May 04, 2017

How to Book TWO One-Way Business Class Tickets for Under $100

Yep, it's true. You can fly in the lap of luxury for a fraction of an economy class ticket. If you're like me, sleeping on a plane to Europe is necessary to function like a normal human being when landed. And, if you're even more like me, you CANNOT sleep sitting up straight. Hello business class! Your lie flat seats, Bose noise canceling headphones, and amenity pouches are true lifesavers for the traveler who struggles with traveling. Ok, ok so here's how it's done.

FIND THE BEST CREDIT CARD OFFER

Credit cards aren't for everyone, but if they are, you can rack up major points by charging all monthly expenses to your card and pay it off at the end of the month. Because I have a business, I have personal and business Chase cards that earn points and can be combined to pay for flights or hotels.

Every month credit card companies release bonus sign up offers that are worth your while. In 2015, I joined The Points Guy's newsletter and discovered Chase was offering a 100,000 points sign up bonus for their Chase Sapphire Reserve card. There were several other offers at the time but this was the best because Chase partnered with 11 airlines, which made finding a business class flight much easier. There is an annual fee of $550 BUT the card offers benefits like:

CHASE SAPPHIRE RESERVE

Sign up bonus points (amount varies)
Access to 900+ airport lounges across the world
Global Entry
3x points per dollar on travel and dining out
1 point per dollar on all other purchases
$300 statement credit for travel expenses (groceries during the pandemic)
No blackout dates
No foreign transaction fees
Free Doordash Dash Pass subscription

Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver
Trip Cancellation / Trip Interruption Insurance
Travel and Emergency Assistance Services
Extended Warranty Protection
Purchase Protection
$550 annual fee

With the $300 statement credit, I really only pay $150 a year for all of those amazing benefits. This card was a no brainer for a semi-frequent traveler like me!

Chase often offers better rates when booking travel through their rewards website. I have found that it's best to book hotels through Chase and transfer points to United for flights.

CHASE INK BUSINESS CARD

· 80k at the time of writing this post

3x points per dollar on travel, shipping, internet, cable, phone, and advertising
1 point per dollar on all other purchases
No foreign transaction fees
Trip Cancellation/Trip Interruption Insurance
Roadside Dispatch
Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver
Cell Phone Protection
Purchase Protection
Extended Warranty Protection
$95 annual fee

*** UPDATE *** Since writing this post, the sign up bonus offer for Reserve has dropped to 50,000 points but Preferred is 60,000! Still very good offers on both cards.

DO THE RESEARCH

This is the hardest part and can be time consuming but it's worth the effort. Before you sign up for a card, make sure the airline(s) associated with the card offers business class flights on your travel dates. This can be easily checked with most airlines by searching your dates and clicking reward/award/miles etc. I also find it helpful to look at the monthly calendar option for each airline if my dates are flexible. You might find your business class seat a day earlier, later, or even in a different month. Here, I searched United Airlines for JFK (New York) to CDG (Paris) on June 13th but found award saver business class seats in July for 70k miles and only a $17.40 surcharge.

DON'T FRET

Finding the ideal flight takes time. JFK offers the best outbound flight options, but some of us don't live anywhere near New York City. No worries, business class flights can be found from most major airports. I'm from Dallas and recently flew business class from DFW on Lufthansa for 70k miles. Finding that elusive flight took a couple months of research, though. At first, I couldn't find any business class flights from DFW with only 1 stop (nonstops from DFW are even more elusive). I ended up booking a flight from YUL (Montreal) to PMI (Palma de Mallorca) with a stop in FRA (Frankfurt). Since that was the best option at the time, I booked it and planned to book a separate flight from DFW to YUL and spend a day or two in Montreal. But I didn't give up on DFW. Even after booking the flight, I kept searching DFW to PMI. A month after booking the Montreal flight... BAM! A flight from DFW to PMI opened up with business class seats with only one stop in FRA. There was a $75 change fee per ticket, which wasn't ideal, but it saved us airfare to Montreal plus hotel. Worth it!

GET CREATIVE

If you absolutely can't find a flight out of your local airport, search other airports. While searching flights from your local airport, keep an eye on where the planes are connecting. This could be a good place to start for searching other airports. For example, if there is a business class flight from DFW with 2 connections (not ideal!) in JFK and CDG before arriving in PMI, try searching DFW to CDG or JFK to PMI. Both of these options would require booking separate flights and rechecking in to the airport but you could add the destination to your trip to break up the travel time. A night or two in Manhattan or Paris wouldn't be so bad! If this is an option for you, search airports where you wouldn't mind staying a night.

BOOKING THE RETURN FLIGHT

So you found the perfect one-way business class flight but WAIT! Before you book, search your return flight options. Even with 100,000 miles, you'll likely have to book the return flight in economy. I know, whomp whomp. You might have found a business class flight for 65k or 70k miles but the return flight may be 45k+ and you either won't have enough miles or you'll have to buy miles. Buying miles isn't the worst plan but it can be costly if you need 10k+ miles. I often find economy tickets for 30k miles. Use the same tactics from above and you'll be set!

BONUS

Business class flights allow you access to the airline's lounge before the flight. Lounges vary but they typically offer complimentary food, beverages, and alcohol. Score! Also, if you book business class and you are gluten free, be sure to reserve your GF meal at the time of booking or anytime before the flight to guarantee they have the meal for you.

Lufthansa Business Class - Airbus A330-300 V2

Booked with United Airlines Mileageplus.

If you don't mind having a credit card or two, you can certainly fly business class with the bonus points at sign up and a few more earned points from purchases. You'll be flying in style in no time. Happy traveling!