When does it make sense to fly first – or business – class?

Growing up I was a frequent flyer, with divorced parents living on different coasts. I remember thinking as a pre-teen that I would never fly first class, because I wouldn’t be able to afford it but even if I could it surely wouldn’t be worth it spending that sort of money for a few hours’ comfort?

That was before frequent flyer upgrades were really a thing, and I had no idea that people would sit up there for less than the headline cost.

• First class even domestically used to be several times the cost of coach.
  
• A combination of lower-cost airlines with premium cabins and technology advances in how airlines sell tickets began to bring down the cost, but consumers aren’t always conscious of this shift.
  
• People think that first class is expensive – and much more expensive than they’re comfortable with.

‘What net worth is needed to fly first class?’

My net worth is over $22 million yet I still can’t justify paying extra to fly first class. Am I crazy?

— CRECashFlowGuy (@cre_cashflow) December 7, 2024

My grandparents wouldn’t fly in premium cabins. They grew up in the Depression. They had plenty of money, but it was simply outside the bounds of acceptability for them to even be thinkable. Once they reached a certain age they just wouldn’t travel. The last trip they took was to my wedding, and I redeemed their Membership Rewards points for the tickets.

Their son moved to Australia when I was five. He and my aunt had kids there. But when my grandparents were too old to travel there in coach, they stopped going and that meant they wouldn’t go. I redeemed my miles for first class.

However this mindset no longer makes sense (and for them, I’m not sure that it ever did, they had the money and more time with family – grandkids! – would have been worth it).

• Domestic first class often isn’t that expensive. When you factor seat fees and bag fees, sometimes first class can be cheaper than coach plus add-ons. Delta plans to change this by adding costs to premium cabins.

  

• Airlines sell buy ups for as little as $40. Long haul business class might be just $299 rather than thousands. Airlines moved from offering upgrades to frequent flyers to taking ‘tens of dollars’ from anyone for seats not being sold at full price.

  

• There are business class deals, and British Airways has the AARP discount stackable with 10% off from Chase. Business class may still be expensive, but can be less than you think.

  

• And that’s without getting into opportunities for redeeming miles, especially if you’re flexible. If you’ve got a ‘$20 million net worth’ and a business (this individual says they’re co-owner of a $100 million real estate portfolio) then there’s probably enough credit card spend to earn top tier status with an airline as well.

Airline first class hasn’t been for the wealthy in 40 years. Domestically, it went from a place filled with upgraded upper middle class middle managers to a place filled with people who have $40 or, sadly, people who have $40 available on a credit card.

Whether or not first class is ‘worth it’ depends, of course, on how much you value it and on your available funds but the modest increment means the extra cost is frequently easy to justify.

Of course airline first class is no longer as nice as it once was, either. When I first started getting upgrades lunch on a non-premium cross-country flight might be steak, and a coursed affair. Now it’s considered an upgrade that Delta is investing in serving Shake Shake. But it’s still more space, a bigger seat, and for now includes bags and seat assignments.