How to Fly Business Class For Free Without Any Frequent Flyer Miles, Contacts or Offers…

Bear with me here on the title of this post, as I came across this interesting YouTube video yesterday that claims to teach you how to fly Business Class without any frequent flyer miles, contacts at the airline, or offers…

It almost seems too good to be true.

This really explains the “art of upgrading” from a psychological perspective – in other words, without any control over the situation, Sergi G (the video maker), claims you can win over the agent in getting an upgrade. While most of this video does seem to be a bit “hypothetical,” he’s right in a few regards.

He suggests some things to increase your chances of getting an upgrade:

You need to fly alone.

Forget about hoping for an operational upgrade if you’re traveling as a couple — you need to be on your own individual passenger record and have your own ticket if you want the best chances. He’s right here.

The plane has to be full.

While not always true (sure, you could sweet talk an agent into an upgrade on an empty plane somehow…), he’s mostly right here. If there’s a full plane and things are oversold, they may need to move passengers from economy to business, or business to first. What he doesn’t mention is that this is usually done first to passengers with status, not regular frequent flyer members or the general public.

The mood and timing of the person you speak with.

This is almost always true for any scenario, upgrade or not. Have you ever called an airline and got a grouchy agent on the phone? Hang up – I usually do. Especially if you’re trying to ask for a favor or do something complicated, having a person with a bad day on the other end of the line may not yield the results you’re looking for.

To be honest, I’m not really sure how this guy got upgraded for free without asking for it. He did dress to impress, which helped his cause in some small way, but the way he explains it in the video is that he went up to the counter, confirmed his bulkhead seat, then rummaged through his bag, only to be offered an upgrade moments later. I’m not sure the point of this story, as this seems to be a one off occasion, though he explains it as if he was using a “mind trick” to convince the agent without officially asking her. A bit odd, but glad it worked for him. Can’t really guarantee that same will work for you, though.

What did you make of the video?