The Continental OnePass program has tried for years to make peace in their BusinessFirst class, where revenue passengers are often at odds with those who have the miles to upgrade their way into those seats. Generally the paying passengers have won. But some changes are in line regarding the policies on upgrades on international routes, including travel to and from Hawaii.

Starting on Oct. 1, members will be able to use AllPass mileage upgrades on H and K fares. By naming the upgrade fare codes it takes the mystery and effort out of searching for them. These changes are receiving mixed reviews from members who have noted that, while suspected rules are now in the fine print, the fares that are most popular with all OnePass members, especially the highly popular Q fares, are still exempted. This has been a continuing thorn in OnePass’ side and, as a way of addressing this, they will continue to allow members to waitlist for these types of upgrades, which are limited and cleared according to the priority order of their elite status (this means that Platinum members are smiling). When waitlisted, the number of miles accorded to the upgrade are fully withdrawn from your account and Continental will waive re-deposit fees for members who don’t clear the upgrade list and reward them with 2,500 bonus miles per segment.

If you want to take advantage of the current rules regarding these types of upgrades, you can redeem upgrades before Oct. 1, which have a life span of 330 days.