A woman has shared a clever money-saving hack that has helped her and her partner secure free flight upgrades without having to pay extra for a business-class seat
A woman has revealed her secret to consistently bagging business and first-class seats on flights without paying a penny extra. Travelling is an exhilarating experience, but the discomfort of cramped aeroplane seats can spoil the thrill after just a few hours.
Many holidaymakers dream of the luxury of enjoying champagne in a roomy premium seat with plenty of legroom. Claudia has successfully employed this technique on carriers including Emirates and Qatar Airways, securing complimentary upgrades.
Posting her travel adventures and advice from Thailand on her TikTok account @claudia. louise, w, Claudia remarked: “I always find it crazy when I see people asking for free upgrades on the plane when there’s a much easier way to get free upgrades and you don’t have to embarrass yourself in the process.”
She continued: “Me and my partner have flown business class and even first class multiple times. We have flown business class more than 10 times now, and we have never paid for it.
“We get free upgrades all the time, and in this video, I’m going to tell you how. We’ve now flown on Singapore Airlines, Emirates multiple times, Emirates first class and also Qatar Airways.”
She admits the challenge of returning to economy after countless upgraded journeys, but provides a simple approach to reliably obtain upgrades. According to her advice, securing an Amex credit card is essential.
In a viral video with more than 369,000 views, Claudia explains: “We use American Express, the gold card. And start racking up points. Even when you first sign up you get a bonus offer and you usually get anywhere from 20,000 to 30,000 points. And it only costs 40,000 points for a business-class upgrade.”
Claudia added: “Which means you only have to pay the economy fare and then use your points to upgrade. And then you use your card for spending, for booking trips, for whatever you like, business expenses, whatever it might be. You rack up points over the year so you can upgrade to business class next time you travel.”
Tackling doubts about whether it’s financially worthwhile in the comments, she explained: “It’s free because I’m spending on normal things and racking up points (so I haven’t paid anything extra to get this).”
She wraps up with a money-saving suggestion: “It doesn’t make sense to pay when you can use points. It’s smarter.
“It’s always better to pay with points than pounds!,” one person commented.
Another added: “Exactly! If you’re not using a points card, you’re missing out. I got my round-trip Florida flight covered just from everyday spending-so satisfying!”.
“This is so helpful,” another person commented.
