I was recently on an international flight that was 100% full and I was in economy class. I didn’t have enough legroom and felt extremely cramped and crowded the entire flight. I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t work; it wasn’t fun.
After this experience, I wish I could get the benefits of elite airline status like free upgrades – even to a higher-class economy ticket with a little more legroom. You can also get this benefit by using airline frequent flyer miles/travel rewards points to purchase an upgrade.
Let’s look at how you can use airline elite status or credit card rewards to enhance your flying experience.
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Airline upgrades: what are they and how do they work?
When you buy a plane ticket, you’re usually required to sit in a specific “class,” or fare class. Most major U.S. airlines offer varying pricing, with more expensive seats like first class or business class toward the front of the cabin and no-frills tickets like basic economy toward the back of the plane.
However, if you have an airline’s elite status, you can move to a better seat or “upgrade” your ticket, often for free. With an airline’s elite status, you may have a better chance of moving to a higher economy seat with more legroom or even getting an upgrade to business class on some flights.
The exact rules vary depending on each airline’s elite status program. Having elite status with airlines doesn’t always automatically give you an upgrade, but having status improves your chances. The higher your status, the more likely you are to be moved to a more comfortable seat on the plane.
How to buy airline upgrades with credit card points
What if you don’t have elite airline status and don’t want to spend enough money (or time in the air) to get it? Good news: You can still get airline upgrades. The best travel rewards credit cards can help you improve your flight experience by purchasing upgrades.
Sometimes the best way to use your travel credit card rewards points is not to buy an airline ticket, but to upgrade an existing reservation. For example, you could buy a full-price economy ticket of $500 with your credit card and later decide to pay a little more to upgrade that ticket to premium economy or business class. Sometimes airlines offer special deals on seat upgrades, especially as the flight date approaches and there are still seats available.
The best way to purchase airplane seat upgrades is often to use travel credit cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, which allows you to transfer credit card points to partner airline frequent flyer programs.
For example, if you have 30,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points on your Chase Sapphire card, you can transfer those points to United MileagePlus® and have those 30,000 points automatically converted into 30,000 frequent flyer miles on United Airlines. You can then use United miles to purchase seat upgrades on eligible United flights.
You can also use cash to purchase airline upgrades. But sometimes credit card points are more valuable than cash. This can be a great way to use any unused credit card points you may have left over. Many airlines also allow you to book upgrades with a combination of cash and miles.
Bottom line
Preferential treatment for free automatic airline upgrades might be one of the best reasons to earn an airline’s elite status. But even if you don’t fly nearly enough to qualify for elite status, you can choose your own “à la carte” airline upgrades using points from your travel credit card and frequent flyer miles from your airline.
I may never fly often enough to become an elite passenger, but from now on I’ll look for ways to pay a little extra—with cash, miles, or both—to get more comfortable seats on long-haul flights. The best credit cards, like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, can help make that travel dream a reality.
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