3 Habits of Savvy Travelers Who Always Fly Business Class

Flying business class is a dream for many airline passengers. Are you tired of trudging through narrow aisles, jamming your carry-on bag into crowded overhead compartments, and squeezing into ever-shrinking economy seats? You might wonder how you can be like the pampered clients in business class, who get spacious seats, ample leg room, and other perks for a more comfortable flight.

If you want to fly business class (or what some airlines call "first class," depending on the flight route), you can always pay extra money for your ticket. But that's expensive! What if there was a better way to get upgraded to business class?

The good news is: if you get savvy about airline frequent flyer programs and travel reward credit cards, and use a few extra strategies, you can make business class part of your regular travel routine.

Let's look at a few tips and tricks for how to start flying business class -- without busting your budget.

1. Join an airline loyalty program -- and gain elite status

Not everyone in business class paid full-price for their seat. Many of those people bought a lower-cost ticket and then got re-assigned, or "upgraded," to business class. Airlines don't always sell every seat on the plane, and instead of leaving business class empty, they may fill those seats by assigning them to their most loyal customers.

How can you become one of these lucky people? Start by joining an airline frequent flyer program, or "loyalty program." Every major airline has a loyalty program, such as American Airlines' AAdvantage® or United Airlines' MileagePlus®. When you spend more money with an airline, you can earn frequent flyer miles that can be exchanged for airline tickets or upgraded seats.

Once you choose your airline loyalty program, start accumulating miles to build elite status. Elite status has different names and levels, depending on the airline, such as Silver, Gold or Platinum. But in general, the more money you spend with an airline and the longer you've been traveling with them, the better your chances of being upgraded to business class for free.

"If you can get elite status, it really helps," said Marian Goldberg, an international travel agent with expertise in Japan and Asia, and a Star Alliance Gold Member. "Before the pandemic, I had Silver status and I frequently got upgraded to business class. In the past few years with higher demand for travel, Silver status hasn't gotten me upgraded as often as it used to. But I recently got Gold status on United and I think I will be auto-upgraded to business class more often."

2. Earn extra miles with airline credit cards

Another good way to earn frequent flyer miles is to make everyday purchases with an airline credit card. The best airline credit cards offer generous sign-up bonuses, such as 40,000 to 60,000 bonus miles. They also give you 2x-3x miles for the money you spend with the airline, or on everyday categories like restaurants. If you're committed to one airline and determined to gain elite status, getting an airline credit card can be a good way to keep amassing points. In fact, some airline credit cards are designed to help you get elite airline status faster.

Justin Crabbe is the CEO of Jettly, a booking service for private jet travel. But he's also a longtime commercial airline customer who almost always flies business class. His advice: get elite status with the airline.

"I most often fly in business class by utilizing my frequent flyer elite status upgrades," Justin said. "I have mid-tier to top-tier status on major U.S. airlines and this provides annual allotments of complimentary domestic and international upgrades when booking standard economy class tickets."

Justin also recommends maximizing your airline credit card rewards. "As part of having frequent flyer airline credit cards like the Delta Reserve and United Club Infinite, I receive additional annual regional business class upgrade passes on those carriers. Between these two methods, I'm successful at getting into business class on 60%-70% of my yearly flights. If I don't manage to get upgraded with those options, I will occasionally use mileage points from my accumulated balances over decades of travel for instant, confirmed upgrades."

3. Consider signing up for travel reward credit cards

Monica Soberman is an entrepreneur and full-time digital nomad who has traveled with her husband to 90 countries. They share their adventures on their website, DigitalRoamads.com. Monica says that upgrades to business class are often easiest to achieve with credit card points. And airline credit cards are not the only choice.

"On international long-haul flights, we always upgrade to business class," Monica said. "Our primary approach is using credit card points. Since you typically won't spend enough or fly enough to get enough points, the best way to get big amounts of points is through credit card sign-up bonuses. Often these bonuses translate to one or two business class tickets, which can be worth $3,000-$5,000."

But instead of airline-specific cards, Monica recommends using travel rewards credit cards. "We avoid airline credit cards that limit us to certain airlines in favor of those that can be applied to more airlines and alliances," Monica said. "This gives us more flight options."

The best travel cards, like The Platinum Card® from American Express or the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, can give you significant sign-up bonuses. They also let you earn generous rewards that can be applied to a wide range of travel benefits and perks -- including upgrades to business class.

Bottom line: Want to make your business class travel dreams come true? Start by becoming a loyal customer with one or two airlines. Get elite status, and enhance your frequent flyer miles with airline credit cards or travel reward credit cards. The airlines treat their best customers better, so start planning today for how to maximize your opportunities as a frequent flyer.