# Continental One Pass > AGR Question



## Devil's Advocate (Jun 17, 2010)

I realize that UA + CO is probably a bad combination for everyone outside of the board of directors. I still have some orphan miles in my CO account that is a few hundred miles short of the magic 10,000 that supposedly can be transferred over to AGR in a reasonable manner. 10K is worthless in an airline account and will presumably be lost as CO's miles are placed on a new expiration schedule that is a closer match to UA's. Is it worth buying more miles just to get them over the minimum so I can transfer them over or should I just leave them alone and kiss them goodbye?


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## PRR 60 (Jun 17, 2010)

daxomni said:


> I realize that UA + CO is probably a bad combination for everyone outside of the board of directors. I still have some orphan miles in my CO account that is a few hundred miles short of the magic 10,000 that supposedly can be transferred over to AGR in a reasonable manner. 10K is worthless in an airline account and will presumably be lost as CO's miles are placed on a new expiration schedule that is a closer match to UA's. Is it worth buying more miles just to get them over the minimum so I can transfer them over or should I just leave them alone and kiss them goodbye?


I would go to the CO One Pass site and see what opportunities exist to get miles from retail outlets. Most programs have a pretty wide range of affiliated retailers, usually through a "shopping mall" type link. Find some outlets that offer stuff you normally use or want, and make enough purchases to bump your account to the 10K mark.


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## MJL (Jun 17, 2010)

I thought the lowest level was 5K. I transferred 5K from Continental just a few months ago.


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## Devil's Advocate (Jun 17, 2010)

PRR 60 said:


> I would go to the CO One Pass site and see what opportunities exist to get miles from retail outlets. Most programs have a pretty wide range of affiliated retailers, usually through a "shopping mall" type link. Find some outlets that offer stuff you normally use or want, and make enough purchases to bump your account to the 10K mark.


I took a closer look and it turns out there are several places I might actually buy from. Not bad CO!



MJL said:


> I thought the lowest level was 5K. I transferred 5K from Continental just a few months ago.


It's in blocks of 5,000 miles. So yes half of it could be moved as-is and the other half lost.


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## the_traveler (Jun 17, 2010)

Yes, it is 5K blocks!  So transfer 5K to AGR now.

You stated that you're "a few hundred short". I don't how "few hundred" that you are short, but what I would do is buy something thru the CO shopping mall to reach that 5K - and then transfer them!  Some stores give more on CO then they do on AGR! As an example, when the original Circuit City was in business, they offered 1/$ on AGR, but 3/$ on CO!  And since they transfer 1:1, so I earned 3X by buying at CO! 

Another way is if you participate in e-miles or e-rewards, if you have enough, you can apply them to CO. I was 1,4xx short of 5K, so I applied 500 miles from 1 and 1K miles from the other to reach the 5K. As soon as they post to CO, they're on their way to AGR ASAP!


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## PackerBacker (Jun 17, 2010)

You can have someone else purchase miles for your account as a gift. For some reason Continental won't allow you

to purchase miles for yourself. The fee is $35 per K. Just call One Pass at 800 544 5522 and the miles are added

immediately. I did this just last week.


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## PackerBacker (Jun 17, 2010)

PackerBacker said:


> You can have someone else purchase miles for your account as a gift. For some reason Continental won't allow youto purchase miles for yourself. The fee is $35 per K. Just call One Pass at 800 544 5522 and the miles are added
> 
> immediately. I did this just last week.


sorry 800 554 5522


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## Devil's Advocate (Jun 17, 2010)

the_traveler said:


> Yes, it is 5K blocks!  So transfer 5K to AGR now.


Done!



the_traveler said:


> You stated that you're "a few hundred short". I don't how "few hundred" that you are short, but what I would do is buy something thru the CO shopping mall to reach that 5K - and then transfer them!


Working on it. I'm around four hundred short, so I'll need to spend two hundred or so to get the next block pushed over. Or I could just buy some points I guess. It looks like there are lots of ways to earn CO miles, certainly more than I expected. Now I know how you guys got all those long distance trips paid off. ;-)


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## the_traveler (Jun 17, 2010)

daxomni said:


> I'm around *four hundred short*, so I'll need to spend two hundred or so to get the next block pushed over.


Subscribe or renew "Railfan & Railroad" via Magazines.com on the CO shopping mall - and *earn 525 miles*!  Or subscribe or renew "Trains" - and *earn 645 miles*!


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## Devil's Advocate (Jun 17, 2010)

According to the banner my purchase was good for 30 points per dollar. So, I purchased a mag at $19.95 x 30 = 598 points. Let's hope that sticks. Just to be on the safe side I copied the banner and did a printout. I also resisted the urge to apply a coupon because I know that could nix the deal if their system is smart enough to notice I'm double-dipping. Hope it posts soon before anything changes.

So far I have 2,000 AGR points already posted + 5,000 pending + another 5,000 after that if this sale works as advertised. And I still have an tiny Amtrak voucher for $38. There are some easy seeming offers that might still work before CO drops AGR. Anybody think the Chase checking account for 10,000 points is a worthwhile hoop?


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## the_traveler (Jun 17, 2010)

daxomni said:


> According to the banner my purchase was good for 30 points per dollar. So, I purchased a mag at $19.95 x 30 = 598 points. Let's hope that sticks. Just to be on the safe side I copied the banner and did a printout.


That 30/$ is *ONLY* if you pay with the CO Mastercard - *AND* you are the *PRIMARY* cardholder! (I learned that the hard way - I am an authorized user!) If you pay any other way (including with the AGR MasterCard), you only earn 15/$!


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## Ispolkom (Jun 17, 2010)

the_traveler said:


> daxomni said:
> 
> 
> > According to the banner my purchase was good for 30 points per dollar. So, I purchased a mag at $19.95 x 30 = 598 points. Let's hope that sticks. Just to be on the safe side I copied the banner and did a printout.
> ...


You also get double miles if you pay with the Continental/Chase debit card.

*daxomni*, look again. It's not 10k OnePass miles for opening a checking account, it's 25,000. Do a search on this forum, and you'll find a long thread on the topic.


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## Guest_billharrison_* (Jun 17, 2010)

Has anyone heard a definite that transferring from CO to Guest rewards is going away ? Or is everyone just doing this as a preventive measure?

I am racking up points nicely on the co card and don't want that to go away WAAAA WAAAHHHHH

lol


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## the_traveler (Jun 17, 2010)

Guest_billharrison_* said:


> Has anyone heard a definite that transferring from CO to Guest rewards is going away ? Or is everyone just doing this as a preventive measure?
> I am racking up points nicely on the co card and don't want that to go away WAAAA WAAAHHHHH
> 
> lol


Everything says "business as normal", but consider this:


Continental is merging with United

The airline will be called United

United was once a transfer partner with AGR

United dropped out of AGR *OVERNIGHT AND WITHOUT WARNING*

I personally am just doing this to protect my remaining 35K in CO! (In the past year, I transfered out - I forget :lol: - something like 150K from CO to AGR!


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## Trogdor (Jun 17, 2010)

the_traveler said:


> Everything says "business as normal", but consider this:
> Continental is merging with United
> 
> The airline will be called United
> ...


The name of the *combined* airline is irrelevant. Continental management will still _be_ around. While United has the more recognizable *name*, Continental has the more credible *brand*. That's why the merged airline is going to be called _"United"_, but it's going to *look like* Continental.


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## frugalist (Jun 17, 2010)

I don't think anybody can say with any degree of certainty what will happen to the Continental/AGR relationship in the future. It's all speculation right now. But if your primary use of CO OnePass miles is to transfer them to AGR, I think it's only prudent to do so now. That's what my wife and I have done. If you're sure you won't be using your OnePass mile for free flights, why would anyone delay moving their miles to AGR? Continental/United may not end the relationship with AGR. Or they may give us 30 days notice. Or they may end the relationship with no notice. The point is nobody knows, so why take the chance?

@daxomni - if you have any kind of side business (photography, tax prep, business consulting), you can open both personal ($100 deposit) and business ($500 deposit) checking accounts at Chase and get 25,000 CO OnePass points for each. $25 for the personal debit card and $65 for the business debit card = $90 for 50,000 miles, which can be moved to AGR 1:1. One of the sweetest deals out there. Avoid monthly account fees by making 5 credit (nonPIN-based) transactions per month per account.


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## Devil's Advocate (Jun 18, 2010)

the_traveler said:


> That 30/$ is *ONLY* if you pay with the CO Mastercard - *AND* you are the *PRIMARY* cardholder! (I learned that the hard way - I am an authorized user!) If you pay any other way (including with the AGR MasterCard), you only earn 15/$!


Grr! Then Magazines.com shouldn't be able to shove that banner in our faces with no warning that it doesn't apply to us. There's no wiggle room in that banner, no fine print, no "up to" or anything like that.



Ispolkom said:


> *daxomni*, look again. It's not 10k OnePass miles for opening a checking account, it's 25,000. Do a search on this forum, and you'll find a long thread on the topic.


I'll do a search but it's quite clear in your link that you only get 10,000 miles for opening the account. The rest of the points come from using cards with annual fees. That's not to say that it's not worth it, but you won't get them just by opening the account.



Trogdor said:


> The name of the *combined* airline is irrelevant. Continental management will still _be_ around. While United has the more recognizable *name*, Continental has the more credible *brand*. That's why the merged airline is going to be called _"United"_, but it's going to *look like* Continental.


While I agree that the name doens't mean much I still think anyone who claims to know how the new entity will work is just fooling themselves. We honestly have no idea, none of us. Merging large airlines results in all sorts of unforseen complications and concessions. It could be more like CO or more like UA or become something substantially different from either of them. However, most of the movement we've seen in the last several years has been towards more restrictions and fewer oppotunities for consumers. I don't see that trend reversing course anytime soon, if ever.



frugalist said:


> I don't think anybody can say with any degree of certainty what will happen to the Continental/AGR relationship in the future. It's all speculation right now. But if your primary use of CO OnePass miles is to transfer them to AGR, I think it's only prudent to do so now. That's what my wife and I have done. If you're sure you won't be using your OnePass mile for free flights, why would anyone delay moving their miles to AGR? Continental/United may not end the relationship with AGR. Or they may give us 30 days notice. Or they may end the relationship with no notice. The point is nobody knows, so why take the chance?


Excellent point.



frugalist said:


> @daxomni - if you have any kind of side business (photography, tax prep, business consulting), you can open both personal ($100 deposit) and business ($500 deposit) checking accounts at Chase and get 25,000 CO OnePass points for each. $25 for the personal debit card and $65 for the business debit card = $90 for 50,000 miles, which can be moved to AGR 1:1. One of the sweetest deals out there. Avoid monthly account fees by making 5 credit (nonPIN-based) transactions per month per account.


Hmm. Maybe I should consider starting up a small business of some sort.


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## Rail Freak (Jun 18, 2010)

I opened a Chase CO Debit account in March as I thought the deadline (for the 25k bonus) was March 31, 2010?!?!?

RF


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## frugalist (Jun 18, 2010)

Rail Freak said:


> I opened a Case CO Debit account in March as I thought the deadline (for the 25k bonus) was March 31, 2010?!?!?


The promotion was extended through June 30, 2010. It's anybody's guess as to whether it will be extended again. These things happen.


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