Let’s talk about how you can land those business class seats without draining your savings. Flying business is a whole different experience, think lie-flat seats, great meals, and a touch of luxury. The price tag? Usually steep. But here’s the secret: with a few smart strategies, it’s not as out of reach as you might think.
Playing the Flexibility Game is Key
It’s also hugely helpful if you can be a bit bendy like a bendy straw with your travel plans. In other words, airlines price tickets based on demand. Prices go sky high when you fly when everyone else wants to (Christmas or summer holidays).
So, what if you could travel during the ‘shoulder seasons’ – those bits of time before and after peak season? For many European or North American destinations, think April/May or September/October. They could be much lower in price.
Flying mid week (Tuesday, Wednesday) tends to be a lot cheaper than flying a Friday or last minute Super last minute Sunday. Sometimes the time of day can even make a difference. Don’t just look at your closest airport, either. And sometimes it can be fun to find an amazing business class deal that requires driving an hour (or two) to a different airport, taking a train from a nearby city or just hopping into a nearby city in a layover airport to catch a much cheaper business class deal. Your wallet will thank you, but you must keep an open mind.
Make Points and Miles Your New Best Friends
It may well be the single biggest ‘secret’ behind affordable luxury travel. Your golden ticket can be loyal to the airline and credit card rewards. In fact, many airlines have partnerships which means that points you earn with one get you the ability to go on another. First, get on the loyalty program for the airlines you fly the most, even for short economy flights like this – it all helps.
However, travel rewards credit cards are where the real power usually comes from. Many throw so many big sign up bonuses in your face. 50,000+ points after you spend x amount of dollars during the first few weeks. From then on, these points can be transferred to an air partner and used to book business class seats for a fraction of the cash price.
The good news though is that you can look for cards that have good airline transfer partners and offer good earning rates both on your everyday spending and on the cards’ weak points.
Keep an Eye Out for Deals and Special Offers
Airlines also have sales in business class. Sign up for airline newsletters and travel deal websites or their social media handles. Airlines occasionally release special ‘companion fares,’ where if you buy one business class ticket, your companion will fly for as little as the taxes or special promotions on new routes.
Something else to keep in mind as well, but rarer, are “error fares.” This is called a mispriced fare, when an airline accidentally prices a ticket so cheaply, it shouldn’t be. Most of these sell out super fast, sometimes airlines don’t respect these but if you are quick and lucky you can get an amazing deal.
