Delta or Continetal to London Business/First
 

My wife and I are flying to London the day after Christmas and we have quite a few AMEX points to transfer for an upgrade. I can go with Contintal who I have always flown (10 years) BUT they won't tell me until 30 days before the departure (scary!) or I can go Delta who I have not flown in years and go through Atlanta (scary) and be asssured right now of an upgrade. I really do like Continental and have been treated well but do not understand this policy.<BR>Any help/advice is welcome and appreciated!

Why not just use the points to upgrade on NW (a CO partner)...they don't have the 30-day HoKeY rule (see flyertalk.com for a more extensive discussion on this matter)

Where are you flying into ATL from?...Leave on an earlier flight-10a-1p and you'll be fine,carry a book or visit the Atrium in the landside area of the ATL arpt for better shops,food ect to pass the time.

Continental is pretty much the best in terms of their BizFirst service. They originated the concept and keep winning awards for it, as they do for their customer service overall. If you have been flying CO a lot and hold elite status, this should help. <BR>Delta, on the other hand... well, just search this fourm and you'll understand why so many avoid Delta.

I'm a loyal COntinental passenger, I love their service. Early this year I flew Delta for the first time in many years and what a difference! The plane was so old I think the Wright Brothers designed it, the food horrible (by airline standards) and my bags were lost! NEVER AGAIN!

Hi,<BR><BR>If you choose Continental and go Business First , some flights from the US (CO44xx) are operated by Virgin Atlantic and you will be in Upper Class where the service is excellent, the seats on flights to Heathrow go down to almost horizontal and there is a beauty therapist on board.<BR>Excellent flight if you can get it.<BR><BR>Regards<BR>Gregory

Thanks!<BR>Does anyone have any ideas as to what departure day would be best?<BR>Dec. 26, 27 ,28 or 29...?<BR>PS Have flown Virgin and was nice but did not have all services on the 747-200 just the 747-400 at that time.

Typically best chance for upgrades is midweek (Tue-Thu) but around the holidays you never know. Perhaps you can tell the agent your preference and work to find the availability. If you go with Continental their agents are generally quite good to work with and try to meet your requests. My guess would be 26th is best bet.

Here is how it works. For Continental, I know that if they have 48 seats in business only a few can be sold as mileage upgrade the rest go at full price. The reason why they said you had to wait is because their mileage seats are gone already and most likely the only way to be upgraded is if someone cancels the mileage reservation. Don't expect to be upgraded at the airport, the only way to do it at that point is to pay the difference in fare about 3500 to 4000 usd per passenger. The business first cabin is great and well worth that money..Good luck