How you could upgrade to first class on a flight

Free upgrades to first class aren’t as common as they once were. But savvy fliers might still find ways to upgrade their flights to reach cruising altitude in style.

What you’ll learn:

• Using credit card miles can be one of the most straightforward ways of upgrading to first class on a flight.

• Joining an airline loyalty program could also help you maximize rewards and earn upgrades. 

• If you’re paying for a first-class upgrade, using a credit card could help you earn rewards on your purchase.

• Booking travel through a card issuer’s travel portal could offer the opportunity to earn elevated rewards.

There’s no guaranteed way to get a flight upgrade. But using and combining some of the tips below might help you find a seat at the front of the plane.

Using credit card miles is one way to avoid paying out of pocket for first- or business-class upgrades. But the number of miles required for an upgrade can change based on your card, the flight or the airline.

Capital One travel credit cards let cardholders earn unlimited miles. And when it comes time to book your travel, you can redeem miles for flights, hotels, vacation rentals and car rentals. 

Not all airlines use the same name for first class. But Capital One Travel makes it easy to compare with universal categories ranging from basic to luxury.

Some credit cards offer another way to help pay for a first-class upgrade: travel credits.

For example, Venture X cardholders get a $300 annual travel credit to use for bookings through Capital One Travel. There’s also the potential to use the credit in tandem with the card’s 10,000 anniversary bonus. New cardholders can also earn 75,000 bonus miles. Put them all together, and you could have flexible benefits to put toward an upgrade.

Joining a loyalty program can offer rewards for flying with an airline, shopping with airline partners and more. Earning enough rewards could even put you into an elevated, or elite, status with the airline. And some airlines reward elite members with free upgrades.

Using credit card rewards in combination with elite status could offer a potential way to upgrade too. 

Capital One travel cardholders can move their rewards to miles transfer partners.

Airlines sometimes offer incentives to passengers who agree to give up a seat on an oversold flight and volunteer to be booked on a later flight. In exchange, a passenger might be rewarded with a travel credit or free upgrade that could be put toward a future first-class flight.

It’s hard to plan for bumps. And offers might differ from one airline to another or might go up as a flight’s takeoff time draws closer. For example, an initial offer might be $250 but may rise to $500 if no one accepts the lower incentive.

The Department of Transportation offers some tips on what to do if you think it’s worth giving up your seat.

Close to the time a flight is set to depart, an airline might cut the price of a first-class upgrade to fill the first-class cabin with fliers who paid for upgrades rather than those who received complimentary upgrades. Waiting to buy might allow you to take advantage of a less-expensive seat.

If waiting makes you nervous, Capital One Travel can help. When you search for flights, Capital One Travel analyzes billions of data points to predict flight prices. It then gives recommendations on whether to book immediately or wait for a better price.

Credit card miles, travel credits and airline loyalty programs are three paths that could help you land in first class. But travelers may be able to take advantage of other upgrade tricks. 

If you’re looking for a credit card that offers elevated travel rewards designed to take you further, then consider Venture X. In addition to bonus opportunities, you can earn double miles on every purchase and even more on trips through Capital One Travel. That means 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals.