00:00Hey there, fellow travelers.
00:00Mark here with Walters World, and today we're in the Cayman Islands,
00:03probably one of the places you're going to fly to that you're probably
00:05never going to get a free upgrade.
00:07And I thought that was the reason why I should talk about how do you
00:10get the free upgrades?
00:12And so what I have on this list today are basically seven ways that
00:15can help you get a free upgrade.
00:17And realize, these days, it's a lot harder to get that free upgrade
00:20than you used to, okay?
00:21So do be aware of that a lot of times, it just doesn't happen.
00:25But here's some things you could do that could help you get a better
00:27chance of getting that upgrade.
00:29And honestly, I'll start with the most important thing, sign up
00:32for the airlines loyalty programs.
00:34Look, the loyalty matters when it comes to upgrades.
00:37And if you're one of those people that collects the miles, collects
00:39the statuses, those things get you the free upgrades.
00:42I know for us, we fly Delta a lot.
00:44I never buy above economy seats, because we've flown so much, we
00:48know that we're probably going to get some upgrades to like comfort
00:50plus, maybe a first class here and there, because airlines really do
00:54upgrade their people first.
00:56And the thing is, when you sign up for these programs, sometimes they
00:59give you free upgrades when you sign up.
01:02Other times, maybe you sign up for a credit card that will give you
01:04free upgrades.
01:05These kind of things will help you get a better chance of getting an upgrade,
01:09okay?
01:09Because if you're not in their program, it's probably not going to happen.
01:13Now, the second thing that could help you is just fly alone.
01:16Solo travelers are so much easier to move around, to upgrade one, to put them in a seat
01:21to make things easier so we can put a family together.
01:23It's just one of those things.
01:24You become a nice little easy chess piece they can move around.
01:27Because usually, solo travelers are more flexible with things, so that can be helpful.
01:31Also, you have to realize, if you're in a group, some airlines don't let you upgrade in a group.
01:36So if you go with your family, if you have status, if there's four of you, like airlines like Delta,
01:40you won't get the upgrade.
01:41So actually, what Joss and I do is we'll actually split our tickets.
01:45I'll take one of the kids and Joss will take the other kids.
01:47And then when we might get to be upgraded, because there's fewer of us to get the upgrade,
01:51you know, so two of us will get it and two of us won't.
01:53But honestly, if you're in a group ticket, split it off.
01:56Or if you're going to be going with a group someplace, buy your own ticket, flying solo,
02:00flying on your own, much better chance of getting an upgrade than if you're a group of six people.
02:04Because there's not going to be six or seven spots available in that first class or business class cabin
02:08to give away upgrades.
02:09Because I can tell you, when I fly by myself, I get significantly more upgrades than we go as a
02:14family.
02:14Even when we split the ticket and there's two of us versus four of us.
02:18Another thing I think is important to mention, regardless of status you have,
02:21regardless of your flying habits or who you're flying with,
02:25another really important thing to think about when you're looking to get those upgrades
02:28is just knowing you got to fly when it's not busy.
02:31Like if you're flying on a Monday or a Friday, forget about it.
02:35Too many business travelers.
02:36Oh, you're going to Europe in July?
02:38Yeah, you're not getting that upgrade.
02:39So maybe you do fly on that Tuesday or Wednesday,
02:41or you come home on a Sunday instead, give you a better chance.
02:44Because I know for us, we fly back to our small little airport,
02:47when I fly during the week, very few upgrades.
02:50But every time I come back on a Sunday night on that 10 o'clock flight,
02:53oh, who's first class?
02:55It happens.
02:56Now another thing I think is very important if you want to try to get that upgrade,
02:59is you got to realize you've got to look and act the part.
03:02Remember, slobs, it's really hard for them to get your first class upgrades,
03:06business class upgrades, because they don't want that to like,
03:09show that, oh, our first class passengers are slobs.
03:12Now I'm not saying slobs can't buy tickets, all that kind of stuff.
03:14I'm just saying for them, when they're looking to get an upgrade,
03:17if you look like trash, they're not going to put you with the fancy people,
03:19the fancy first classers.
03:21All right, so dress the part, you know, do the business casual thing.
03:24I'm not saying a suit and tie, but a business casual, just that you have your
03:28sundress, have a dress on.
03:29These kind of things do make a difference in their eyes when they're thinking
03:32who we're going to upgrade.
03:33And that's why it's important also just think about it.
03:35Be polite, be professional and be friendly.
03:38When you're checking in and you're at the gate, that can be helpful.
03:42And speaking of being friendly and talking to the people,
03:44I think that's another thing I need to mention is ask,
03:47literally ask when you check in, ask at the gate,
03:49if there are any free upgrades available.
03:51Now there's no guarantee that's going to work, but it doesn't hurt to ask
03:54when you're going there and you're checking in and you're at the gate.
03:57But I will say, make sure when you do ask,
03:59they're not getting, you know, overrun by people at the-
04:02yeah, at the gate or at check-in.
04:03When it's a little more open for them to talk,
04:06that might be a better time to do it.
04:07And another thing is when you're talking to them,
04:09another thing I might want to say is,
04:10mention if it's a special occasion.
04:12If you're flying for your birthday and they can see that,
04:15your anniversary, you know, maybe it's your honeymoon,
04:17let them know.
04:18Sometimes they can give you the upgrade.
04:19Oh, the honeymoon couple, you know what?
04:21We're going to upgrade you.
04:22Or maybe you just get a little glass of champagne.
04:24Or they announce that, hey, congratulations to Mark and Jocelyn,
04:27celebrating your anniversary on your flight here to the Cayman Islands.
04:29That could be a little bit of something that you could get it,
04:32but just ask, right?
04:33And then let them know about the occasions.
04:34But I want to say, in terms of getting a free upgrade,
04:37probably your best bet is just use your miles.
04:40And some people say, oh, miles?
04:42Well, that's not free.
04:42I had to spend to get the miles.
04:44Yeah, you did.
04:45But the miles is a way you can actually help yourself get an upgrade.
04:48And honestly, for me and for Jocelyn, we found that using miles to get upgrades
04:52was actually a better bang for the buck than actually using miles to buy tickets.
04:57So look at that.
04:58Because Jocelyn's used a number of times to get a little bit extra comfort,
05:00you know, when she's been flying.
05:02Because we have all these miles, might as well use them.
05:04And upgrades is a good way to do it.
05:06And then you're paying for an expensive upgrade.
05:07With miles, you weren't sure what to do with them.
05:09And then there's Jocelyn's favorite way to get a free upgrade.
05:13And that is look for airline deals.
05:16Okay, Jocelyn flies a lot of times in off season,
05:19and she'll get little emails from Dell to say,
05:21Oh, would you like to fly first class or, or, you know, premium select to Europe?
05:27And it's like the same price as flying economy, but it's specific dates.
05:31So if you're flexible, when you can fly, when those deals come out,
05:34that can be a great time to get a free upgrade.
05:37Yes, you pay for the ticket, but you're paying an economy price,
05:40but getting like a first class or a business class ticket because of that deal.
05:44Okay, so these are some of the ways that I've found work very well
05:47to get you a better chance of getting a free upgrade.
05:50What have you seen works to get a free upgrade?
05:52Let us know in the comments below to help out other travelers.
05:54Wish you all the best.
05:55I'll say bye going to the Cayman Islands.
05:57And oh, you don't get a lot of free upgrades here
05:59because so many business travelers come here
06:00that their business already paid for them to get first class
06:03and business class and all that stuff.
06:04So where you're going to fly also impact if you get a chance to get it.
06:08Also, if you're going from a main hub,
06:10like with a lot of business travel, that's going to be tougher.
06:13So like those side airports?
06:15Yeah, that might be your best bet.
06:17Anyway, bye from the Caymans.
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