Domestically we have been flying first class for about 7 years. I recently flew economy because a one way first class fare was 3-4 times the cost so I flew economy plus. I had a window seat and the middle seat was filled with a very overweight man who spilled over into both the window and aisle seat. It was a simple reminder of why we fly first class. We can afford it.

Anonymous wrote:I have done 4 international trips over the last year and done business/Polaris for almost all segments. We always buy premium economy tickets and the do the upgrade offer. On the last trip (June) the business class upgrade to and from Heathrow was $400/no points. United does a deal for $425 plus 20k points, although you don’t know if you’ve gotten the upgrade until a few days before - but we’ve gotten it every time.

On domestic flights I occasionally get status upgrades but never pay to upgrade.

HHI over $1m.

This is what we do. I just posted with 2-3m. If the upgrade is reasonable (2k for Asia), we upgrade. The extra 10k for our family of 5 seems ok for an overnight.

I have done 4 international trips over the last year and done business/Polaris for almost all segments. We always buy premium economy tickets and the do the upgrade offer. On the last trip (June) the business class upgrade to and from Heathrow was $400/no points. United does a deal for $425 plus 20k points, although you don’t know if you’ve gotten the upgrade until a few days before - but we’ve gotten it every time.

On domestic flights I occasionally get status upgrades but never pay to upgrade.

HHI over $1m.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Retirement net worth 5 million. AGI around 350k. We pay business class for a family of 3. Worth every penny for flights longer than 5 hours.

Interesting. We have higher income and NW and have never paid for business class on personal travel.

Because you're so much better and more thoughtful and.more wise with money.

350k HHI seems very low to pay for business class. I guess it depends how often and to where.

We have a $2-3m HHI and we only sometimes upgrade to business class. We usually fly economy plus. Even economy plus to Europe for my family of 5 cost us 18k this summer.

Anonymous wrote:Most people are using points aren’t they?

Anecdotally: I am 1k and a million mile flyer on United.

At least on United recently, points to upgrade coach to business (Polaris) on overnight long-haul international flight has not worked once for me.

Also, the number of points needed for a seat in Business (Polaris) one-way on an overnight long-haul international flight is astoundingly high. So crazy high I do not have enough points.

I have been offered a deep discounted paid ($) upgrade on such United flights twice recently - at time of check-in. It was enough of a cost reduction that I paid that deeply discounted upgrade price twice.

Lately, we use points on mine and pay for DH’s. We just retired this spring and figured up a few years ago that we have saved too much for retirement. So, we have decided to spend some of it on frivolous things that enhance our experiences. Getting business class to Europe and being able to sleep makes the whole trip better.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Retirement net worth 5 million. AGI around 350k. We pay business class for a family of 3. Worth every penny for flights longer than 5 hours.

Interesting. We have higher income and NW and have never paid for business class on personal travel.

so, you use points.

Good rule of thumb is that biz class is “worth” the upgrade if it’s $70/hour per hour or less of flight time relative to the economy class ticket.

So $300 more for biz class on a 6 hour flight? Worth it. $1000 more? Arguably not worth it. It all depends on your need for comfort, what your time is worth, etc.

Very long trips - either x-country or international. Also helps build points.

Anonymous wrote:Why do people with money get off on being so cheap? Flying sucks. I have a high HHI and fly business alll the time.. I mean, I guess I could hoard it, but I'd rather spend my money on being comfortable. Spent too many years poor and miserable. Oh wait...here come uthe inevitable " you won't stay wealthy spending money on frivolities like flying."

Fine then. In the meantime, enjoying the legroom

No clue to be honest. Probably the same folks who are worth $10 million but drive a 20 year old Camry.

HHI 1m, net worth 10m-we fly business on overnight flights and premium economy on long haul day time flights. Domestic flights are economy. Obviously we use points when possible, which it usually is.

We aim for Premium Economy - it’s usually $3-4K for say Cape Town vs $12K for business. Goes down from there for closer locations.

We’re also flying Mint for the first time from JFK to Europe and paid full price ($2800) which felt like a steal for lie flat suites.

I don’t really enjoy buying business or first class tickets because I would rather spend the money on something else but I often do because it’s more comfortable and I can afford it and I for suuuure dgaf what other people think about it, and I never tell people I know so unless they’re on my flight, it’s not an issue.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Retirement net worth 5 million. AGI around 350k. We pay business class for a family of 3. Worth every penny for flights longer than 5 hours.

Interesting. We have higher income and NW and have never paid for business class on personal travel.

Because you're so much better and more thoughtful and.more wise with money.