I have no idea which forum this belongs to, so please move where appropriate, and then I'll know.

I suddenly seem to have some miles on my hands (THANK YOU Frugal Travel Guy and FlyerTalk!). I have never in my life flown 1st class, and want to give myself a birthday gift using my miles.

I have studied up, and am now completely confused. The only site I can see where I can book a flight where I'm sure of the upgrade award is CO. I have miles with UAL, CO, AA and BA. I want to take a domestic flight west coast to east coast, with as much time in my first class seat as is humanly possible.

Is CO the way to go, or is there a better option?

By the way, doesn't the UAL-CO merger spell ONE LESS CREDIT CARD for us? I don't like it at all.

call & book w/agent only if the ug is available....pay the fee....

some people have multiple cc's w/ the same a/l....however, it makes sense to cancel when you end up w/ 2 cards on 1 al due to the merger unless both have some extra benefits.....one less cc can save a stamp now and then....

good luck...

Stamp? I can't recall the last time I wrote a physical check or used a stamp.

Sorry, as I said I'm new with the upgrades...

So it looks like if you want to book online and be sure of your upgraded flight that moment, without a phone call, then you can only do this with CO? It's not like I'm taking a flight that I'd prefer to upgrade, I'm taking a flight because of the upgrade.

With the credit cards, it's not an issue of having 2 of the same for purchases, it's having one less sign-up bonus...sigh...

napmom....you might get some indication by looking for availability in the low mi 1st class category before you call....if its available, probably an ug would be available.....good luck...