Is it game over when there’s only one mileage seat? No!
You don’t need me to tell you that finding mileage award seats is tough in Business and First Class. It’s mostly what you tell me. I get it, it’s a challenge for me too, despite the fact that it’s what I do for a living. But, it’s not impossible, even when you want to travel up front with a loved one to share the experience. Let’s look at 13 ways to win this high-stakes game of musical chairs.
1. Start with One
Most travelers search for mileage award seats based on the number of people they’re flying with. Of course, right? No! At FCF, we start by searching for one seat only. When that’s spotted, we search for the next seat. That’s because when you look for two seats (or more), you won’t see the one-seat availability options, which means you’ll find much less availability. Or the per-seat cost is much more (we look at a sweet workaround this month, right here). It’s a website design thing I’d love to change, but that’s for another day.
Singapore Airlines typically only releases one First Class award seat at a time, but their seats gradually become available right up to departure time. And they’re not the only airline to do so. So when you do get that precious award seat, it doesn’t mean you won’t get another; you just have to play the musical chairs game and wait. Then when the music stops, slam your patootie down on that seat (knowing another may open up, as well)!
2. Upgrade Closer to Departure
It’s a travel truth: award space tends to open up as the day of departure approaches. So that means you need to keep your eyes on the prize to win. You need to get Alexa to remind you to keep checking availability because it’s always changing. For example, Etihad usually only opens up award space to partners two or so weeks before departure for First Class, which even holds true for flights to regions such as the South Pacific.
3. Bigger Is Better
This is basic math, but the bigger the airplane or cabin, the more chance of getting more than one mileage seat. For example, look at the Los Angeles-Frankfurt route on Lufthansa. Lufthansa offers a nonstop flight on an A340-600 aircraft that has 44 to 56 Business Class seats, and a B747-8 aircraft that has 80 Business Class seats. Those extra 36 seats increase your odds of low-cost mileage award availability quite a bit.
4. Take an Earlier or Later Flight
Let’s say you’re flying from New York to Paris. There’s a flight that departs at 4:30 p.m. and another at 6:30 p.m. Is it the end of the world if you and your traveling companion split up, each scoring a mileage seat on separate flights? Not necessarily. “Save me a seat at Café de Flore for breakfast. Order me a croissant with butter and jam!”
5. Travel a Day Earlier or Later
Sometimes a little flex can pay off big. Tom has a meeting in London on Wednesday, July 31. Natural instincts say to fly into London the day before. But that would mean missing out on a great opportunity. Namely, a First Class award ticket on July 29 for just 72,000 miles versus a Business Class award on July 30 for 136,500 miles. Look at it this way: You are getting an upgrade and the airline is inviting you to see some London sights before your meeting with not a lot of miles. If at all possible, I’d accept that invitation!
6. Check for Upgrades
Even if you only score one seat as an upgrade you’re still ahead by earning miles and spending fewer miles. You can grab another seat in Business Class for cash. Hang in there, you can always upgrade closer to your travel date.
7. Concentrate on the Long-Haul Segment
If you’re traveling internationally from a smaller U.S. city, concentrate on the long-haul flight. Say you live in Boise and are going to London via Dallas, the important seats are the ones on the long Dallas-to-London leg. Prioritize the flight segments you want to be most comfortable on even if it means flying in economy from Boise to Dallas.
8. Connect the Dots
If you’re traveling internationally from a hub city, try looking for flights from a nearby smaller departure city or to a nearby destination. You can sometimes find award seats on connecting flights for quite a bit less.
9. Buy One Ticket With Cash
If all else fails, get the other seat with cash and you’re still 50% ahead.
10. Grab One Seat in First and One in Business
If two people are traveling, grab the one award seat you found in First and then search in Business Class, as it tends to have better availability. Then grab that seat too, which gives you a few choices:
- You can toss a coin to see who gets to sit in First (are you feelin’ lucky?)
- This might sound insane, but if you want to sit next to your loved one or business colleague you can offer your First Class seat to the passenger next to them in Business Class as a trade. We’re guessing nobody ever said: “Thanks anyway but I’ll stay here in Business Class rather than go up to First!”
- Be pragmatic about flying in a different cabin or even a different flight. Maybe you’ve just spent a romantic week with your partner in Europe. They can do some laptop work while you watch Season One of House of the Dragon.
11. Consider Horses for Courses
Book in First Class on your night flight out and Business Class on your return flight, possibly even on two different airlines. Comfort-wise, the Horses for Courses strategy pays off because you’re prioritizing the overnight flight to your destination versus your return flight where sleep and jet lag don’t matter as much.
12. Waitlist Award Space
It’s worth waitlisting if you’re not having much luck with other options. We have seen it come through albeit usually one seat at a time, not two together. All Nippon, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Singapore Airlines, and United are best for this option. Below is an Emirates screenshot for waitlisted flights.
13. Be Proactive: Stop Booking Backwards
You’ve spent weeks planning a specific trip around specific dates, but maybe you haven’t considered your options for premium cabin travel. By the time you’re ready to book the airline ticket, you won’t be able to find any deals because you’ve boxed yourself in by the dates of your hotel, tour, or cruise.
FCF gives you a heads-up on multi-seat availability in our Sweet Redeems alerts with an Availability Calendar. It shows one-, two-, and four-seat availability by route, so you can see what’s on offer at a glance. If you want to make award flying as easy as I do, find the best flight deals first, and then plan the rest of your trip around those opportunities.
See you up front.