Help with miles/upgrade
 

I want to use my CO miles (60,000) for upgrade on a trip to Rome in March. What's the best way to do this? I'm not an elite member. Also I have (100,000 points) on Plat. Axpress. Should I transfer those points over? What's the best way to use these points for my trip?

I'd suggest calling Continental and seeing what they have. You never know, they may even be able to use your miles for the complete trip--it's far enough in the future. It's a long shot; I have found that the reward/upgrade seats don't appear that far out, but there's no harm in calling and seeing what they can do for you.

There are many threads covering this issue. In short, CO US-Europe upgrades involve non-refundable upgrade fees and miles. The amount of the fee and mileage needed to upgrade depends on the fare class purchased. If you purchase a Y or H fare, there is no fee to upgrade. If you purchase lower fare classes, the fees range from $200 to $450 each way. Y fares require only 10,000 miles one-way; the rest require 20,000 miles one way. Upgrade availability will not be as good for a non-elite member.

In my opinion, assuming you wanted to use all 160,000 miles and points you have at your disposal, the best value from the miles would be realized by redeeming 100,000 miles for a roundtrip J ticket to Rome, then purchasing an H fare to Rome and redeeming an additional 40,000 miles to upgrade the ticket. That H fare would probably run you $1500-$1800 in March, assuming the current pricing environment. In the best case scenario, there would be both a reward ticket and upgrades available at the time of ticketing. Or, if you can accrue an additional 40,000 points or miles soon, just try to redeem two J tickets for 200,000 miles.

Here's the page from co.com: http://www.continental.com/onepass/r...472ABFCE25644F