How to Purchase First Class Tickets Cheaply

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Like so many travelers flying overseas for a hiking expedition or international sports event, you may find the thought of sitting through a five- or six-hour coach flight to Europe more than you can handle. With so many promotional rates winding up on the Web and airlines offering more and more reduced first-class seats, you can find your next airfare from a number of sources at the cheapest rate possible.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

Frequent flyer miles Upgrade ticket
Frequent flyer miles
Upgrade ticket

Step 1

Travel during the off-season for the lowest first-class rates. Contact the tourism bureau in the country where you will be traveling to find out when tourism is low. When traveling to Europe, for example, leave in September to arrive during the off-season. Airlines frequently offer discounts during the off-season to drum up sales.

Step 2

Travel during the weekday to get the lowest priced domestic first-class tickets. Travel between Tuesday and Thursday, the slowest travel days within the week, to take advantage of reduced fares. Monday, Friday and Sunday are the most popular travel days.

Step 3

Purchase your first-class ticket on Sunday evening or Monday afternoon. According FareCompare.com CEO Rick Seaney, airlines offer the best deals then because airlines know "the busiest airline ticket shopping days are Monday through Wednesday during daytime hours, which allows them to maximize the marketing impact of their sales."

Step 4

Purchase a consolidator airfare. Consolidator airfares are available for national and international flights and are discounted because they are purchased in bulk and then sold to travelers at a discounted rate.

Step 5

Purchase an upgrade. Redeem frequent flyer miles for a coach flight and then upgrade to first class. Depending on your departure and arrival cities and the airline with which you will be flying, you could end up only paying an additional $150 for the first class upgrade. Doing so could save you from paying around $1200 for a first class flight, to just paying $300 for the coach flight and $150 for the upgrade. Upgrades can only be applied at the ticket counter on the day of your flight, so you cannot obtain an upgrade until this time.

Step 6

Contact the airport and ask about its fare code. This policy allows travelers to purchase a coach-class ticket with first-class seating privileges. In other words, you are allowed to purchase a non-refundable, full-fare coach seat, but you are actually given a first-class seat. Availability will determine if this can be arranged.

Step 7

Search eBay, look in travel forums, and check out classified ads for travelers selling upgrades for commercial carriers.

Tips & Warnings

Check in early.

Always comparison shop.

Resources

First Class Travel Tips

Article Written By Charlie Gaston

Charlie Gaston has written numerous instructional articles on topics ranging from business to communications and estate planning. Gaston holds a bachelor's degree in international business and a master's degree in communications. She is fluent in Spanish and has extensive travel experience.

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