Many of us dream of traveling in business class but never do it because of the price. Everybody wants to enjoy free food, free cocktails, ample legroom, and the extra privacy business class offers but only a few can make their dreams come true.

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The good news is that you can sometimes upgrade to business class without spending as much money as you would have expected. Airlines always want to get maximize their income from each flight that occurs and that can mean offering last-minute deals to try and fill any unsold business class seats. These impressive deals are available if you know where to find them and are willing to check regularly for deals.

Let’s dive into the details of how you can upgrade to a business class seat.

Search for Discount Tickets

If you’re searching for cheap upgrades on the airline’s website, you’re just wasting your time. You need to explore third-party websites to find such kind of deals. Many websites organize online auctions for business class seats where you can place your bid if you’ve already purchased the economy class ticket. Don’t think you’d win the game on your first attempt because there are many others who want to enjoy the leisure of business class.

Make sure that you do not exceed your budget while placing a bid on these sites. In some cases, you may be able to upgrade to the business class for an additional cost of only $78.

These websites put the business class seats on auction up to a week before the flight. Most often, your bid will have to be made at least 72 hours before your flight and you will find out if you have won the auction 24 to 48 hours before your flight departs.

Search for One-Way Flights

When you choose a round-trip flight, it can be difficult to get a discount on business class. Therefore, you may want to consider choosing one-way flights for your trip. In some cases, you’d only have to pay a minimal upgrade cost on one way flights if you make a last minute bid.

The key to using the one-way flight strategy is to be flexible in when you are booking. Business travellers tend to travel most often on Mondays and Fridays, so avoid traveling these days as much as possible if you are looking for a deal. Instead try and travel on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday so there will be less competition for those limited business class seats. Less competition is more likely to mean better opportunities to find deals.

Search Deals on Less Known Airlines

If you’re traveling with popular airlines, it will be harder to find amazing discounts on business class flights. There are several low-cost airlines that offer the same features but they aren’t as well known and don’t have as many business travellers on them.

Many people don’t look at these low-cost airlines like Icelandair, Aero Mexico and Turkish Airlines. If you want to get an amazing deal for business class, you should consider booking a trip on these airlines.

These airlines have a reputation for offering impressive deals on business class flights. As a result, they have developed a loyal following of savvy travellers who enjoy a premium flying experience that does not cost a fortune.

Use Loyalty Points for Free Upgrades

Any frequent traveler should already be a member of their favorite airline’s frequent flyer program. They offer incredible perks that can help you get things such as free tickets, free business class upgrades, free first class upgrades and lounge access.

There are two main ways to accumulate loyalty points that you can use to upgrade your ticket from economy to business class. The first is fly more. By booking all of your travel with the same airline your will reach higher status tiers in the loyalty program and this will accelerate the rate at which your earn points. The second is to sign up for a credit card that helps you earn points with every purchase you make.

Once you have accumulated enough points simply use them to get a free business class upgrade.

Search Online for Discounted Upgrades

The airlines usually don’t make big announcement about their business class discounts. Instead, customers need to be prepared to find these deals on their own. Some websites worth visiting before making a business class purchase include BusinessClassGuru.com and BusinessClassConsolidator.com.

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The main key to finding the best business class deals is to “Search, Search, and Search”. These deals are limited and they often get snapped up right away by people who are constantly searching for the new deals that airlines release. Explore the internet like a hawk and you are likely to find the best deals for your needs.

You must be very careful while making a decision because different websites will post different rates for the exact same flight. So, the best way to find the most affordable deal is to compare the prices offered by different sites. Thus, you’d be able to find the best deals available on the market.