Business class cabins offer an elevated travel experience, with spacious seats, premium dining, and lounge access on international flights. But this comfort often comes at a steep price, costing 2-5X the price of an economy-class ticket. Luckily, you don’t have to pay through the roof to experience business class on domestic or international routes. There are plenty of ways to score these seats at a substantial discount, both on points and cash.
While business class fares vary greatly depending on the route, airline, and season, there are ways to book these flights for less. To help you score a great deal on your next trip, here’s everything you need to know about booking business class seats for less.
Table of contents
How much do business class flights typically cost in cash?
Many factors affect business class fares, including travel dates, routes, and airlines. However, here’s a general overview of average roundtrip business class fares you can expect to pay between regions:
- U.S. to Europe: $3,000 to $5,000
- U.S. to Asia: $3,500 to $6,000
- U.S. to Australia: $4,000 to $7,000
- U.S. to South America: $2,500 to $4,500
- U.S. to Middle East: $3,500 to $6,000
- U.S. to Africa: $2,400 to $6,800
How much do business class flights typically cost in points?
Award fares can vary as much as cash fares, but here are some general ranges for roundtrip flights from major U.S. airports.
- U.S. to Europe: 70,000-160,000 points
- U.S. to Asia: 120,000-300,000 points
- U.S. to Australia: 160,000-400,000
- U.S. to South America: 70,000-220,000 points
- U.S. to Middle East: 160,000-300,000
- U.S. to Africa: 120,000-220,000 points
These ranges are approximate and can vary depending on when you’re flying and which airports you’re traveling between. Additionally, fluctuations in fuel prices can impact the cost of business-class airfare. To find business class fares at the lower end of these ranges, consider the following tips:
1. Be as flexible as possible
Flexibility in your travel dates, departure airport, and destination is key to finding cheap business class flights. Flying during off-peak dates often gets you the lowest fares. Additionally, being flexible with your departure airports and destination can open up fantastic deals.
2. Consider connecting to a larger airport for your long haul.
Positioning flights involve taking a separate flight to a major hub where international flights are cheaper and/or more plentiful.
For example, if you’re based out of San Francisco (SFO), you’ll often find cheaper business class fares out of Los Angeles (LAX). By booking a separate connecting flight to Los Angeles, you might save hundreds of dollars on airfare. While this requires extra planning, the savings can be substantial.
3. Consider a mixed-fare trip.
Combining different cabin classes in one trip can help you save on airfare without sacrificing comfort on the longer segments. For example, you can book an itinerary with business class for the longer segment and economy class for the shorter one. Or maybe you can fly business class one way and economy on the return. By mixing cabins on a single itinerary, you can fly business class where it matters the most and save on premium airfare.
4. Book at the right time.
Timing is crucial when booking flights. A recent Expedia report indicates that booking international flights on Sundays can save travelers up to 17%, and flying on a Thursday can result in savings of up to 15%. These findings applied to both economy and business class flights, so these dates are worth keeping in mind when you’re booking travel. When it comes to booking tickets with points, it’s usually best to book as soon as possible. Most airlines release award availability between 328 and 362 days before departure, while a few release last-minute award space two weeks out. Booking as soon as seats are released means you’ll have the most availability to choose from.
5. Upgrade with cash or bid for an upgrade.
Many airlines allow travelers to upgrade or bid with cash. These upgrades typically become available within a few days of departure. After purchasing an economy-class ticket, check the airline’s website for upgrade offers. Some airlines allow travelers to bid for upgrades, while others will offer upgrades at a set price. The exact cost varies by airline and route.
For example, I once received a $180 upgrade offer on a Sacramento (SMF) to Chicago (ORD) flight on American Airlines, while a Turkish Airlines agent offered me a business class upgrade on an Istanbul (IST) to San Francisco (SFO) segment for around $500. While upgrading with points is an option, it often doesn’t provide the best value compared to cash upgrades or booking a business class seat entirely on points.
6. Set alerts for specific routes.
You can save on business class fares by using fare alert tools to monitor price changes on your preferred route. Several websites and apps can notify you when prices drop, allowing you to secure cheap business-class fares.
Google Flights has a price-tracking tool that notifies you when the price of a selected route drops. Expedia recently introduced a new price-tracking tool on its website. Both tools are free to use and are great ways to find cheap business-class flights when paying cash.
7. Hope for a mistake fare.
Every once in a while, airlines publish a fare that is significantly lower than usual. These mistake fares are rare and disappear quickly, but they can be a terrific opportunity to book business-class flights cheaply. Years ago, I scored a business-class ticket on Hong Kong Airlines for just $500 roundtrip.
You can find out about cash mistake fares through services like Airfarewatchdog, The Flight Deal, Thrifty Traveler Premium, and others. While some of these are paid services, Airfarewatchdog and The Flight Deal publish many mistake fares on their social media accounts.
8. When it comes to points, you’ll save by booking with the airline.
Redeeming points for a business class ticket directly through an airline loyalty program is often cheaper than redeeming through credit card travel portals. Your points are worth 1-1.5 cents each through these travel portals, so a $5,000 roundtrip business class ticket to Europe will cost a whopping 333,333-500,000 points.
But by transferring points to an airline program, you can often book that same flight to Europe for around 100,000-160,000 miles.
9. Compare your points options across programs.
Different loyalty programs have varying redemption rates for the same flights. It’s worth comparing multiple programs to find the best deal – especially if you’re transferring points from a program like Amex Membership Rewards or Chase Ultimate Rewards.
For example, United Airlines charges 80,000 miles one way for a business-class flight between New York and Paris in March. Meanwhile, Air Canada Aeroplan requires just 70,000 miles each way for the same flight. By transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards to Aeroplan vs United MileagePlus, you’ll save 20,000 miles on a roundtrip flight (more if Chase is offering a transfer bonus).
10. Book one of these tried and true routes.
Certain routes are known for offering consistently reasonable business class fares, largely due to the abundance of flight options and airlines competing for business. If you want to save on business class tickets, consider the following routes:
- Los Angeles (LAX) to Tokyo (NRT): $2,660-$4,580
- New York (JF) to Paris (CDG): $1,840-$3,770
- Miami (MIA) to Bogota (BOG): $868-$1,340
- Chicago (ORD) to Frankfurt (FRA): $2,660-$3,510
Where to find cheap business class flights
Whether you’re looking to pay cash or redeem points, there are several tools to help you find cheap business-class flights. point.me is an excellent tool if you want to find the cheapest business class fares using points and miles. The free version lets you search for cheap award flights using the “Explore” function, which is perfect if you’re flexible with your travel dates. You can set your home airport and a range of travel dates and sort the result by cheapest or quickest flights.
The Standard and Premium plans provided added benefits like real-time award availability, step-by-step booking instructions (including which program to use for the lowest rates), as well savings on concierge services – ideal if you want someone else to do all the research and booking for you.
For paid business-class deals, Google Flights is the most comprehensive tool. It lets you set price alerts and search for the cheapest flights between cities six months out. You can even use the “Explore” tool to look for the cheapest flights out of a specific airport to any destination. If you do have a destination and dates in mind, you can use the calendar to see if moving your travel plans by a few days can result in cheaper fares.
Lastly, you can sign up for mistake fare alerts through sites like Airfarewatchdog and The Flight Deal, among others. In addition to signing up for email alerts, you can opt-in for text notifications to make sure you don’t miss out on a great mistake fare. Remember, mistake fares are few and far between. Plus, the airline might not honor it. So, if you do find a great fare, book it immediately, but hold off on making any other nonrefundable travel bookings. The last thing you want is to lose out on thousands of dollars in hotel bookings because the fare wasn’t honored.
Bottom line
While the word “cheap” is relative, it’s possible to find business class flights at a discounted price – regardless of whether you’re using points or cash. If you’re flexible and patient and utilize the right tools, you can find a great deal and travel in comfort.
By planning ahead and keeping up with the latest offers, you can be on your way to a nice lie-flat seat on an international flight (and maybe even pay less than some people did for coach).
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