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Always. Be. Charging.
Do you have Champagne taste and a beer budget? I feel ya. I’d much prefer the subtle complexities of Krug than Miller Lite most any day, but I can’t afford that lifestyle. But still…The heart wants what the heart wants. Mine…loves to fly in baller cabins where they give you warm nuts and crisp champagne before you’ve had the chance to take your first selfie. You will NEVER forget the first time you fly business. Full Stop. Period. You won’t. The biggest reason? The trip starts the moment you arrive at the airport. No long lines, you have expedited security, and if that wasn’t enough, you’ll luxuriate in a pimped out lounge until you’re allowed to board the plane before everyone else so you can sip champagne and start a movie. So how can you afford to do it? Let’s take a look at 3 savvy things you could be doing to fly business class on your next long haul adventure.
Number 1: Maximize your expenses with the right credit cards.
Ever see Glenngary Glen Ross. Always Be Closing.
Well, you need to Always Be Charging.
Earn something back on every single dime you spend. You don’t need to have a deck of credit cards, but you do need to be using the right cards. Which are those? The ones that can be transferred into partner programs for redemptions. The best ones earn bonuses for dining, travel, or gas. I think every wallet should have a Chase Ultimate Rewards card, and an Amex that earns Membership Rewards. Do that…and you’re on track.
- Chase Sapphire Preferred/Reserve and a Ink Business Preferred are amazing and I highly recommend
- Any Amex that earns Membership Rewards
- Citi Thank You cards ( Premier and Prestige )
- Amex SPG
You can transfer your miles from any of the above programs into Singapore Airlines and fly like this for 65k miles.
Number 2: Sign up for Credit Cards, pay them off. Earn better credit and more points.
Once your everyday purchases are put on cards that earn you great points, start calculating when you have BIG expenses. Enough in three months that could hit a minimum spend for a new credit card. Usually between $3k and $5k in 90 days. And then sign up.
As long as you don’t rack up a balance and pay these bad boys off in full each and every month, your score will go up and not down. The best part? You’ll earn tons and tons of airline miles, credit card points, free hotel nights, gain access to lounges, more award space, and even have concierges on stand by willing to fulfill your every request.
Just to make sure you have the absolute best chance of getting approved – we put together a guide. Check it out here. You don’t have to go crazy, but use sign ups to achieve the goals you’ve set. After you’ve held the card for a year, determine if the fee is worth it, if not, transfer the line of credit to an existing card and close it.
Number 3: Position to cheaper cities and ones with availability
Buying flights:
Did you know that it’s often much cheaper to position yourself to cities different from where you may want to leave from or go to? For Instance…if you live in Europe and you want to visit the U.S. or Asia, it’s often far cheaper to fly from Scandinavia, Ireland, or Eastern Europe. I’ve flown business class cheaper out of Dublin than I would have paid for coach out of London. Sure it added a few hours to my journey, but I flew in comfort, earned more miles, and arrived fresh.
Using points:
Be willing to book a separate ticket to fly out of a city that has availability, or drive there to start. Chicago is going to have a lot more options than St Louis when it comes to finding International business class award availability. Don’t just search from where you live, find where the avail is, and position yourself.
Bonus Tip: Buy Points when it makes sense.
Often times it is far cheaper to buy the points for a flight than to pay for it. Airlines and hotels are continually putting their currency on sale. Right now, Alaska is offering a 40% bonus on purchased miles, which means you can buy them for just 2.1 cents. I just wrote an article about how buying points could fly you from Australia to Asia for just $600. That’s nearly 10 hours of flying, and because Alaska prices those awards at just 30k miles, you can make it happen for the price of buying an econ ticket.
Hope this helps – feel free to ask any questions.
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
60k Points after $4k spend in 3 months
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 60k points after $4k spend in 3 months
- Worth $750 in Chase Travel℠ and way more if you maximize transfer partners
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2024
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex℠and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
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