I have an upcoming itinerary on LH : BOS-FRA-BCN-MUC-BUD-MUC-IST-MUC-BOS All segments, except the last two IST-MUC MUC-BOS are booked in J The IST-MUC and MUC-BOS segments are booked in B-class. Trying to use Continental Miles (20K) to do a Star Alliance upgrade B to J for the final flight MUC-BOS. Used the web interface on continental.com; which seemed to work (it advised there was availability on the IST-MUC and MUC-BOS flight, I chose the MUC-BOS flight for 20K miles), but after selecting the segment and authorizing the request I was greeted with an error message. The miles (20K miles) were deducted from the CO account, and then redeposited approximately 24 hours later. Called Continental today (Star Alliance Upgrade Desk), and the agent also saw availability; but received an error when she tried to process the upgrade. Was told that it has to be done by the automated system, and that they are aware of 'issues' with CO requesting Star Alliance upgrades on LH. Called LH, and the agent said there seemed to be upgrade availability, but only CO can process the upgrade (which is what I expected). So, do I just keep trying every day? Can a CO supervisor process this manually? any other suggestions?
You have to deal with CO and there was someone else the reported a similar frustration at one point with a redemption like this. They got theirs eventually but if the inventory were to disappear in the interim you'd be hosed. Dunno why their systems don't talk right but you will definitely have to keep after CO to make it happen. Good luck!
Thanks for the reply. So, you basically 'qualified' the stupidity of the CO *Alliance Upgrade Request System, as I suspected. The agent tried to give me all types of bizarre reasons why it wasn't working : ".....I don't believe the inventory is really there" ".....the popular spring travel season is approaching" (huh? it's a B fare from MUC-BOS in March) ".....don't try more than once a day, because if it doesn't work; you are causing 'extra' work for the system" so, I'm guessing there is no ability for MANUAL INTERVENTION by an agent/supervisor (at CO) in this process?
I've not ever used the program so I do not know if there is a manual override or not, but I suspect not. The one success I've read about consisted of the person trying a few consecutive days until it went through. Good luck.
UPDATE : It worked today! Used the Star Alliance Upgrade Request Form on continental.com, upgrade was confirmed MUC-BOS. Viewed the ressie online @ lh.com, and called to verify that the final segment of the itinerary is officially in business class. So, I guess, you just need to keep trying. When it does work, it's an impressive upgrade confirmation system. The fact that the lh.com itinerary was updated perfectly confirms that when working; it is a 'real-time' integrated upgrade system.
