Fly First Class For Less!

In the recent issue of Departures Magazine they included "The First-Class Travel Handbook", which includes various information about the major airlines and what they are doing with their international first class program, as well as testimonials. The best part of if was a "Fly First Class For Less" section where they tell you how to fly international first class for cheap using airline miles and upgrade techniques. I wanted to share this information with you all, but I must give FULL credit for the information below to Departures Magazine  (9/10) & Gary Walther.

Calculate Return on Miles (ROM)

You can often get more for your miles by using them for a first class ticket rather than a ticket in business class or coach.  There is an easy equation you can use to determine if this is wise: Cost of Miles / Miles Used = Value of a Mile. The article states that if the answer is 2.5 cents or higher (the cost of buying an award mile from most airlines) you should purchase the first class award ticket, as opposed to business class or coach.

Buy Miles

We all know I love American Express with the many benefits they offer the Platinum Card and their outstanding membership rewards program. For most of my domestic flights, I use my America Express points to fly first class. However, if you need to fly international first class, you might not always have the airline miles and/or American Express points needed. According to the article American Express lets you purchase up to 500,000 points per year at 2.5 cents a point, which if you purchased 500,000 that would be $12,500.00. This is often the price of one international first class ticket on a major airline. The article states that if you plan it right, you can often buy several international first class tickets with 500,000 miles, thus a huge savings. This same principle can be used for buying airlines miles from the respective airline. Always calculate your cost per mile and see what the same ticket would cost should you have to pay for it.

Upgrading to First Class

So you may not be able to get the miles needed to purchase an international first class award ticket, but many airlines allow you to upgrade from business class using miles, cash, or a combination. If you plan on going this route, always double check with the airline how much miles/cash they will require for an upgrade from the specific class fare of business class ticket you plan to purchase. Remember, do this research BEFORE purchasing your ticket!

I hope these three tips were helpful, and again full credit goes to Departures Magazine and Gary Walther who authored the article.

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