Elite upgrades
 

I am a Delta PM. I may sitch programs at the end of the year. Does Continental give system wide upgrades to their elite members?

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Richard Laakso PM 2.8MM Starwood platinum

They do not provide system wide (confirmable) upgrades.



[This message has been edited by dsimon (edited 06-05-2003).]

"OnePass Elite upgrades are valid for travel within or between the 48 contiguous U.S., Alaska, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. Elite upgrades are also available on select flights within or between the Mid Pacific and Asia. Continental Airlines flights with a BusinessFirst cabin, including transatlantic and transpacific flights, flights to/from Central and South America, or within and between Hawaii, the Mid Pacific and Asia are not eligible for Elite upgrades.

Elite upgrades are subject to capacity controls, which may limit the number of seats available. Also, certain fares such as industry discount, Hotwire and priceline.com are not eligible for Elite upgrades. Elite upgrades are not valid with reward tickets. "

Why does Continental have a policy that does not allow for upgades between North America and Europe/Asia? Delta, American, and United do have SWU,s between these continents. For my case, this means I will not switch from DL to CO.

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Richard Laakso PM 2.8MM Starwood platinum

Because for now they FREE UNLIMITED upgrades on all flights with the US (excluding Hawaii), Canada, Mexico, Caribbean, and Central American (excluding Biz First). So now SWU's but if you try Co you'll enjoy the trip. SWU's would be nice but we can't have everything. For now I just hope they keep FREE UNLIMITED....

Continental gives several reasons, including:

- Unlimited complimentary upgrade policy on all of the other flights is more generous than the other guys.

- Platinums receive 125% vs. the 100% of the other guys. This 25% extra miles should give you what you need to redeem an upgrade.

- It is necessary to maintain revenue integrity in the BusinessFirst cabin. Also, they claim their product is vastly superior to the competition.

I don't agree with them completely, but do see their point as to items 1 & 2. The problem with mileage upgrades is the need to fly on exhorbinant H/K/Y fares or pay an asinine "service charge" to be allowed to use them.

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"We will not cut benefits from OnePass, our industry-leading frequent flyer program, because we remain committed to rewarding our most loyal customers."

-- Gordon Bethune (Continental's CEO) two weeks before significantly cutting benefits of the OnePass program

I've had 100% upgrade success as a platinum elite, even when I standby on an earlier/later flight.

My companions are upgraded ~85% of the time.

...and also that you cannot get an confrimed upgrade in advance. CO's domestic upgrade policy is indeed quite generous, but their international upgrade policy is awful. This is my (and many others) biggest beef with OnePass. If the DL FF flies internationally and frequently uses miles to upgrade, he/she should stay put. CO's international upgrade policies stink.

Delta's international upgrade policy isn't much better. If you're looking for international upgrades, clearly American Airlines or even US Airways is the place to be.

# of one way intn'l upgrades given: Delta 6, US Air 2, Co 0. I believe DL is significantly better than CO in this regard.

Yes Delta wins on SWU's. However, if you fly domestic, which I do less these days, your chances of being upgraded as a Platinum Elite are very high. My experience is close to 100%. Companions can be upgraded for free as well.

Another CO perk if you fly on international J-class fares you get 50% bonus miles that count towards elite qualification in addition to the 125% bonus miles Platinum's get. Thus, on a 10,000 mile overseas trip you can earn 27,500 miles and 15,000 elite qualifying miles. On CO you can rack up awards very fast. Unfortunately, upgrade awards to Europe are very annoying to use and hard to get.

One further point to consider, CO and its partners often have J fares that are not competitive, so if you buy them I'd check the Delta fares against CO.

Sure, that's part of the policy for top tier. But it's only one small component-- what restrictions do the systemwides come with? On Delta, upgrade rules are nearly as restricted as Continental internationally. Also, inventory controls are as tight as Continental.

I have had excellent luck with my international SWU upgrades with DL. With some ingenuity, I have redeemed my coupons without fail for the last 6 years. If CO does not give out upgrades for trans Atlantic/Pacific, then there is no comparison. With regard to upgrading on the rest of CO's system, come 2004, CO will be far superior to DL. This is a dilema for me.

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Richard Laakso PM 2.8MM Starwood platinum

For a primarily domestic flyer, it already is.

For a 60/40 or above international flyer both CO and DL absolutely stink compared to AA (CO stinking far more so than DL so if you are top-tier elite, international flyer.)

AAgreed!