Flying in Business Class is a dream reserved for fews.
Or at least, this is what it looks like apparently. Because if you’re a frequent traveller, you could be wasting some good opportunities to travel in Business Class and, in some cases, even FOR FREE.
In this post, we will analyze together what is Business Class, some features, tips and the opportunities connected with it.
This is probably one of the the most valuabe post I’ve written. Would you mind sharing it? It would be really appreciated 🙂
Are you ready? Let’s begin!
After reading this, you will be able to easily take advantage of many discounts and offers that flying companies give to frequent travellers, but that are not so clear at first sight.
Flying business: the experience and main features.
Even though till some years ago Business Classes were considered middle-level (between Economy and First Classes), nowadays almost all companies offer a high-level of service that is very similar in both. First Class is best known for his high-privacy feature.
These days, almost every company offers a premium experience, focused on giving the best customer experience in the market.
Main features of the experience
Before we discover how to take advantage of the opportunities at our disposal, I want to give you a taste of the features that comes along with most of the Business Experiences.
#1 The Chauffeur Service
If you’re an entrepreneur/businessman you will be delighted to know that one of the main objectives of the Business Class Experience is time saving.
So you’re at home and ready to go, and just by your front door stands a chauffeur that will take you to the airport. This is really good if you don’t want to waste any minute finding a spot in the parking lot.
You will arrive at the nearest point to your check-in desk.
#2 Fast Tracking and moving to the Lounge
After you passed the controls rapidly with fast-tracking, you can move straight to the Business Lounge, an area where you can relax, work with free Wi-Fi, and sometimes even take a shower while you wait your boarding time.
This area is great if you are a remote worker or a digital nomad, especially when your flight is delayed or if you have some time that would otherwise be wasted.
You can also eat if you’re hungry, and generally the restaurants in the lounges are really good.
In some airports you can board directly from the lounge, that is a really great thing if you want to avoid running and long lines. In some cases, you will enter directly in the aircraft.
#3 Cabin Features
Travelling in Business Class is really comfortable, whether you have work to do or simply want to relax during your flight.
As the name suggests, the main features of the in-flight experience have to do with working environment and commodities.
Many of the leading companies offer everything you can think of: a seat that turns into bed (in some cases even with massage function!); a large table to work on; a mini-bar you can use anytime; a TV screen that you can also take to your hands with entertainment system that includes movies, documentaries, games, music, news and even live sporting events; on-board Wi-Fi, sockets to charge your phone and laptop/tablet and the possibility of tasting very good cuisine.
#4 Eating up in the sky
Whenever you have a hole in your stomach, you can order your meal on demand.
Normally the main airline companies have multiple choice of food, specialties either from the destination country or from the departure one.
There will be a menu “Ã la carte” where you can choose from a great selection of starters, main courses and desserts.
Naturally, you can also choose what to drink: from non-alcoholic drinks to exclusive wine and liquors, and you will always have a person at your disposal to help you with your choices.
#5 Socialize above the clouds
My favourite part.
In many companies’ aircrafts, if you’re flying in Business Class there’s a lounge area where you can eat and drink, but more importantly meet and talk with other people, just like you would do in a bar.
It is also good for networking and discussing business with colleagues or newly acquired friends. You will almost forget you are on an airplane. (Who knows, you may even close an important deal!)
Tips, tricks and advices to take advantage of all the Business Class’ opportunities
Ok, at this point you have discovered the main features of this experience.
Now you want to know how to LIVE it. And I’m here to help you find opportunities to do so.
As I said in the beginning, in some cases you can even fly in Business Class FOR FREE.
“C’mon Erik, FOR FREE?! Do you think I’m stupid?
Of course not. Follow my steps and I will show you what I mean.
In short terms, the “big secret” is to be constantly aware of what airline companies are offering when talking about frequent flyer programs, fidelity points, membership rewards et cetera.
Essentially, what I’m talking about (and you’ve almost certainly heard of them), are airline flight miles. Plus, of course, some other tips and tricks you can use.
So what are airline miles specifically?
It’s very simple: when we register on a company’s fidelity program, we’ll get an amount of miles for each flight we buy, and we can use these “points” to obtain a discount or even fly for free, depending on the quantity of miles you have and the flight you wanna buy.
This is all most people know about the argument, so now I want to clarify some things that are not so clear in this area.
So let’s get more into the tips.
Tip #1: alliances of the skies
You must know that flying companies also regroup under some “bigger brands”, a kind of alliance between them. These are, in a few words, fidelity programs that work for more companies at once.
For example, if you fly with Singapore Airlines and get 4000 miles, you can use those same miles to get a discount for a flight with Turkish Airlines, since they are part of the same big group (that in this case is Star Alliance).
So, if you’re a frequent flyer, sign up to a program and try to fly always with companies that are part of that program.
The two biggest flying alliances are SkyTeam and Star Alliance.
Another advantage of saving airline miles, beside discounts and upgrades, is that you can rise in category. Each company have different customer levels, and each level has his own benefits (the higher the level, the more the benefits).
Tip #2: alliances of the ground
Airline companies aren’t the only one that make alliances.
Also the hospitality industry forms a similar kind of partnerships you can use at your own benefit. So, just as I said above, you should try to choose accomodations belonging to the same group, to be able to collect points. Moreover, you can convert these points in airline miles.
This way, if you plan carefully, you can choose airline and hospitality companies that fit your needs and also help you save money on the road (and fly or sleep for free!).
Some examples of hotel fidelity programs are Marriot Rewards and Hilton Honors.
Tip #3: what you buy gives you wings
This is gold.
Not many people know that a lot of credit cards also have membership programs. And the points you earn in those programs can be converted in miles.
For example, some credit cards gives you a point for each dollar you spend. If you think about it, this is a huge advantage for entrepreneurs or businessmen that have to handle a company or high-budget projects.
Let’s say you have a company and you register to a credit card membership program. If you have to invest 400.000$ and you use your credit card, you’ll receive about 400.000 points that can be converted into 300.000 miles (this is just an example, it may vary depending on the program). You can agree that it is a lot of free flights/benefits.
Tip #4: and if I’m not an entrepreneur?
I have a tip also for those who don’t have to deal with great amounts of money and therefore don’t have the opportunity to collect a lot of miles.
You have to be alert for opportunities to “unlock bonuses” by opening credit cards.
What I mean is that there are a lot of credit card companies that give you bonus points when you open a new credit card, especially in some periods of the year, when they’re promoting offers.
It works this way: if I’m registered to a credit card membership program and I give my referral code to you, you can use it to open a new credit card and you and me will gain bonus points.
Some companies also give you bonus points when you spend a certain amount of money within the first months you opened the card.
Bonus tip: 2 birds with 1 stone
If you’ve paid attention to this post, you should have already guessed the last tip I’ll give you today.
In fact, it is simple as that: you combine tips #1 and #2 with tip #3 and you’ll have your magic potion.
Let’s say you buy a flight with Singapore Airlines, a room with the Hilton Honors program and you pay everything with the credit card registered to the membership program.
Bingo! Besides getting points from both the fidelity programs, you’ll also get the points from those purchases thanks to your credit card, so you will basically double the points!
That’s it.
I’m really happy to have shared these little “pills” with you, and if you know other tips or have more informations, please share it with us in the comments!
What do you say you share this post in your social channels? It would mean a lot to me 🙂
A big hug,
Erik Cargnoni