Continental Airlines Earning and Using Miles

Earning Miles on Continental

With Continental eliminating the 500-mile minimum for non-Elite flyers (and dropping the Platinum bonus from 125% to 100%), some frequent flyers are considering switching the allegiance from Continental, especially if they’re typically flying short routes. Gone are the heady days where Houston residents would book tickets to and from Houston-Ellington Field because they got an extra 1,000 miles for the round trip 10-minute flight to Houston Intercontinental.

That said, Continental’s SkyTeam membership (and its upcoming switch to Star) means that there are ample earning opportunities from airlines in the alliance. Those carriers include Aeroflot, AeroMexico, Air France, Alitalia, China Southern, Czech Airlines, Delta Air Lines, KLM, Korean Air and Northwest Airlines with associate member airlines including Air Europa, Copa Airlines and Kenya Airways.

Airline partners outside of the alliance include Alaska Airlines, Cape Air, Colgan Air, CommutAir, Emirates, EVA Air, Gulfstream International, Hawaiian Airlines, Horizon Air, Island Air and Virgin Atlantic. Keep in mind that while you’ll earn miles with all of these partners, on some partners (Emirates, for example) those miles will not count toward Elite status.

Using Miles on Continental

Continental has gained a poor reputation for having reward availability, even when booking far in advance (keep in mind that reward seats change every day, and seats frequently open up as the travel date approaches). The airline also does not offer a particularly generous reward chart, generally requiring more miles for a given flight than their competitors.

But that does not mean that miles are worthless. Alliance partners often have availability even when Continental does not. Sure, that may require a connection where Continental offers a non-stop, but rule number 1 about using frequent flyer miles is flexibility. We’ve seen case after case where European partners (such as KLM, Alitalia or Air France) has available seats on flights to Europe when Continental is showing no availability.

Another quirk is that some flights on partner airlines actually require fewer miles than if you’re flying on Continental. A roundtrip business class ticket from the US to Amsterdam on Continental is 100,000 miles. Yet that same award on KLM is only 80,000 miles. For international reward tickets we highly recommend calling the airline and having them check partner availability both for available seats and for tickets that require fewer miles.

OnePass is extremely lacking when it comes to using miles for international upgrades. These awards carry high mileage requirements PLUS co-pays as much as $900. In many cases buying a discounted business class ticket will be the far better choice. If you’re looking for an international business class ticket, check into business class fares on partner airlines – you may find it’s a better deal than using miles and paying a co-pay.

Continental does offer one unique option for mileage redemption. The airline frequently holds auctions where you can use miles for experiences, such as attending the Grammy’s that may appeal to high-frequency travelers who don’t feel like using those miles to take yet another trip.

Continental Airlines Secret: Continental has the nicest business class service to Hawaii in the sky, with plush seats and full meal service. If you are using Continental, Delta or Northwest miles to go to Hawaii, definitely consider redeeming those miles on Continental – your trip will be much more comfortable. If the Continental flight is not available, consider the Minneapolis-Honolulu flight on Northwest if it’s being flown on an A330 – you’ll also fly in comfort.

Continental does not charge a booking fee, but they do charge $25 to book over the phone, plus $75 for tickets booked 21 days prior to departure, as well as a $150 fee to change your reward ticket.

Continental Airlines Secret: Northwest does not charge a fee for reward bookings with little advance purchase. If you have Northwest WorldPerks miles, and you have to book a reward seat next week, you’ll save $75 by using the Northwest miles to book a Continental flight instead of using the Continental miles to reserve the same flight.

Learn More About Continental Airlines Onepass

Continental Airlines Onepass Overview
Continental Airlines Hubs and Routes
Continental Airlines Earning and Using Miles
Continental Airlines Onepass Elite Status
Continental Airlines Onepass Elite Status Matching