More and more travelers are forking over thousands of dollars for premium airline tickets, but that doesn’t necessarily mean flight upgrades are out of reach for your vacation budget. A number of airlines let you name your own price for a lie-flat business-class pod or a roomier premium-economy seat. If said airline accepts your bid, you could be flying in the pointy end of the plane at a significant discount. Here’s how airline upgrade bid programs work and which carriers participate. 

How It Works

Typically, if you want to fly in first or business class, you have to book that fare outright, though some airlines offer fixed-price upgrades (either in cash or points) after you purchase your ticket. Bid upgrades work a little differently.

With these online auctions, travelers are invited to submit a bid for an upgrade within a certain time frame before their flight departs. There’s typically a minimum bid (so, unfortunately, you won’t be able to score an upgrade for pennies on the dollar) and a maximum bid for each flight segment. Once you decide on a bid, you enter your payment details and receive an email confirmation.

When the bidding window closes, the airline chooses whether or not to accept your offer. If the airline informs you (by email) that they’ve accepted your bid, your credit card will automatically be charged and your ticket will be upgraded. If your bid isn’t accepted, you’ll keep your original seat.

If you’re really hoping for the upgrade, bidding higher will boost your chances of the airline accepting your offer. However, unlike in a traditional auction, you won’t be able to see what other passengers have bid, though some airlines, like Air Canada, may offer clues as to what constitutes a “good” offer.

Upgrades aren’t available on all routes. Some airlines will send an email inviting you to place an offer. With others, you can log on to the airline’s website (more on that below) and enter your booking details to confirm you’re eligible. 

Participating Airlines

More than 50 airlines worldwide offer passengers the option to bid for a premium upgrade, though, sadly for American travelers, not one of them is based in the U.S. Hawaiian Airlines used to allow passengers to bid for upgrades, but the program was eliminated after the airline merged with Alaska Airlines. 

That said, if you’re headed to places like Canada, Mexico, or Europe, a number of popular international carriers participate. We’ve included a few of them below. Click on each link to find out more about the airline’s terms, such as when bidding opens and closes, when you will be informed of the airline’s decision, and which fares and routes are eligible. 

• Aer Lingus
• Aeromexico
• Air Canada
• Air New Zealand
• ANA All Nippon Airways
• Cathay Pacific
• Copa Airlines
• Icelandair
• LATAM
• Lufthansa
• Qantas
• Virgin Atlantic
• WestJet

Is It Worth It?

Airlines offer these programs to fill unsold seats and boost their bottom lines — the more seats that are available close to departure, the better your odds are of securing a cheap upgrade. There are many other variables, though, such as the type of route (leisure vs. business), the time of year, and even the time of day, as early-morning and late-night flights tend to be less popular with business travelers. To guide your bid, you can always try a dummy booking for your flight to see what the current prices are and how many seats are left unsold.  

If your bid is successful, you could be flying at the front of the plane for a fraction of the price. For instance, there are many reports of successful bids of around 400 to 700 euros ($465 to $815 USD) to move from economy class to business class on transatlantic flights. An economy fare might range from $1,000 to $1,500 on a route like Washington, D.C., to Frankfurt, but business class can easily cost three or four times as much. Even a 700-euro successful upgrade offer represents a good chunk of savings. 

Plus, upgrades don’t just come with more perks once you’re on the plane. In the airport, you can also take advantage of benefits like priority check-in, express security lines, free checked bags, and lounge access. However, you likely will still earn miles or points per the terms of your original economy-class ticket. 

For many travelers, the tradeoff is uncertainty. You won’t know until shortly before you leave whether you’ve been upgraded, and some people prefer to lock in the upgrade early. Certain airlines, like Air Canada, will offer a “buy now” price if you’d like to bypass the bid process altogether. Otherwise, you may be able to find a better last-minute offer by refreshing your booking on the airline’s app, particularly if you’re looking to burn unused points for the upgrade.