Experience Luxury: The 3 Easiest Ways to Fly Business Class

I still remember how jealous I was when I talked to a friend whose company paid for business-class airfare. It sounded absolutely amazing to get the business-class experience without needing to shop for deals or spend a ton of money.

Most travelers aren't in that position, or rich enough that they can regularly spend thousands on airfare. But that doesn't mean you're out of luck. Below, I'll cover three easy ways to fly business class that I've used in my own travels.

1. Start with an economy ticket and upgrade it

When business class isn't sold out, the airline will usually give passengers in economy the opportunity to upgrade. There are two ways this can work:

• The airline sells business-class upgrades for a fixed price, such as $250 or $500. If you want it, you can buy it.
• The airline sets up a bidding system. You can bid however much you're willing to pay for a business-class seat. As you place your bid, you'll see how likely it is for your bid to be accepted, and you can adjust it based on that.

I've found that it's usually much cheaper to upgrade an economy ticket than to buy a business-class ticket from the beginning. When you book business class, you pay more because it's guaranteed. If you book economy in hopes of an upgrade, you're rolling the dice that one will be available, but you could save big.

Since upgrade availability depends on the airline's unsold seats in business class, you'll have better odds of success on less popular flights. If you want to upgrade, make sure to watch for text or email alerts in the last few weeks before your flight.

2. Open a travel rewards card with a big sign-up bonus

Cash isn't the only way to book business class. You can also pay for it using miles, making it much more affordable. Instead of paying $3,000 or more, you're only responsible for paying taxes and fees, which can be as low as $5.60.

This is how I book most of my business-class airfare. To have enough miles for the tickets I want, I use travel rewards credit cards for all my everyday spending.

Many of these cards have big welcome sign-up bonuses, which are introductory bonuses for new cardholders. If you spend enough money on your card, you could earn a bonus of 60,000 points/miles or more -- potentially enough to cover a business-class ticket.

If you want to use travel cards, I recommend getting one that earns transferable points. Chase, American Express, Citi, and Capital One all have travel cards with points you can transfer to lots of different airlines. Another option is to open a credit card with a specific airline, if you always fly with the same one.

3. Pick a destination with affordable business-class airfare

If you're not locked into a particular destination, it could be surprisingly easy to get a deal on business class. Airfare prices tend to be much lower for flights to affordable destinations. And when you're flexible about where you travel, you can go where the deals are.

A great way to find these deals is with an "everywhere" flight search. This is an option on many flight search sites, including Google Flights and Skyscanner. You enter all your travel details, including your departure city, travel dates, and that you want business-class airfare. For the destination, you select the "everywhere/anywhere" option.

You'll get a list of places you can visit and the business-class prices for each one. It's a simple trick that has become popular with travelers -- 1 in 2 Skyscanner users try this option, according to a report it released.

Business class is an exciting way to travel, and you don't need to spend an arm and a leg to do it. Upgrades, travel rewards cards, and going to affordable destinations are all easy options to fly business class at a more reasonable cost.