Dont believe that simply because you typically planaffordable trips only after reviewing cheaptravel options, such as cheap airplane tickets, discount hotel rooms, cheap auto rentals, discounttravel deals, cheapdeals, and cheap vacation packages, thatyou must always be relegated to the back of the plane.
The following are ways to affordably move up to business orfirst class, according to Eric Rosen:
Manyairlines are allowing passengers to bid on upgrades. Several of them are using a third party site,called Plusgrade, to accept bids. Usersselect the amount of money they are willing to pay for an upgrade, enter intheir credit card information, and then are only charged if their bid issuccessful.
Airlines using Plusgrade include AerLingus, Air New Zealand, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Etihad, KLM, LAN,Lufthansa, South African Airways, Virgin Atlantic, and Virgin Australia. Bidders can up upgrade for pennies on thedollar compared to full price upper class tickets.
Summeris a great time to find low prices on business and first class tickets. Business travel tends to slacken during thesummer months, so airlines slash prices to encourage leisure fliers to purchasepremium seats. Business class faressometimes can be had for as little as $100 more than economy fares.
Whereyour computer thinks you are when you purchase your ticket can significantlyimpact your ticket price. Sometimesusing foreign versions of sites such as Expedia or Priceline, or those ofairlines themselves, results in finding much cheaper fares than would usingtheir U.S. sites. Airlines priceairfares differently in different markets. Some savvy travelers use a VPN when searching for airfares so that theirlocations are hidden while browsing.
Someairlines, including American, offer their top tier elite fliers a set number ofconfirmable upgrades on paid fares each year. Thus it is smart to try to plot out your travel so that you fly on aspecific airline frequently enough to earn elite status.
One ofthe easier ways to earn airline miles quickly and then redeem them for premiumaward tickets, is to apply for an airline or travel credit card. You need to keep looking for lucrative offersand take advantage of bonus spending categories where card holders can earn multiplemiles per dollar at select kinds of stores or merchants.
Some credit card issuers, such as AmericanExpress, have offered targeted consumer bonuses of up to 100,000 MembershipReward points on some cards. Thesepoints can be transferred to the programs airline partners, including AllNippon Airways, which offers some great award deals, such as business class for88,000 miles round trip from North America to Europe. 104,000 miles can secure business round triptickets from North American to Africa or the Middle East on flight partnersincluding Lufthansa, Swiss, and South African Airways.
Thebest value you can get for airline miles is by purchasing a ticket in coach orpremium economy, and then redeeming miles to upgrade to business or first. Many airlines make the process easy,including Air France/KLM British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Cathay Pacific,Emirates, and Singapore Airlines. U.S.airlines typically allow such upgrades, but the values are frequently not verygood. Be aware that some airlines willonly offer upgrades to customers who have purchased unrestricted (full price)tickets.
Manydomestic flight are oversold these days. If your flight plans are flexible, you should very politely ask an agentthat is offering vouchers for people volunteering to take a later flight if heor she can move you up to the next class of service on a subsequent flight.
Rememberthat not all planes, even within the same airline, are comparable. Some aircraft continue to offer old firstclass suite style seats. Others offernot only a seat, but also a twin size bed and a whole lot more. SeatGuru is a good resource that usually hasup to date information on various aircraft and classes of service. Routehappy tells fliers the plane that willbe used on specific dates of travel. Being aware of the routes your airline flies, and which planes it useson those routes, can be the difference between a nice experience and a worldclass experience.
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