Airfare Hacks: Snagging Business Class for Economy Prices

Flying in business class has some excellent perks. In addition to a large comfortable seat in the front of the plane, you may also get complimentary meals and beverages, free checked bags, priority check-in at the airport, and more.

One way to find affordable business class tickets is to set price alerts, and there are some excellent tools that can help you to do this online, such as Kayak's Price Alert tool. But beyond setting price alerts and waiting for business class fares to decline, there are a few smart strategies you can try.

Be flexible

If you're willing to pay for business class at the time of booking, one of the best ways to get business class seats far cheaper than you think is to be flexible. I don't mean being able to fly anytime -- just build a little wiggle room into your travel plans. Depending on your airline or search tool, you may have a way to search a few days before and after your desired departure and return dates. And you might be surprised at what a difference it could make.

As an example, I ran a search for a round-trip business class flight from Charlotte, North Carolina (my closest major airport) to Los Angeles. For the original date I typed in on American Airlines' search tool, I could save $175 on my round-trip ticket just by flying the next day instead.

Your airline may sell you an upgrade

Until a few years ago, it was standard practice for most major U.S. airlines to leave unsold business and first class seats empty on domestic flights until shortly before departure, and then give them away for free to those with elite frequent flyer status.

While airlines still use some unsold seats for upgrades, they also figured out that they could generate more revenue by offering to sell an upgrade to passengers with main cabin tickets instead. Many airlines allow you to directly purchase an upgrade to first or business class after your initial ticket purchase, and in some cases, this can be one of the cheapest ways to get one of those big comfy seats. Delta and American are two examples of airlines with upgrade upsells like this.

On the other hand, some airlines use a "bid for upgrade" auction-style system. Virgin Atlantic and Lufthansa are two examples that use this method. But in either case, it can be significantly cheaper than simply booking a business class seat.

Book (or upgrade) with miles

One of the most economical ways to get business class tickets is to use frequent flyer miles to pay for a ticket. And this is especially true if you have an airline credit card or are willing to get one, as many have excellent welcome offers. As an example, the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card (see rates and fees) has a 50,000-mile welcome offer after reaching a certain spending target, and this could potentially cover a domestic business class flight all by itself. Terms apply.

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It's a well-known fact among frequent flyers that the most efficient use of miles earned via credit card is to pay for business or first-class travel, especially on long international routes. Different airlines have different award tickets and upgrade charts, but it can be a great way to get a business class seat without impacting your personal finances.

One caveat is that it's rarely a good idea to buy frequent flyer miles, unless you're very close to the number of miles you need. Airlines often sell frequent flyer miles directly, but it's usually at a very high cost per mile. Now, if you need 100,000 miles to book a trip and you have 99,000, it can be a smart idea, but don't buy large quantities of miles for the sole purpose of booking an award ticket.

There's no guaranteed trick to get cheap business class seats

One key takeaway is that the only guaranteed way to sit in business class for a specific flight you want to take is to pay whatever the airline's asking price is, either in money or miles. But if you have some flexibility, have the patience to book later, or have frequent flyer status, it's entirely possible to snag business class tickets for not much more than a typical economy fare.