Skip to content
Go to Home Page
Guides

Continental.com Sneaky Award Pricing

Jan. 04, 2011
•
2 min read
Continental.com Sneaky Award Pricing
The cards we feature here are from partners who compensate us when you are approved through our site, and this may impact how or where these products appear. We don’t cover all available credit cards, but our analysis, reviews, and opinions are entirely from our editorial team. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.

Update: Continental is now a part of United.

I was searching for awards to Honolulu today for a client and decided to use Continental.com, which has a decent award engine. I was happy when I saw low-level business class awards for Newark-Honolulu through Chicago on United for 40,000 miles each way.

EWR-ORD-HNL in "Business"

When I was checking out, however, I noticed something odd. The Chicago- Honolulu legs were in economy. You know, no big deal that 80% of the flight time of the award was actually in economy class.

Economy class for business class price

Shame on Continental for this sneaky award pricing. I know its always up to the consumer to double and triple check their purchases before buying, but I can imagine a lot of people would purchase this award thinking they were in business class. I can't imagine the shock when they check in and have a coach boarding pass for the longest leg of the journey.

Daily Newsletter
Reward your inbox with the TPG Daily newsletter
Join over 700,000 readers for breaking news, in-depth guides and exclusive deals from TPG’s experts

I'm hoping this is just an IT glitch that Continental can get fixed. I'm going to email them and I'll update everyone on their response.

Moral of the story- double/triple/quadruplecheck your award bookings at Continental.com (and all airline websites for that matter) to make sure they are what you think they are.

TPG featured card

Bilt Palladium Card

4 / 5
Go to review
Apply for Bilt Palladium Card
Apply now
for Bilt Palladium Card

at Bilt's secure site

Terms & restrictions apply. See rates & fees.

Rewards rate
1XChoose to earn up to 1X points on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee
2XEarn 2X points + the option to earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday purchases
Intro offer
Open Intro bonus
50,000 Bilt Points + Gold Status + $300 of Bilt Cash
Annual fee
$495
Regular APR
26.74 - 34.74% variable
Recommended credit
Open Credit score description
Good Credit, Excellent Credit

Pros

  • Choice to earn up to 1 Bilt Point per dollar spent on rent and mortgage payments
  • Elevated everyday earnings with both Bilt Points and the option to earn Bilt Cash
  • $400 Bilt Travel Portal hotel credit per year (up to $200 biannually)
  • $200 Bilt Cash annually
  • Priority Pass membership
  • No foreign transaction fees

Cons

  • Moderate annual fee
  • Designed primarily for members seeking a premium, all-in-one card
  • Earn points on housing with no transaction fee
  • Choose to earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday spend. Use Bilt Cash to unlock point earnings on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee, up to 1X.
  • 2X points on everyday spend
  • $400 Bilt Travel Hotel credit. Applied twice a year, as $200 statement credits, for qualifying Bilt Travel Portal hotel bookings.
  • $200 Bilt Cash (awarded annually). At the end of each calendar year, any Bilt Cash balance over $100 will expire.
  • Welcome bonus (subject to approval): 50,000 Bilt Points + Gold Status after spending $4,000 on everyday purchases in the first 90 days + $300 of Bilt Cash.
  • Priority Pass ($469/year value). See Guide to Benefits.
  • Bilt Point redemptions include airlines, hotels, future rent and mortgage payments, Lyft rides, statement credits, student loan balances, a down payment on a home, and more.