4 Ways to Fly in Business Class or First Class Without Paying Full Price

While traveling is an exciting adventure, getting to your destination isn't always enjoyable or relaxing -- especially if you're in an economy-class seat on a long-haul flight. But the journey is more enjoyable for business and first-class flyers thanks to the extra comforts provided. 

While you may assume that a business or first-class ticket is out of your price range, that's not always true. You can get a significant discount on a premium-class ticket in certain situations. Here are a few ways to fly in style without draining your bank account balance. 

1. Use points and miles to fly in a premium cabin 

If you're a frequent traveler, having a travel credit card in your wallet can be beneficial. With these rewards credit cards, you'll earn rewards when you use your card to pay for travel expenses and other purchases, and you can redeem your points or miles for flights.

Award travel tickets aren't entirely free -- you'll need to cover the taxes and fees. But you can use your credit card rewards to cover the flight cost, making your trip much more affordable. If you value extra comfort, you may want to use your points and miles to book a business-class or first-class flight. Review our list of the best travel rewards credit cards to learn more. 

2. Bid for an upgrade

Believe it or not, you can bid for an upgrade after buying a coach ticket. Some airlines email bid offers to customers who purchase economy tickets. If given the opportunity, you can let the airline know how much you'd be willing to pay per ticket to upgrade your seat. If your bid is approved, you'll be upgraded and the airline will charge your credit card before departure. 

I've personally had upgrade bids accepted on three occasions. To give you an idea of what this might look like, I'll share the ticket class, route, airline, and cost I paid for each upgrade below: 

• Business class from Seoul to Prague with Czech Airlines (12 hours): $325 per person 
• Business class from Panama City to Lima with Copa Airlines (4 hours): $115 per person 
• Business class from Seoul to Kuala Lumpur with Malaysia Airlines (6.5 hours): $90 per person 

These upgrades were affordable, and they significantly improved my travel experience. There's no guarantee your bid will be accepted, but it can be a win if it works out. Keep in mind that there may be a minimum bid amount required by the airline -- so getting an upgrade for $50 is unlikely. 

3. Pay with miles or cash for an upgrade

Many airlines offer upgrade opportunities after you purchase an economy ticket. There will be a set number of miles or cash that you can pay to upgrade your ticket to a better seat. Sometimes it can be a deal that is too good to pass up, but it's not always a great use of miles or cash. Still, it's worthwhile to check for opportunities like this.  

I'm flying to Prague next month with Delta, and in the Delta mobile app, I see an upgrade opportunity for the New York City to Prague portion of my journey. I can pay $2,732.41 or 273,300 miles to upgrade to Delta One, Delta's first-class international product. As you might imagine, that's well out of my price range, so I will stick with flying coach this time. 

4. Buy a first-class or business-class deal or error fare ticket  

Another option is to take advantage of flight deals and error fares. Some airlines promote deals throughout the year, and you could get a better seat at a much lower price. Additionally, some airlines make mistakes and accidentally price their tickets lower than usual. Flyers can book these error fare deals to fly at a significant discount. 

I recently purchased an error fare flight deal to London, and my business class ticket cost nearly 60% less than the usual ticket price. That's a deal that I couldn't pass up! Want to find the best airfare deals? Here are five flight deal services you can use to score cheap flights.

Don't give up on your luxury travel dreams

Flying on a business-class or first-class ticket may feel like an experience you'll never have, especially if you're working hard to reach important personal finance goals. But it's possible to fly in style at a fraction of the price if you take advantage of opportunities like the ones mentioned above. There are many ways to save money on travel expenses like airline tickets.