Eyeing an upgrade on your next flight but not sure how to hustle for it? There are several ways to land an upgrade, including for free, if you’re strategic about it.
According to an August 2017 poll by MoneySavingExpert website, 61 percent of travelers have received upgrades with “no questions asked,” while 8 percent secured upgrades after they “asked or simply talked them into it.”
So, what’s the secret to a successful upgrade? Here, we unpack some of the best ways to get an upgrade on your flight.
Join an Airline Loyalty Program for Free
Signing up for an airline’s loyalty program is an easy way to increase your chances of landing a free upgrade. Even if you aren’t a frequent flyer and don’t yet have the points to achieve elite status, you could bag an upgrade purely by joining the loyalty scheme, as was the case for some travelers on Reddit.
Reddit user Fitzular said that they “recently got upgraded on a long haul flight for free and I had never flown with the airline before but joined the FF [frequent flyer] club just in case and it worked.”
Echo Wang, the CEO and founder of Cool Travel Vibes, a travel guide/blog, told Newsweek: “Joining the airline’s frequent flyer program is your best bet. Even basic membership gives you a leg up over non-members if free upgrades become available.”
Bid for the Upgrade
Another way to increase your chances of landing an upgrade is to make a bid for it online.
David Ciccarelli, the CEO of Lake, an online vacation rental platform who is a Star Alliance Gold 50K member and Air Canada 75K elite status member, told Newsweek: “Too many people think you can just ask politely and you’ll get an upgrade. But if you want to increase your chances, place a bid online before your flight.”
Most airlines have an online bidding system for flight upgrades and you can either use your credit card, “or better yet, your airline’s frequent flyer points,” to place a bid on the upgrade, he advised.
Giacomo Piva, a travel industry analyst and the co-founder at Radical Storage, a global luggage storage company, told Newsweek that some carriers also offer some last-minute upgrades on their app or via email.
A graphic showing a passenger with an airline worker at a check-in desk, with a plane and woman rolling a suitcase in the backdrop. There are several ways to bag a flight upgrade, even for free, if you’re strategic about it.
Photo-illustration by Newsweek/Getty
Volunteer To Be Bumped Off a Flight
Back in March, a travel influencer revealed how an “overbooked flight can get you a first-class seat” in a viral video shared from his TikTok account @travelingoutofsty.
“If your flight is ever overbooked and they’re offering money for you to take a later flight and you want to take it, you can also ask for a first-class upgrade and a lot of times they’ll give it to you,” he says in the clip.
Be the Last To Check In and Last to Board
Sometimes, when an airline has overbooked their economy class and you’re the last one to be checked-in, “they’ll have no choice but to put you in a higher level,” noted TikTok user LEXY (@lexyrosado0) in a video shared on April 1.
TikToker Robert Berg (@robert_berg) says the same logic applies to boarding a flight.
In a video shared back in January, Berg claimed: “I’ve never paid for a business class ticket in my entire life.”
He explained in the clip that “there’s really no need to first in line when you board the plane…if you wait until the very end, sometimes the plane could be fully booked and when economy is fully booked, they have to put you in business class.”
Ask for the Upgrade in Person
Laura Lindsay, a global travel trends expert at Skyscanner, a travel deals search engine, told Newsweek that asking for an upgrade in-person is “the best way to score the upgrade at no additional cost.” She noted that apps are more likely to prompt consumers to pay for an upgrade based on what seats are available.
“So don’t discount the power of face-to-face human interactions. Don’t be afraid to simply ask for an upgrade—just be polite, respectful and kind,” she said.
…and at the Right Time
Piva said “timing is super important” and passengers should present themselves at the gate “extra early and ask to the gate agent whenever it is possible to have an upgrade.”
Anton Radchenko, the founder and CEO at AirAdvisor, a company helping passengers with claims against airlines for disrupted journeys, told Newsweek that checking in early gives you “a big chance to be bumped up or offered a reduced rate at the desk to upgrade” as soon as a seat opens up.
Arsen Misakyan, the co-founder of LAXcar, an airport car service company, agreed, telling Newsweek that the best time to ask for an upgrade is often while waiting to board, as “gate agents have a clearer picture of available seats and can make last-minute adjustments.”
Luxury travel expert Stephanie Davis told Newsweek: “In my experience, the best strategy is to call the airlines a few days before the flight.” She follows a “trifecta strategy” that gets her an upgrade “80 percent of the time depending on availability,” as outlined below:
- Call the airlines days before your flight and ask about an upgrade. If nothing is available yet, ask to be added to their upgrade waitlist.
- Follow-up online during the 24 hour check-in window. “Usually, 24 hours before departure, airlines offer upgrade deals and rates,” Davis said.
- Ask for an upgrade at the check-in counter and the departure gate.
A stock image of a woman sitting on a private jet with laptop and glass of champagne on a table. “Timing is super important” when it comes to asking for a flight upgrade, a travel expert told Newsweek.
iStock / Getty Images Plus
Look the Part
Jen Ruiz, a travel expert and author of the book 12 Trips in 12 Months, told Newsweek: “Dressing nicely goes a long way. There is a different level of deference for people who appear to be frequent business passengers.”
While dressing well may not guarantee an upgrade, it can help “mark you as suitable” for one, according to a video shared back in December 2021 by Ceara Kirkpatrick, who spoke to a flight attendant during a shared car journey.
Kirkpatrick said the flight attendant told her: “You need to look nice on every single flight. When you check in, they will literally mark you as suitable for upgrade if you look nice, and only if you look nice.
“He said sometimes they’ll upgrade you regardless of status, even if you’ve never flown this airline before, just because you look nice.”
Go Solo
In a survey by Skyscanner, nearly three quarters (72 percent) of cabin crew members said they were more inclined to offer a free upgrade to a passenger flying alone.
Piva explained that “it is easier to upgrade one singular person than a group of people, so you should be able to obtain it if you are on your own.”
Travel Off-Peak
Flying during less busy times increases the likelihood of available upgrade seats. Misakyan noted: “Statistics show that flights on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays have 20 percent more available upgrade seats compared to peak days.”
A stock image of a smiling woman sitting on a plane with her legs stretched out while using a laptop. Being the last to check in or board a flight may increase your chances of bagging an upgrade, in the event that economy class seating is overbooked.
iStock / Getty Images Plus
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
