Q. I have "silver elite" status with Continental for 2012.  I'd like to book my family of eight on a US Airways flight from Denver to Dallas. Will my status with Continental allow all members of my party avoid a fee for the first checked bag owing to my status with Star Alliance?

A. First of all, of course, Continental is officially no more, and your status with Continental should transfer over to the new entity, United Airlines, where you'd now be a "premier silver". For those not familiar with how this works, when you obtain status on a member airline in the Star Alliance airline group, you also get benefits that you can use on any Star Alliance airline, including priority boarding and free checked bags. As long as everyone in your party is booked on the same reservation as you (the silver elite member), then yes you'll all get one free checked bag within specified weight limits. However, US Airways sometimes doesn't apply these rules correctly, so it's best to refer to this article from United.