Our Top Tips for Getting an Upgrade to Business Class
We all love an upgrade to business class! If getting that upgrade is on your agenda, then these 8 sure fire tips will give you the best possible chance to make that dream a reality.
1. Plan Your Route
When planning your trip, the route you take can have a significant impact on whether or not you have any chance of getting an upgrade to business class. Taking some time to think about the route you’re taking, could really help you to get your upgrade.
Upgrades are based on sectors. If you’re flying a single sector (such as, Singapore to London) then business class seats will be in higher demand. So the chances of getting an upgrade will be significantly reduced. Planning a multi-sector route could increase your chances of getting an upgrade on at least one of those sectors (e.g. Singapore-Dubai-London).
Choosing less busy routes can also make a huge difference in terms of chances of an upgrade. Look for nearby, quieter airports to fly in and out of, rather than the major ones (e.g. Newark versus JFK).
If you’re flying to the west coast of the US from Asia Pacific then you’re likely going to LA. A route to LA is very unlikely to have business class seats available for upgrades. However, if you fly to San Francisco and then do a short hop to LA, you are more likely to get the upgrade on the longer haul flight to San Francisco.
Give route planning some serious thought before you book your next flight!
2. Choose the Best Day of the Week
It might seem relatively innocuous but the day of the week that you travel has ramifications in all sorts of ways. It can impact on the cost of your travel, the carriers available to fly with, the routes available to travel on, and the chances of getting an upgrade to business class.
Tuesday is generally considered a lower cost day for flying. It’s also a great day for chancing your arm at getting an upgrade. Most business travellers fly Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. That means if you plan your flight for Tuesday, you are more likely to be successful in your upgrade attempt.
If you want the very best chance though, then Saturday is your day! Saturday is the lowest business travel day of the week. That frees ups loads of seats at the pointy end of the plane.
So, if an upgrade to business class is on your agenda then choose your travel days wisely!
3. Dress the Part
Whilst it might seem a little old fashioned to have to ‘dress up’ to fly, it’s actually a huge factor in whether you’re successful in your attempt to upgrade to business class, or not. That’s not to say that you have to be dressed uncomfortably for a long journey. Rather it’s about choosing your outfit wisely.
Don’t expect to get an upgrade if you’re wearing your favourite pair of board shorts and flip flops. Instead, choose comfortable business attire that can be modified once on board. Ties, belts and jackets can all be removed on the plane. Stow them in carry-on luggage or with the cabin crew until landing. Formal shoes can be swapped out for a more comfortable pair once you’re past the check-in area, or onboard. Just remember to pack the second pair to change into, in your carry-on luggage.
Jewellery can also be removed and safely stowed in your carry-on as well. PRO TIP: Take a small jewellery pouch in your carry-on so that small items of jewellery are not lost or damaged.
If the idea of travelling a long distance in business attire doesn’t appeal to you at all, then pack an entire change of clothes into your carry-on bag. You can do the full switcheroo before you even leave the airline lounge. You’ll have much more room to do a full costume change if you use the bathrooms in the lounge. We don’t recommend trying to do it in the aircraft!
4. Choose Your Moment Wisely
Ground staff are some of the most mistreated workers in the travel industry. They’ve seen it all, heard it all, and most likely been confronted by it all! Knowing this can help you to be better prepared when you want to inquire about an upgrade to business class.
Be aware of what’s happening around you. If there is a never ending, snake like queue at check-in then the staff will be harried. They will also likely be keen to get people through as quickly as possible. That means it’s probably not a fortuitous time to ask for that upgrade.
Don’t despair though because it’s not your last chance. You can also ask in the departure lounge. The staff at the gate generally have less people to deal with than their check-in colleagues. However, you still need to be aware of what’s happening for them. Don’t ask the gate staff for an upgrade when they have a huge line of waiting passengers. Wait for the lull and then ask them.
Even better chances are to be had if you are a frequent flyer of an airline. The best place to ask for an upgrade with your airline (your frequent flyer program), or with an alliance member, is when you are in the airline’s lounge. Lounge help desk staff are less likely to be over run by inquiries and are most open to helping you to get the upgrade you’re looking for. Again though, choose your moment carefully and then approach them.
5. Smile and Be Gracious
Whilst obvious sucking up is not likely to work, a genuine smile and a gracious demeanour go a long way to winning an upgrade. Manners and courtesy never cost anyone anything. Use them well when you ask for an upgrade to business class.
Smile and be polite. Be prepared to wait for the staff member helping you to search for any and all possible upgrade options. Most often they genuinely want to help you.
So, turn on the charm and old fashioned good manners, without being over the top. Then sit back and see what good things they bring you!
6. Use Your Status
Most airline frequent flyer programs operate by giving you points or miles, plus status credits. The higher status you have, the more likely you are to get an upgrade to business class (especially a free one). So this is when airline, or alliance, loyalty really counts. We try to choose carriers within our alliances every time we can. That way we maximise our status credits, and our chances of getting upgrades and other loyalty rewards.
That doesn’t mean you have to be exclusive to one airline alliance though. Frequent flyer programs don’t mind if you cheat on them with other airline alliances! We generally split our travel as best we can. We normally start the membership year by getting as many points with our primary alliance. That way we ensure we maintain our status and membership level with them.
Once we’ve achieved that we work on the alternate alliance and get as many points and status credits with them. With careful planning we usually finish the year on one of the top two tiers with both alliances. By doing that it means that we can have the best possible chance on an upgrade to business with any of the partners in the two alliance programs. That’s frequent flyer gold!
7. Use Your Points
Sometimes a free upgrade just isn’t on the cards. So if all of the prior strategies don’t result in an upgrade to business, then you might just have to resort to a last ditch effort.
If a free upgrade is not possible you might be able to get one using your mileage or points. With some airlines you can register online for this sort of upgrade. You then have a chance to get it all the way up to departure time. You can also ask at the airline lounge, or even at check-in (see point 4 above!)
8. Bid For An Upgrade
If all else fails then you may be able to get that upgrade with just a little bit of extra cash.
Some airlines also allow you to bid for upgrades, at often heavily reduced prices, between their classes of travel. SriLankan Airlines is one of those carriers. You can bid for an upgrade, via their online system, from economy to business class. We have done this successfully, and cheaply, many times.
One of the awesome benefits of a an upgrade bidding system is that you get the miles/points and status credits as though you’d paid full price for the business class seat. Not to mention you get the business class treatment and the seat, at a fraction of the normal price.
If you’re keen to see how bidding for upgrades works, then check out our post – Bidding for Upgrades – Cathay Pacific A350 Premium Economy
We hope these tips will help you to get that upgrade to business class on your next flight!
#HappyTravels