For Travel Hackers: How To Get A Free First Class Upgrade

It was a long and amazing weekend of celebration here in PDX as my fiancé wife, Jess, and I tied the knot in front of our closest family and friends. Later today, we’ll leave for our honeymoon—a secret destination I’ve yet to reveal to her.

On our way there and back, we’ll experience a fun luxury I never have before: First Class travel. That means big, luxurious seats with lots of leg room, free drinks and upgraded food, better entertainment, priority boarding, fast and preferential treatment at the airport, and lounge access at connecting airports. And those are just a few of the benefits of first class travel.

Of course, I’m a miser, so I didn’t actually pay the normal 3-10x price increase over Economy it would take to book two first class tickets. Instead, I used a little-known travel hack that’s widely available to anyone who wants to take advantage of it. Total cost to me? 120,000 frequent flyer miles and $120 in taxes and fees.

Here’s how it works and how you can use it yourself.

Free First Class Upgrades On International Business Class Tickets

As a Smart Riskologist, you may already know just how cheap airfare can be when you put a little work into earning frequent flyer miles. But what you might not know is, for a small increase in miles, you can jump from the very back of the plane to the very front and pick up all the extra benefits that come with it.

If you paid cash, you’d normally have to spend at least two times the price to upgrade from an Economy ticket to Business Class. And you’d normally have to pay at least twice that amount again to get to First.

But, as a general rule, a business class ticket is just 50% more when paid for with miles. And since miles come at a nominal cost, why not spend a little more for decadence on special occasions?

A Business Class ticket already comes with all kinds of great amenities, but here’s where the deal gets even sweeter. When you book an international Business Class ticket with miles, you’ll automatically be upgraded to first class for any domestic segments of your trip.

Here are a few examples of how this could work:

1. If you fly business class from Los Angeles to London with a stopover in New York, you’ll get to fly in the first class cabin on the LAX-NYC portion of your itinerary.
2. If you fly the other way from Miami to Tokyo with a stopover in San Francisco, you’ll sip champagne in First Class cabin from MIA to SFO.
3. Traveling from Missoula, MT to Buenos Aires? You may have to route through Denver and Dallas before heading to South America. For those first two flights, you’ll enjoy First Class.

The interesting thing about this perk is why it works. And the explanation is simple. For most domestic flights, business class doesn’t exist. There are only two cabins of service: Economy and First. Travelers who paid outrageous prices for business class tickets would be upset if, for the domestic portion of their trip, they had to sit in the back, paying for their snacks (of all things!) with the unwashed masses.

So, the airlines upgrade them to first class on those flights instead of down to economy. As a travel hacker booking with miles, you get that benefit for, quite literally, a tiny fraction of the cost.

What Do You Get In First Class?

What are the benefits of flying first class? Well, they’re different for every airline, but they almost always include:

1. Spacious, comfy seats. No more fighting for elbow space. These things are like Dad’s recliner.
2. Express Check-in. Never wait in line to check your bags.
3. Lounge access. If you’ve ever had a long layover spent in the terminal, you know how loud and uncomfortable it can be. Once you’ve spent that time in a private lounge having food and drinks served to you, you’ll never want to go back.
4. No baggage fees. Stuff your suitcases if you like; there’s no extra charge.
5. Express security check. Pass the herds at the gate and fly through security.
6. Priority boarding. Get your first drink (alcohol included) before everyone else even finds their seat.
7. Incredible amenity kits. These often include lots of fun stuff like pajamas, slippers, comfy eye masks, nice leather cases, and assorted high-quality products to make your flight more enjoyable. You also get full size pillows and heavy comforters.
8. Upgraded food and drinks. The food and drink are substantially better quality at the front of the plane than at the back. And there are more options to choose from.
9. Personal flight attendant. There aren’t many seats in first class, so you get lots of extra attention from the flight attendant(s) assigned to the cabin.
10. Free wi-fi. When it’s available, you usually get it for free.

That’s what you get on almost any airline. Some airlines have more, truly outrageous services for their First Class flyers on certain routes. These are things like:

1. Private bedroom suite. Your chair turns into a lie-flat bed with a special mattress so you can sleep in complete comfort.
2. Personal chef. Yeah, a chef actually makes your food for you right there on the plane.
3. Limo transfers. Take a limo to and from the airport? Of course, why not?
4. Private showers. Who hasn’t wanted to take a shower on a long flight?
5. Spa treatment at First Class lounges. Want a massage? Haircut? Sit in a jacuzzi? Want to sip champagne while you do it?
6. Other ridiculous luxuries you never imagined existed on an airplane.

A quick check shows the current cash price for our upcoming itinerary is around $6,400. We paid $120. That’s a good deal in my book, and I’m looking forward to it even if, on this route, I won’t be getting a personal chef. Maybe next time.