Everyone wants to have a long and peaceful journey with soft seats, best cuisines and refreshing services, but all under their budget. Is it really possible? Are there any ways we can get all of these amenities by booking a cheap flight ticket?
Loyalty Has Its Rewards
There’s no bigger secret to getting cheap business class tickets than cozying up to airline loyalty programs. Put it this way: The more you fly with an airline or its partners, the more points (or miles)you get. Look at these points, it’s gold! Often they will let you book business class tickets for a lot less than the cash price.
A lot of airlines are actually part of other big groups called alliances such as the Star Alliance, Oneworld and SkyTeam. The other really helpful thing about airline alliances is that you are typically allowed to use the miles of one airline in an alliance and redeem them on any other airline in that same alliance.
Airlines regularly offer promos such as signing up for their program or using their co-branded credit card and you’ll get bonus points. Look out for these promotions as they can easily add a ton of points to your balance.
Timing is Everything and Sometimes Being a Little Spontaneous
Don’t you know how the price for the air tickets rise and fall just like a rollercoaster? Business class is the same. On the whole, with most international business class tickets, you’ll usually receive a better deal some months in advance (three to eight months). If you see booking fares drop in the weeks before these dates, it may be the airlines releasing “sale” fares.
Airlines sometimes have unsold business class seats, so if you’re game for last minute travel you may be able to get a discounted upgrade at check in or even at the gate. It ain’t a given thing but if you’re feeling lucky and the price is right, then it’s not a bad idea to ask politely. Buying a business class ticket months in advance, however, can cost significantly more than these last minute deals.
Another thing to look at is what time you fly. Often, better deals can be had when you travel in off peak seasons (like when there’s no one flying due to holidays or business). Many destinations are in January, February, October or November. Sometimes it seems you can shave a little off the price by flying mid week, rather than on the weekends.
The Fine Print Can Save You
Finding cheap tickets is great, but it’s also smart to know what airlines do when someone changes and or cancels their ticket — especially if one is buying business class. You’ll usually find different rules attached to these tickets than economy fares.
Business class tickets are more flexible than many. For example, “Flex” business class fares may enable you to change your flight dates, but at a lower fee than otherwise cheaper “Value” or “Classic” business class tickets would impose or perhaps at no extra fee at all.
