Out-of-This-World Savings: Fly in Business Class for $609 LESS Than the Price of Economy on Delta

How to Get Business Class to South America and Europe on One Ticket from $2,776

FCF’s Leg Stretch Strategy Stretches On

We’ve extolled the virtues of our Leg Stretch Strategy for many years now. While it’s a nuanced offering, it offers quite spectacular savings. If your planets align for visiting two different continents other than the U.S. over a 12-month period (not so otherworldly, really) then it’s a royal flush of a deal, and that’s no stretch.

The Leg Streeeeeeetch Elevator Pitch

Here’s how it works. As mentioned, you can travel to two other continents, including two stops back in the U.S., all on one Business Class ticket at a massive price reduction from what you would pay if you bought these trips separately, as most travelers do.

We call it the Leg Stretch Strategy because you’re stretching one ticket to get four legs of flying to all corners of the world. It’s quite unique and very lucrative. The Leg Stretch always begins outside of the U.S. That means you need to get to its starting point, say, Europe, and then fly back to the U.S at the end, or continue your next LSS itinerary from there. That will surely put some flyers off. But the savings way more than compensate for this cost, as many of our readers have happily discovered.

Nancy’s Leg Stretch Example:
Milan – Chicago – São Paulo – Chicago – Milan
in Business Class for $2,776

It’s a big 12 months ahead for Chicagoan Nancy. She’s a fashion buyer keen to catch the two upcoming Milan Fashion Weeks – Fall/Winter and Spring/Summer. At the same time, her crazy buddy Nina said, “Let’s go to Brazil! It’s one of my bucket list countries. COME ON, Nancy!!” (Nina is impossible to turn down.) But Nancy had a problem: how the heck was she going to afford a trip to Italy AND Brazil? Nancy, meet MrUpgrade, your traveling fairy Godfather.

Let’s break down Nancy’s journey. The only rule is that the Leg Stretch part has to be completed within one year.

Nancy’s Two-Continent Adventure

1. Nancy flies to Milan for Fall/Winter. She buys a one-way or an award ticket for that trip.

Nancy’s Business Class One-Ticket $2,776 Leg Stretch Starts Here

2. Starting her Leg Stretch Strategy, Nancy flies home to Chicago. She resumes normal life as a fashion buyer. That flight is Leg 1 of the Leg Stretch.
3. Weeks or months later, Nancy flies to São Paulo with Nina. That flight is Leg 2 of the Leg Stretch.
4. Nancy Returns home again. She’s exhausted! That flight is Leg 3 of the Leg Stretch.
5. Nancy goes back to Milan. That flight is Leg 4 of the Leg Stretch, completing the ticket.

Nancy’s Leg Stretch Strategy Ends Here. Screenshot below.

6. Finally, Nancy returns home to Chicago, buying a one-way ticket to do so, or starting another Leg Stretch – more on that below.

Now, if Nancy were to buy the separate legs of the Leg Stretch part of the journey (B, C, D, and E), in Business Class, she would pay $11,980. So the strategy saves her a whopping $9,204!

Double or Triple the Stretch

At the end of her Leg Stretch, Nancy actually has two options. She can embark on ANOTHER Leg Stretch ticket, or just get a ticket that takes her back home, as per flight F above. Let’s break this down.

Option #1: Book another LSS Ticket. Once she’s back in Europe, Nancy is already at the starting point of another LSS. Two Leg Stretches back-to-back will save you a designer wardrobe full of dollars.

Option #2: Head Home. If Nancy’s all done with travel, she can buy a one-way ticket home, or she could have nested the Leg Stretch within a round-trip Chicago-Milan ticket.

FCF has examined lots of Leg Stretches including Asia and the South Pacific.

How Does This Look Compared to Flying in Economy?

Let’s compare this Leg Stretch to a trip where those destinations are broken down into separate segments. In economy, the whole journey would cost around $3,385 at the time of publication.

$3,385 in economy versus $2,776 in Business Class. That’s a savings of $609, or 18%. Nancy can put those savings toward the one-way flights, all while flying in Business Class. Lookin’ good, Nancy!

Typical Delta Economy Fares

There are plenty of options involving different U.S, European, and South American cities. For that continent, São Paulo costs the least, but you can easily add Buenos Aires or Santiago for just a bit more. (Our chart below shows a bunch of scenarios.)

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How to Book

You have several options but booking through a travel agent is best because an agent has easy access to inventory information. You can also use Delta’s website or your favorite online booking engines such as Google Flights, Expedia, Orbitz, or Kayak. Make sure to use the multi-city search feature.

N.B. One thing to note is that these fares change frequently, and they’re particularly volatile. So play with the dates a day or two (or 20) before and after each of the segments, and more than likely you’ll find fares in the same range as we did.

google.com/travel/flights multi-city screenshot below:

See you up front?