Business class travel with lying seating and height food service is a microcosm of luxury and comfort when it comes to commercial air travel.
Prices often go up to thousands, but savvy tourists have discovered many strategies to secure business class seating without paying the full amount. From strategic booking methods to maximizing points and miles, here are some ways to fly less business class.
I’ll bid for an upgrade
Over 50 airlines, including Air Canada, Fiji Airways, Ratum, Lufthansa, Qantas and Virgin Atlantic, have listed several bidding programs.
Airlines with bidding programs usually work with third-party travel technology companies called PlusGrade. Travelers can access the airline’s bid page and enter a confirmation number to place their bid.
Airlines usually set a bid floor of around $300 (usually around $300), so they must provide at least that amount to the run. Once you bid, you will be asked to provide your credit card information. You will know if your bid is accepted by the latest departure date. The cost will then be automatically paid using the provided credit card and the ticket will be renewed. It is worth noting that you will need to bid separately for each leg. Bids do not apply to the entire round-trip ticket.
Use credit card points and miles
One of the most effective ways to reduce business class seats is to take advantage of credit card points and airline miles. Many travel reward credit cards offer generous sign-up bonuses and allow you to accumulate points not only through flights but also through daily spending.
“Using points and miles is the most accessible way for non-wealthy people to fly in front of planes,” says Katy Nastro, travel expert at Going, far away. “It may seem like a lot of points are needed to redeem a business class flight (but) not. For example, a flight expert at Going has discovered that only 54,000 points in tax are Spanish points.
Kyle Potter, executive editor of Travel and Flight Deals site Thrifty Traveller, reiterated the sentiment, reciting “While business class seats can cost five or six times more than the economy, airline miles can really shine. Even rare travelers can make it relatively easy to get the miles they need to pull these deals off.”
Some of the recent deals pointed out by Potter include:
- Flying Iberia Business Class up to 34,000 miles one way from Boston, New York, Washington, DC or Chicago to Madrid
- Book a one-way flight from JFK to Lisbon in New York in business class at Tap Air Portugal (but only if you redeem and book with Avianca Lifemiles)
It is worth mentioning that reimbursing business class seats is becoming more difficult as airlines prioritize customers over those using miles. Similarly, the dynamic pricing model has replaced fixed redemption charts, making it difficult to predict how many miles a flight will take. Furthermore, peak travel time required significantly more points. As a result, frequent flyers find that their hard-earned points aren’t as well as they used to be. To maximize your reward, keep your travel days flexible as soon as possible and award the award.
Upgrade through airline status
Angel Trin is the founder of Pennywise Traveler and teaches people how to best use their points and miles. She says on her recent flight from Miami to the Bahamas she received an upgrade from Basic Economy to Business Class thanks to American Airlines’ Platinum Pro Status.
To earn status with the airline, sign up for the loyalty program and then start earning miles or points. These are the currency of the loyalty program, which accumulates them every time you fly with the airline or its partners. You usually earn miles based on your travel base rate or distance traveled, and your fare class (usually earning more miles). Additionally, some programs allow users to earn points and miles using co-branded credit cards, stay at partner hotels, rent cars with related partners, and earn points by using the airline’s shopping portal to purchase through links.
You earned a certain number of miles that differ from airline to airline, or after flying segments of segments within a calendar year, you unlocked your status on your airline. Airlines have different levels of status, and need higher miles and segment thresholds to reach each. Those with top status on a particular flight are most likely to earn a free business class upgrade when the space becomes available.
However, many airlines, including United and Delta, have increased the spending and mileage requirements needed to reach the elite class, making it even more difficult for travelers to unlock upgrade perks. Additionally, there are fewer opportunities for upgrades as more travelers are willing to pay for their business seats.
Try Business Class -Lite
While business class on some airlines won’t mistake these seats for a luxurious lie cubicle, Potter suggests looking at budget-friendly airlines like the Icelandic Air Saga Class and the Nordic Atlantic Premium.
“The Iceland Air Saga class is definitely not business class, but the seats are much larger (think top-class seats in the country) and even have a Reykjavik lounge for passengers to use,” Potter says.
Similarly, Germany’s low-cost carrier condor offers transatlantic class fares starting from around $2,000 round trips.
Some airlines offer classes of service that are higher than the premium economy, but do not have all the benefits of business class. One example is KLM’s Premium Comfort Cabin. This includes reclining and adjustable leg rest, the same set of blankets and pillows offered to business class passengers, and meals from a dedicated menu served with authentic tableware.
Go on a relocated flight, alias, arrive at a larger airport
Even if you don’t live near a large airport, if the aircraft needs to move to a new location for logistics, in contrast to revenue, you can get a cheap business class flight by playing with the concept of flight relocation.
For example, let’s say you fly from Pittsburgh to London at the end of October, but the flight is $3,600. If you board a flight from Pittsburgh to Washington, DC, then head to London, you can save over $1,000, even if you add additional flights to your costs. That’s because a flight from DC to London is likely to be significantly cheaper than a flight from Pittsburgh to London.
“Don’t limit your search to the nearest airport,” says Nastro. “Big airports offer more competition, put downward pressure on flight prices and offer a wider range of options. With short, cheaper flights or alternative means of transport, there are more options when you have more chances to find business-class tickets and better deals to reach the bigger hub.”
Volunteers who will fly later
Airlines may sell more tickets than airplane seats. If this happens and all ticketed passengers arrive at the gate as planned (or the airline will have to fly its crew to another airport on a sold-out plane), the airline will need to find volunteers departing on the later flight. If they can’t find someone to volunteer, the gate agents will have to randomly smash passengers. It’s something they don’t want to do, so they are allowed to provide incentives to volunteer travelers, including travel vouchers, terminal restaurant vouchers, cash, miles, hotels and other perks.
If travel planning is flexible, volunteer programs may be available. If your gate agent is struggling to find a volunteer, you may be able to request a premium seat on your next flight. Certainly, for it to work, you need to have the premium seats available. So, before speaking to your agent, check your airline website for your later flights to see if there are business class seats available. When you ask, be polite and understand that the agent is juggling a lot at the moment and may not enjoy mediating such transactions.
Sign up for flight trading tracking services
Going is a newsletter that delivers cheap domestic and international flight transactions to your inbox. Going has three membership tiers, but the best tier for anyone looking to fly the pointy end of an airplane is the elite tier. With that membership, you will receive alerts for first and business class transactions from an unlimited number of airports in the US.
“Some of the best deals we’ve found in the last few months are $1,999 round trips to the Netherlands and $1,809 from Los Angeles to Tokyo,” says Nastro. “This is a good option for those who don’t want to spend hours searching, but don’t miss out on a lifetime deal from their home airport.”
Trinh also suggests signing up for an Ashley subscription. This is a newsletter that warns subscribers to make business-class transactions and misleading fares around the world. Incorrect fares occur when the airline accidentally discloses the wrong amount of the ticket. They are the holy grail of the flight contract and one of the best ways to win business class tickets in bargains. These errors are often caused when an airline miscalculates currency conversions, excludes additional fuel charges, or enters incorrect pricing. The key to getting one is speed and vigilance. In many cases, the error corrects the error immediately. Websites like Secret Flying and Airfare Watchdog get the wrong airfare for their channels, and newsletters like Going and Dollar Flight Club send out email explosions.
Potter says in 2018 he and his friends flew from Los Angeles to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam for about $600 each in business class with a false fare. This year he found a mistake flying United Polaris Business Class from the US to London for $899.
Fly on all business class airlines
In recent years, there has been an increase in crops from all business class airlines selling seats at a lower speed than larger airlines. One is La Compagnie, a French boutique airline that offers transatlantic seating for about half the price of other carriers. Beond, a Maldives airline headquartered in Dubai, is another option.
This article was originally published on August 23, 2023 and updated on March 19, 2025 with new information.
