I finally flew business class international on a deal. I can never deal with cattle class again. What is the best way to maximize the number of business class flights I take in the future? Credit cards, status-maxxing, etc.
I finally flew business class international on a deal. I can never deal with cattle class again.
>What is the best way to maximize the number of business class flights I take in the future?
Earn enough money to pay for business class tickets without breaking the bank or work in a position that will allow you to fly business without paying for it yourself.
Doing that repeatedly will create a reinforcing loop of status and upgrades.
International biz class is $5,000 - $10,000 round trip. Who the hell but the giga rich can afford that?
Upper middle class professionals making 2-400k with no kids
It's a giant waste of money if you're not a millionaire. You could be saving that money for retirement or your children or a million other things instead of a comfy 10 hour flight.
>he doesn't know
Nobody pays for their own international business flights. It's always paid for by the employer.
Obviously yes, if you're traveling with a company then it makes sense. Your employer is not going to fund your $10k business class seat for your 2 week vacation in Japan though retard.
>Your employer is not going to fund your $10k business class seat for your 2 week vacation in Japan though retard.
But you fund that with the points you accrue from the business travel.
Companies pay for the tickets, therefore they get the miles. They can choose to give you the miles but they also could choose to keep them, which is reasonable if they're footing the bill for your comfy travel to begin with.
nope. the miles are attached to me, not the company. and i pay for my own ticket and get reimbursed.
Okay, plenty of companies don't do that. So congrats on being lucky and having a nice company that gives you perks like that.
>Bro, just get into an industry where you travel all the time and the company awards you the travel points. Then you can fly business class all the time like me
Or he could just get a job that nets him $500k a year too.
even if i didn't pay for my own ticket i still get the miles. you can link your ticket to your delta/american/whatever rewards program.
At least back in the day companies would just reimburse you for the tickets so you kept the points yourself. That 2009 movie with George Clooney was based on a true story.
My dad usually to travel nationally / internationally at least one week per month and his company would let him keep the points. This was in the early 2000s.
>Companies pay for the tickets, therefore they get the miles
this has never been the case in any of the frequent-travel jobs i have done. maybe it's an american thing.
usually, in a reasonably large company anyway, company travel will be handled by a third party company such as carlson wagonlit. there may be someone within the company who deals with them, in which case they will also probably have their own loyalty scheme. the actual points/miles for flights go to the traveller.
>Or he could just get a job that nets him $500k a year too.
frequent-travel jobs are not necessarily high-paid jobs. my first frequent flyer job was as an IT support person for a company that had several customers in the far east and required onsite support. i think i got paid £30k.
biz class is $5,000 - $10,000 round trip.
Wtf, I got business tickets from Norway to Tokyo for like 2500 Euro.
> Wtf, I got business tickets from Norway to Tokyo for like 2500 Euro.
That’s quite a lot cheaper than average for a biz class long-haul, so you got a good deal. Cheapest I’m getting offered for that route is ~4600, for a pretty crap itinerary with two layovers.
On what airline and at what time of year?
SAS next August over Obon.
Partially explains why. August is one of the worst months to visit Japan. What's your routing and plane type?
Single stop in Copenhagen. First leg A320, long-haul A350-900.
I'll give you that it's not the main travel season to visit Japan. But I've been there in Spring and Fall already.
That's not bad. SAS on the A350 is 1-2-1 with decent Vantage XL seats.
>work in a position that will allow you to fly business without paying for it yourself.
this is generally what i have always done. pre covid anyway, i did a job that involved a lot of travel, plus i'm a contractor so i usually get to book my own flights and reclaim the cost without too many questions about it, as long as i don't overstep the mark. post covid things have not quite returned to normal which is a bit annoying
>Doing that repeatedly will create a reinforcing loop of status and upgrades.
also this. airlines generally like to keep their high status flyers happy. when i had top tier status on a bunch of different airlnes they would send me booklets of vouchers for free upgrades etc.
>Earn enough money to pay for business class tickets without breaking the bank
i do this too
Pretty much this. Start with enough money to be able to buy a business class ticket or two a year, collect miles, and start the self-feeding cycle.
I recently got a british airways amex card, costs £250 per year. It normally comes with 35k sign up bonus avios but using a referral link doubled it to 70k. You also get a companion voucher every year (free cabin upgrade for companion) and 1.5 avios per pound spent on it. It's the only credit card I use so I just do my normal spending on it and I can spend the avios on upgrades and use the companion voucher for my gf. I get to fly for free for work a bit which is often via BA so this makes sense for me, as I collect status and avios through that also.
Is the best idea to simply buy economy, hope it’s oversold so you can upgrade the day-of for like $500?
That's nearly as useful as dressing up and hoping that the lady at the check-in counter will upgrade you.
Upgrade auctions, premium economy and discounted restricted business tickets have nearly dried out the free upgrade market for passengers without status that aren't holding the most expensive economy ticket that nearly costs as much as a restricted business ticket.
The upgrade at checkin method is what I (OP) did
Only plebs buy straight business class tickets, you got put in through a business as a travel expense.
There used to be a ton of +ev to be found in airfare shopping back in the day... not anymore. Best you can do is credit card maxxx and pray for first class
is it dropshipping where you make a sale to a customer- and then you purchase the product that is being sold to them? - but this could be purchased with credit card if the customers purchase is already paying off the credit card - you earn airline points with every sale?
you end up breaking even or losing out with fees
There are many people already doing this. Goog up churning my friend.
I'm not your friend.
Learn to churn credit cards for miles. I've redeemed dozens of business class flights over the years while generally paying minimal taxes and fees outside of a few programs.
Nothing beats an upgraded airline experience you get to see how flying was in the 60s
If you don't have piles of money to burn, business class is a scam. You can get an occasional business class with points upgrades, but you're usually going to be flying economy or economy plus.
yeah, thats the thing. fly economy plus on short domestic flights. build up points/status. when you gotta do a long haul, upgrade. simple as.