9 Tips to Help You Get a Free Flight Upgrade
You have tried it all: unbuttoning your shirt, casually mentioning a sister in airline management and even throwing a hissy fit, but you just can’t seem to get your hands on that free flight upgrade.
Good news, we have compiled a list of GOOD tips that with a little bit of luck, just might work. And no you won’t have to risk a night in jail to try them out.
So stop showing that (excess of) skin, lose the nepotist approach and restrain the three year old in you – there ARE better ways to inch closer to business class.
1. BE EARLY
The first way to try out is to show up slightly earlier than you would normally. Why? This is because the airline staff usually already knows if passengers need to fill up the empty business class seats several hours before the flight. Thus, if you are among the passengers who show up first, you have a slightly better chance of being offered a free flight upgrade. Sometimes this works if you show up late also due to potential overbooking, but we don’t recommend this as you may end up missing your flight altogether.
2. USE YOUR MILES
You may have not know this but you can actually use your frequent flier miles not just to purchase flights, but pay for upgrades too! For best results, we advise you to check online a couple of days before. Another option is to call the airline and ask.
3. JOIN A LOYALTY PROGRAMME
Sometimes though, it can be enough to be part of the FF club to get offered an upgrade. So if you get a chance to do so, don’t pass it. Airlines are known to give precedence to their loyal customers over the “mere mortals”. It pays to join an elite club!
4. ACT NICELY
Smile doesn’t cost anything and can go a long way. More precisely, all the way to you destination – business class style. You would be surprised how many people forget to just be nice. Admittedly, it’s hard to remember that in this lightspeed world, but perhaps an incentive of more leg space and coddling by the cabin crew can help? If the smile does not cut it, you can go an extra mile, and give a nice tip to the check-in staff.
5. DRESS NICELY
Acting nicely is not the only thing you can do to improve your chances by fine tuning your appearance. Whip out your finest attire (but don’t go overboard – dressing as a pageant queen will just produce puzzled looks and no upgrade) and boldly step in front of the desk. You have a slightly higher chance of getting an upgrade if you look professional, clean and agreeable.
6. CARRY ONLY HAND LUGGAGE
If you travel lightly and don’t require checking-in your luggage, this has a good chance of flagging you as a potential upgrade candidate. This is because a passenger with just hand luggage is much easier to process for the airline than one with 3 different fridge-sized bags. If you have to pack a lot, do so, however, but if you happen to have just the carry-on, do let them know – you might be rewarded.
7. TRAVEL ON YOUR OWN
It’s not a rule of thumb but it could work: traveling solo might open the door to you flying high class. This happen for the simple reason that it’s much easier to upgrade a single passenger than a whole family.
8. MENTION A SPECIAL OCCASION
If you are not alone, and your spouse happen to be near you, you can try dressing up the truth a bit and saying you are going on your second honeymoon or celebrating a big anniversary. Fair warning: some staff might be immune to these claims so you might have to go the more quirky route. Some say they are much more likely to give up an upgrade if you tell them you had a divorce. Hey, it’s worth a shot!
9. JUST ASK
If everything else fails, and only then, just go ahead and ask nicely. It can’t hurt! Some would say that asking is exactly the last thing you should do when seeking an upgrade but if you have tried everything else and didn’t get far, really, there’s nothing else to do. So don’t be afraid and do it.
This article originally appeared on Azure Holidays Blog. To receive future updates to our blog straight in your inbox, sign up here (small gift included).
