How to Get the Business-Class Experience Without Paying $3,000 for It

Flying business class is one of the best ways to treat yourself when you travel. You'll get a much bigger, more comfortable seat. Many business-class cabins even have lie-flat seats that turn into beds. The meals are better. There's more than just in-flight benefits, too. Most business-class tickets also get you into the airline's lounges and an expedited security line.

Treating yourself comes at a cost, though. If you're flying internationally, a round-trip business-class ticket could be $3,000 to $5,000 or more. As nice as it is, it's also out of most travelers' budgets.

Luckily, there's an alternative. I've been getting the business-class experience for years, and I definitely haven't been paying thousands of dollars for it. Here's how.

How to get the business-class experience for economy prices (or less)

The best way to save on the business-class experience is by using travel credit cards. I recommend these for anyone who likes to travel, but especially people who are interested in higher-end travel. There are two ways travel cards can help you with this.

Book business-class tickets with travel rewards

Paying in cash often isn't your only option for booking a business-class seat. There's another option that can save you quite a bit of money: Book your ticket through the airline's frequent flyer program using your miles.

When you pay with miles, then the only things you need to cover with cash are taxes and fees. These can be as low as $5.60. Yes, you could fly business class for less than the cost of a specialty drink at Starbucks -- if you have the miles.

That's where travel credit cards come in handy. Most of us don't fly nearly enough to earn the miles you need for a business-class ticket. But if you have a travel card, you can earn points or miles on your purchases. Travel cards also usually have large welcome bonus offers you can earn as a new cardholder.

If you normally fly with the same airline, you could get one of its airline credit cards. This will earn you miles directly in that airline's loyalty program. But I prefer credit cards with transferable travel rewards. These let you transfer your points to many different airline loyalty programs. You can do this with cards in the following rewards programs:

• Chase Ultimate Rewards
• American Express Membership Rewards
• Capital One Venture Rewards
• Citi ThankYou Rewards

Get a premium travel card for luxury travel perks

You don't need a business-class ticket to get some of the benefits of flying that way. You could also open a premium travel card. These cards can be expensive -- many have annual fees of $400 or more. But they often have similar benefits to what's included with a business-class ticket, including:

• A complimentary membership to an airport lounge program so you can use its lounges free of charge
• A membership fee credit for services that get you through airport security more quickly, typically Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or CLEAR
• Access to an airline's priority check-in, security screening, and early boarding

With the right credit card, you can get the full business-class experience at the airport, even while flying economy.

The one thing you'll be missing is a business-class seat on the plane. But you could book that using travel rewards, as mentioned earlier. Or you could book an economy ticket and see if there's an option to upgrade before your flight. Some premium airline cards even get you on the complimentary upgrade list. And if you don't get an upgrade, you'll at least still have benefits at the airport through your credit card.

A more affordable way to upgrade your travels

The reason I recommend travel credit cards is because I've experienced firsthand how useful they can be. And in particular, they make business-class tickets and benefits much more accessible, no matter your budget.