It’s legroom, it’s a comfy seat, it’s fancy food. It’s a whole vibe. However, when you square look at the price tag? Vanishes real quick that dream. Good news? No such thing. If you know where to look and how to play your cards right, you can actually score cheap business class flights. No complicated stuff, no travel lingo, we’ll break it down in a super simple way.
Start with the smart stuff – flexibility and tools
If you are flexible on your destination, dates and airport then you got a head start on the game and with airlines offering these awesome sales, there’s no reason not to book your next trip now. Business class tickets can go up and down by the day of the week or time of year. Weekend flights are more expensive than the midweek ones. If you are looking for Overnight flights then you will also have some reasonably priced options.
Now, let’s talk about tools.
- Google Flights is a great option for us and lets you track prices.
- Skyscanner can help you in comparing prices across months.
- Momondo often finds hidden gems other websites miss.
When you do find a price you like, don’t be too slow. Don’t believe me? Business class deals don’t last forever.
Airline offers are real—don’t ignore them
Many people skip this, but airlines actually really help. In addition to all the last minute cheap fares mentioned above, when they’d rather go down in a blaze of glory than crater by lowering rates earlier, airlines like Emirates, Qatar, Lufthansa and even American or Delta will often have surprise business class sales. You can also have your eye on seasonal sales. It often takes place during the New Year, Black Friday, just before summer or winter holiday. It may not be splashed everywhere so it can be a gold mine if you would want to check the airline’s own website or app every once and a while. And if you can pick up a roundtrip deal, don’t sleep on that either. Often, even booking a business class return is actually cheaper for you. It just sounds weird but airlines do it all the time.
Points, upgrades, and travel hacks that actually work
If you don’t fly often, credit card points can change your ticket into a business class ticket for a fraction of the price. Chase, Amex and Capital One are often some of those to issue cards that let you transfer points to airline partners. Booking through those partners has just become a bit easier: You may be able to unlock lower business class fares. Here’s a fun little hack to this: search for business class tickets from another country. The U.S.—Europe flight in business class can be very cheap compared to the other way round. Next time you might be able to fly to Europe for a few pennies and fly back with luxury. And some airlines let you bid for an upgrade, from economy to business. Sometimes you don’t win, but when you do the cost is usually much cheaper than buying a business seat.
You can fly business class without paying the business class prices, they add – but it takes a bit of effort.
