Ever dream of those huge business class seats, fresh food and priority boarding….but without the eye popping price tag? It’s not on you. Everyone wants the comfort of business class, but too often the price tag potentially ruins it.
The good news, though, is that… You don’t have to fly business class to be comfortable. All you have to know is a couple tricks that actually work. Now let’s break it down.
Look out for mistake fares – yes, they’re real
Airlines sometimes got it wrong. They publish business class at ridiculously low prices, sometimes even cheaper than economy, all by accident. What you call mistake fares and they do happen very often.
Here’s how to catch them:
- Follow websites like Secret flying or Fly4Free! Everyday, they post error fares and cheap business class tickets.
- Fare alert services, like Going (formerly Scott’s Cheap Flights) or Thrifty Traveler Premium can also help tip you off to deals. These guys will go digging for you and email you every time a deal is going on.
Use points and miles, even if you’re not a frequent flyer
Just because you don’t fly every month does not mean you don’t rack up some miles. In fact, credit card sign up bonuses are the easiest way to earn them. There are dozens of travel credit cards out there that will grant you 50,000+ miles if you get to the spending requirement in the beginning months.
Here’s how to make this work:
- Cards to look for include the Chase Sapphire Preferred, American Express Platinum and the Capital One Venture Rewards.
- The card is a place to put all your regular expenses (groceries, gas, etc.) as long as you pay it down fully to avoid interest.
- Once you’ve collected enough miles, you can transfer them to airline partners and book a business class seat that’ll cost you thousands of dollars.
Others are able to bring the cost down even more by combining cash and miles. No, not all but you don’t have to be a points expert either to do this, but there are plenty of guides and forums about it like The Points Guy.
Don’t ignore small international airlines
For business class, most people are thinking Emirates, Lufthansa or Delta and so forth. There are, however, great business class seats on many of the smaller or lesser known airlines for significantly less.
- There’s usually a deal with Turkish Airlines, Azerbaijan Airlines or LOT Polish Airlines that gets you into a business class cabin for significantly less money than you’d usually pay their big brand rivals for the same.
- It’s also possible to save money by flying from lesser used airports or through cities like Istanbul or Warsaw.
Business class flying doesn’t have to be a fantasy. With a bit of research and some smart credit card moves and with enough good deal sites, you can be sipping champagne at 35,000 feet without blowing your savings.
