAS. Anyone care to share their best guess on the percentage chance of an upgrade clearing on any of these routes?
Upgrades depend on the cost of the fare you purchase (the more expensive the better your odds), when you fly (flights in high demand are very hard to upgrade on). And any flights with a connection to on of the hubs (IAH [Houston] and EWR) will generally be harder to upgrade on. Instead of upgrades, CO sells relatively inexpensive FC fares and Y-UPS (full fare coach that allow for automatic upgrade to FC at the time of booking) and these two methods are very prevalent.
-Can you see on continental.com that an upgrade will clear? Can a CO agent tell if you call before booking?
Yes. You will also receive notification via a mechanism you can chose (e.g. email)
-Are OnePass miles really that difficult to use? I'd be looking to redeem miles for pairs of 1st Class domestic tickets booked 1-3 months-out as well as pairs of business seats to South America, Europe, and Israel.
Again, YMMV. Some here report pretty good luck with using miles, although even the most fanatical CO partisan admits one has to be "flexible." In my experience, international business is exceedingly hard to book. If, on the other hand, you're willing to use the "EasyPass" award level (where you're spending twice the miles) then domestic FC should be attainable. In my experience, booking a family of four at the standard level on any kind of reasonable itinerary in domestic coach was about as close to impossible as you can imagine.
-How easily can Plats get that last minute redemption seat(s) in any class, at the saver rate, to somewhere because of a death in the family?
Don't know, sorry
-Does CO try to put elite luggage out on the conveyor belt first?
Technically yes, but in actuality it is very hit or miss.