Let’s be honest, all things being equal, we would all choose business class over coach. Early boarding, massive amounts of legroom, delicious (or at least better) food, open bar, access to airport lounges, amenity kits…the list goes on and on. That said, business tickets often require you to take out a small mortgage to purchase one, as they are tailored toward executives who never foot the bill. The holy grail is finding the cheap business class flight deals.
So how do you go about making that happen, you might ask? Here are 10 strategies you can employ today to score that business class flight, or even a first class if you are dreaming big…
Collecting miles and points
Start collecting miles today by creating an account on every major airline that flies to your country (in the USA, I would start with: United + American + Delta + Southwest). Whenever you are flying on a partner airline, make sure your miles get credited to one of those airlines, so your miles are consolidated and not a few thousand across random airlines that you will likely never earn enough to book a reward ticket.
Once you have frequent flier accounts at all the airlines, set up accounts at all the major hotel chains (in the USA, I would start with IHG, Marriott, Hilton, etc). Make sure that you add your account to every hotel booking, as those points are valuable, and even the most basic accounts come with some perks at the hotel (think free wifi, breakfast, room upgrades, etc).
As for earning points that will help you book that business class flight, you should start collecting miles with a Chase Sapphire Reserve card, as well as an American Express Platinum Card. Those points are way more valuable than airline specific miles, as they can be used to not only transfer to a variety of partners when a good reward ticket becomes available, but you can also book cash fares on almost any airline (and a little talked about perk of those cash fares, is that those flights will earn you miles on that airline (or on their partner airline) and also count towards you earning status.
Make sure you put every single purchase you make on your points-earning credit card–I don’t care if it’s a pack of gum, your storage-unit rent, or dinner out with friends (who will pay you back in cash or Venmo), you will be surprised how fast those miles add up. Also keep an eye on the category bonus the various cards offer (I like to put a sticker on my card so I don’t forget which one is offering say 5% on restaurant one month, and another card offering 5% back on office supplies).
Once you have enough points, you can use the Chase, American Express, or an airline’s website to book that business class ticket on points…As I always say, a free ticket is the best seat on the plane.
Be flexible with your dates and times
Now that you have a treasure trove of airline miles and/or credit card points, it’s time to find the best deals (no sense spending 200k miles on a business class flight if a few small tricks can help you get that same flight for $100k…right?
Be flexible with your trip dates. Most destinations are even more enjoyable in the shoulder season, when there are fewer tourists, hotel prices are lower, flight prices are lower, taxis and restaurant reservations are way easier to score…and the experience is overall more pleasant and less stressful.
Once you find the time of year with the cheap business class flights, it’s time to pick the day of the week. Just because you get out of work on a Friday afternoon doesn’t mean you should fly Friday night or Saturday morning (that’s what everyone else is doing, so the prices are sky high). Take an extra day off and fly late night on Thursday, or super early Friday morning…you would be surprised how much cheaper that 24 hours can be.
When you see a good deal, lock it in
These days, when you book a flight with points (usually any flight other than Basic Economy), you can cancel the flight later and get the points deposited back into your account (obviously, check the airline’s policy before booking). So what we like to do when we see cheap business class flights is lock that flight in with points/miles…then keep searching, or set an alert (more on that below), and if we find a cheaper deal later, cancel our original flight and book the cheaper one.
Book a normal coach ticket and use points (or bid with cash to upgrade)
One of the cheapest ways to fly business class or first class flights is to book a standard fare (check the airline’s policy, as often times the cheapest basic economy tickets cannot be upgraded). Once you have the cheap coach fare locked in, there are a variety of ways to upgrade. If you have status with the airline and the plane isn’t full, you can often get upgraded (although that happens less and less these days).
Another way to upgrade is to purchase an upgrade with your points. Oftentimes, this is the same price as buying the business class seat in the first place, but sometimes, when they don’t sell enough premium seats, they will let them go at a steep discount. On that same notion, airlines (especially those in the Middle East) love to put their premium cabins up for auction as the flight gets closer. I love putting in a super low bid, and if it hits, I am happy, and if not, oh well, coach for me.
Keep your airport options open
Say you live in Hoboken, NJ, and you usually fly out of Newark Airport. When you are searching for cheap business class flights, make sure you include Philadelphia, JFK, and Laguardia to your search (Google Flights is great for allowing you to search multiple airports at once). And if you really want to be next level, search the major long-haul airports across the USA (especially if you don’t live near a major metropolitan area).
You can often book a cheap repositioning flight (from say St. Louis to Atlanta, or Eureka down to San Fran), then book your business or first class flight out of SFO or OAK for a much, much lower price (and in some cases, options that aren’t even available from smaller regional airports).
Don’t be afraid of a layover
Once you get your Chase Sapphire Reserve Card, or your American Express Platinum Card, or Capital One Venture X Card, you will have lounge access at thousands of lounges around the world…so layovers will quickly change from a thing to dread to a respite on a long journey.
Lounge visits on a layover give you a much-needed break on a long journey (10-16-hour flights aren’t the best for your body). They also usually have better food than the airplane, and the nicer lounges even offer things like massages, facials, etc.
I know everyone loves to fly direct, but if you can add in a layover, it will often save you tens or even hundreds of thousands of points…and another fun perk is that if you time it right, you can even turn that layover into a multi-day trip and get to experience a new city or country.
Subscribe to newsletters or set alerts
Alerts are your friend. They will give you an idea of how much flight prices fluctuate, and let you know when the best time to buy is. And one thing many people overlook is the benefit of setting a flight alert after you make your booking. This will alert you if the flight ever takes a big dip in price (which is often correlated to the number of points required), so you can rebook and get the difference back into your mileage account.
Don’t be foolishly loyal to one airline
Don’t get me wrong, airline loyalty is a valuable thing. All things being equal (price, time of day, flight path, seat selection), I will choose to fly United to keep my status and the various perks that come with status. That said, it would be foolish of me to only search United Airlines when looking for cheap business class flights to Tokyo…as there are a dozen other carriers flying that route, and often with better times, connections, and pricing.
Moral of the story: Be loyal, but don’t be blind to the various options you have. Do your research and compare apples to apples.
In conclusion
Finding cheap business class flights is easier than you think. You just need to be a little flexible, be willing to put in the time and energy to find said deals, and be willing to pounce when the perfect deal arrives. So start dreaming of your next trip, set a few price alerts, and get ready to hear the words “Ma’am, can I offer you some champagne and a snack while we wait for the rest of the plane to board?”
