There are two primary ways to sit in first class. The first involves paying for a ticket that typically costs multiple times more than economy, either in dollars or frequent flyer miles.
The other way is to get upgraded for free based on your status in the airline's frequent flyer program. Here is how the major domestic airlines offer seat upgrades. See also: Best Airline Credit Cards. American and US Airways merged several years ago and have now unified their frequent flyer programs under the American AAdvantage brand.
Other than flying, another way to earn elite qualifying miles is with their co-branded credit cards. Delta SkyMiles program offers Medallion elite flyers unlimited complimentary upgrades from fully refundable fares. Get elite status faster with one of the Delta credit cards.
United offers all of its Premier Elite members complimentary upgrades from full fare tickets. You can earn extra miles with one of their United MileagePlus credit cards. Your chances of being upgraded depend on several different factors. First will be the level of elite status you hold, with top tier elites being offered more upgrades than mid and low tier elites. So if you reach that top tier, your chances of regular upgrades are good, but if you just make the lowest tier, you will only rarely be upgraded.
In addition, your travel habits are important. Those who live in a city that is a major hub for their airline will find that there are many elites competing to be upgraded to just a few first class seats, especially at peak business travel times at the beginning and end of the week. However, those who live in smaller cities and travel on routes that are less popular with business travelers will have better luck.
The quickest route to earning points is regularly flying the same airline so begin here. A great place to start is checking if your nearest airport is a hub for any of the airlines you're considering. Partnership programs Some programs offer points through partnerships with other companies like hotels and rideshare programs. Check the partners available with a program to see if there are other services or businesses you use often. Credit cards Airline branded credit cards are another great way to accelerate points earnings but this isn't necessarily something everyone wants to do.
Airline credit card rewards are more limited on what they can be used for unlike true travel rewards credit cards. Credit card points can offer a boost but will never compare to the earnings potential of flying regularly, and in some cases you may be better off earning separate travel rewards with a top rated travel rewards credit card. But frequency of travel isn't the only consideration here, think about where you travel. So it's possible that an infrequent international traveler could earn more points than a frequent domestic traveler.
The best strategy to make your frequent flying points worthwhile is to choose one airline and focus on it. Conversely, if you take the same airlines for all 5 of those flights you could have perks and free flights immediately. Two airline frequent flyer programs top our recommendation for business travelers; United MileagePlus and Delta SkyMiles. Both are great for fast earners who can quickly rack up the points with frequent short haul flights.
Earning status in both programs take a lot of segments so it's much more attainable for business travelers who take to the skies regularly. Both programs offer co-branded credit cards that can accelerate points earnings and in some cases get you closer to elite status faster.
If you can attain elite status in either program, a business traveler will really get the best benefits with these programs including frequent seat upgrades and priority boarding. So how do you choose between the two programs? Our recommendation is to base it off which airline is easiest to fly frequently. If your primary airport is not a hub, consider which airport you regularly connect through and see if it's a hub for either Delta or United.
Southwest only offers flights in the US, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean so its destinations are a great fit for travelers who stay domestic or at least in North America.
Their Rapid Rewards program is a good bet for both casual and frequent travelers. Because Southwest is a budget airline there are fewer frills. If rapid earning potential and easy redemption is important, Rapid Rewards is a great option. There are no blackout dates on points and they never expire. Plus redemptions start incredibly low for many US destinations, perfect for long weekends out of town. There are fewer perks with the Rapid Rewards program but you can easily accelerate your earnings with a Visa branded credit card.
Just keep in mind both those programs are more beneficial for frequent travelers. Miles never expire so if you only take a few trips a year you can take your time accruing miles. We love the SkyMiles program because the points really rack up for long haul flights so it doesn't take many international trips before you have enough points for a free flight. The SkyTeam global alliance means miles can be earned and redeemed with over 20 international partner airlines with destinations around the world.
The SkyMiles program is consistently rated highly for additional perks and benefits including easy redemption of rewards flights. The benefits are especially favorable if you can get elite status for free upgrades and checked bags. Earning elite status does take a lot of segments and it is really only realistic for a casual traveler when coupled with a co-branded credit card.
American Airlines AAdvantage program is our top recommendation for digital nomads. Your email address will not be published. Find out more or adjust your settings. This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings. If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again. Skip to content. The Points King. Delta Airlines Sky Miles Delta has one of the best programs because their miles never expire. United Airlines — Mileage Plus If you want to fly to more international destinations, the Mileage Plus program is one of the best since it covers 1, destinations.
How are airline miles worth calculated? Sell airline miles vs cash back credit cards — pros and cons. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published.
0コメント