What if there were a simple, straightforward way to secure business-class seats without paying thousands of dollars?
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Welcome to the magic of bid upgrades.
Bid upgrades allow you to submit a bid for unused business class seats on long-haul and/or international flights from major airlines. It’s not foolproof, it’s not always cheap, and there’s no guarantee that you’ll submit the right bid to win the seat… but it’s the most accessible way for the average traveler to sink into one of those large, wide business class seats.
Ready to learn the basics of how to bid on business class seats—even if you’re not an airline member and never plan to be? Here’s how to do it in five easy steps.
How to bid on business class seats with airlines: the basics
Before I lay out how to bid on business class seats, let’s cover the basics. You’ve probably booked a flight before, then been prompted to bid on an upgrade—that’s exactly how you can nab upgraded seats without paying business class fare.
First, I recommend researching the airline that you’re booking with. Most legacy airlines, from KLM to Delta, allow you to bid on upgrades when booking economy class seats. However, some flights, routes, and even time periods might not be eligible. US airlines don’t always allow upgrades, for example, but most international airlines do.
Second, I recommend having a bid amount in mind. First, you need to pay for an economy seat (I’ll dig into this below), then you’ll submit a bid later on. The majority of travelers who bid on business class upgrades have a firm limit in mind of what they’d be willing to pay.
Now onto the good stuff.
How to bid on business class seats with airlines in five easy steps
Step 1: Double-check availability
Make sure the airline that you want to book with allows bids to upgrade to business class. The easiest way to do this is to simply Google your airline, then ‘bid upgrade portal’. You should see a link that brings you to a bidding page.
Step 2: Book your economy class ticket
After you’ve verified that the airline lets you bid on a business class upgrade, buy your economy ticket. Again, you might want to look at the fine print—many airlines now offer multiple economy ticket tiers that come with specific conditions. The lowest economy fare may prevent you from bidding on upgrades. You might need to buck up for economy premium, in some cases.
Step 3: Wait until 72 hours before your flight
Here’s the catch: You can only bid on business class upgrades after an airline knows how many seats will be open. Most airlines let you enter the bidding portal within 72 hours of your flight. There, you can follow the airline’s instructions on how to submit a bid. Most are very straightforward.
Step 4: Finalize your bid
Airlines all have a minimum bid for their business class seats. Usually, the lower the minimum, the more seats are open—which is a great sign for you. I recommend upping your bid from the minimum, depending on your budget.
Remember: it’s a good idea to have a firm limit when considering a bid, but going even $1-5 over that minimum bid amount can sometimes yield great results. If you really want to guarantee your spot in that business seat, feel free to bid higher.
Step 5: Wait for the airline’s decision
Airlines will alert you 24 hours before your flight whether or not the bid was accepted. If you don’t receive an email or text alerting you to the airline’s decision, log in to the portal. You should see your upgraded ticket there—or not.
