World’s most frequent flyer who has travelled 24 million miles reveals what you need to do to get an upgrade
A man who is known as the world's most frequent flyer has revealed the four ways you can get an upgrade.
Tom Stuker is the owner of a lifetime flyer pass and has certainly got his money's worth, travelling to over 100 countries on over 12,000 flights in first and business class.
In the 90s, the New Jersey resident spent $510,000 (£400,000) on United Airlines' companion pass for himself and a plus one of his choice.
It allows him to fly with United anywhere and anytime, with anyone he wants.
Advert
Since then, the 71-year-old has flown over 24 million miles in the last 30 years, with his sights set on 25 million.
But Stuker - who knows a thing or two about an upgrade - insists that the regular traveller needs to stop listening to all of the bulls**t stories out there.
"Every once in a while, you hear stories about a guy, that, you know, sweet talks somebody at the counter," he told LADbible.
"That's a bunch of malarkey, that's a bunch of baloney.
"I mean, it's all down to a science and it's because there's millions of frequent flyer miles that all want to be upgraded."
Frequent flyer status
Although flyer status is something that you obtain over time, it increases your chances of getting upgraded.
"My suggestion for the average Joe that wants to get upgraded first, status matters, and so you want to get status," the sales consultant says.
Upgrade with miles
"Second of all, you can upgrade with miles. You can upgrade with cash and miles. But the best thing to think about, is availability of first class seats, or business class seats," Stuker said.
"So if you're going to fly domestically, your best chance to get upgraded is by taking the first flight in the morning or the last flight at night."
Download the airline app (a must)
Stuker says that with 'today's technology', an upgrade has never been easier - but only if you download the airline app.
"If you don't have the airlines app, for God's sake, United's app has saved me so much time, effort and everything, because it tells you in two seconds, that on this date, at that time, there's this many seats still available in business and coach," he explained.
"And it helps you understand what flights you should take, even if you're paying economy fares, and it's a cheap fare, and if you want more comfort, then stay on the app."
Pick the right date to upgrade
Most importantly, make sure you 'pay attention to the flights that are less crowded'.
He says the Tuesday morning flight or the Thursday night flight are great options, 'but you're going to have a harder chance of getting upgraded on Sundays and Friday nights and, you know, on Monday morning'.
"So take a look at the seats, because even if you end up finding a row and you book the back of the plane - by the way, the back of the plane is always what fills up last - so if you want to get the most comfortable seat, sometimes you look for a particular time in a back row of economy sometimes you get the whole row to yourself, which is a poor man's business class, you might say," the avid traveller concludes.
In case you were wondering, United stopped selling their companion pass a while back.
Topics: Travel, World News, Plane Etiquette
Anish Vij