How much should you pay for a first-class upgrade?

It’s fair to say that if the price were the same, just about everyone would probably rather book a first- or business-class seat than a smaller economy seat on their next flight. Of course, for most of us, always sitting up front on the plane isn’t in the cards … or wallet.

But to bring y’all into a frequent debate in the TPG hallways and Slack channels: How much are you willing to pay for an upgrade if you want to sit upfront? Is there a per-hour or a per-minute rate that makes a first-class upgrade worth it? Or does it depend on the length of the flight — or perhaps even the plane itself?

Naturally, there’s no one right answer to what it’s worth to pay for a first- or business-class upgrade, but many of us at TPG have our own ideas that we’re happy to share in case it helps your calculus.

How much first first-class upgrades are worth per hour of flying

We often hear (and agree) that an upgrade to first class in a regular domestic first class type of seat is often “worth” in the neighborhood of $50 per hour, give or take.

For example, on an upcoming flight from Chicago to St. Lucia, a TPG staffer received a $269 per person offer to upgrade from economy to first class on the 5 1/2-hour flight — right in line with that $50 per hour equation.

TPG’s Clint Henderson has purchased cash upgrades many times over the years, especially on American Airlines flights from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to visit his family. That flight can be as long as seven hours.

American Airlines frequently offers an upgrade to business class for as little as $291. That’s just $42 per hour on the longest journeys. Clint said he has jumped on that offer at least four times in the past few years.

For his most recent buy-up offer in the American Airlines app, Clint received an upgrade offer on a flight to Bozeman, Montana — also for $291 each way. That’s not exactly a screaming deal, since the flight takes about four hours. It breaks down to about $73 per hour, which is well above what most TPG staffers are willing to pay. However, Clint decided to splurge since he’ll be writing about the flight in coach versus first class for an upcoming story.

Oftentimes, the calculation changes for international business class — many TPGers and readers said they might be willing to pay as much as $100 per hour for that upgrade.

TPG put together a spreadsheet with upgrade offers that various staffers have received in the past several weeks. As you can see in the screenshot below, the per-minute costs range from a low of 44 cents per minute to a high of $9.41 per minute for a United Polaris business-class upgrade.

TPG’s Katie Genter is one of our most traveled reporters, and she received offers both high and low. Particularly interesting was an offer for just $51 for a nearly two-hour flight from Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD). On the more extreme end, Katie got an upgrade offer for $487 for a flight clocking in at just over an hour from Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) to Charleston International Airport (CHS) — $7.73 a minute.

There doesn’t appear to be any particular rhyme or reason for the pricing, but we are sure revenue management is very aware and tracking the prices carefully.

It’s better to spend the cash (or miles) to upgrade on long-haul flights

For some of us, the upgrade value equation changes when talking about long-haul flying, especially the kind where it pays to sleep as much of the flight as possible because it’ll be morning when you land. In these cases, you aren’t just more comfortable thanks to the upgraded seat, but you may also be investing in the value of your next day (or two) by increasing the odds of some decent sleep on the plane.

Recently, one TPGer pounced on the opportunity to spend 20,000 United miles plus $425 per person to upgrade an upcoming flight from Dulles International Airport (IAD) to Rome Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci Airport (FCO) on United. That’s an 8 1/2-hour flight — so if you value United miles at the same 1.35 cents each as TPG, that would be about the same as spending $695 to upgrade, which is over that $50 mark by a fair amount, at over $80 per hour.

However, this is a perfect example of the value of a lie-flat seat and the chance to sleep a good amount of the way across the Atlantic. Landing the next morning in Rome as ready as possible to start an Italian adventure can be worth more per hour for the upgrade than a regular three-hour domestic hop.

What TPG readers say about upgrades

TPG readers had a lot of opinions on what they consider fair for upgrades in the TPG Lounge.

Some readers were willing to pay as much as $100 an hour, depending on the flight. Josh Hay said, “$50 an hour was my standard like 10–15 years ago…inflation…I’m $100 an hour now, but also will consider if it is slightly over that on a case-by-case basis.”  Lara Cartwright-Smith said “$25/hr domestic and $50–70/hr international, depending on flight quality (lie flat, food, length of flight, etc.)” is her rule.

Greg While said, “$100 an hour is my max for an international flight. If I don’t get upgraded for free based on my status, I don’t even bother trying to upgrade domestic flights. Just isn’t worth it.”

Marc Cassuto said it depends on where he is going and whether he needs to arrive fresh at the destination. “For me, I need to think about where I’m going, why I’m going [and] what my plans are when I get there,” he wrote.

Other readers said it depends on whether the flight is overnight, a transcontinental or a long international flight. “If it’s one of those,” Jesse Albright said, “…  then $100-500 is good for me for business/first. Most I have paid is $500 for an overnight flight to London on UA.”

“I look at it on a cost-per-hour basis,” Elizabeth Berman Lovell said, “Also, the calculation differs when traveling alone for business versus when I travel with my family, as the hourly cost benefit analysis for a multi-person party makes it harder to swallow an upgrade cost unless it is a super steal.”

“So many factors go into my decision,” Jennifer Steckloff Yellin said. “For a daytime domestic flight, I won’t pay anything. For an overnight cross-country flight where it’ll guarantee me a better night sleep, I’ll probably pay $100 but not much more — I can typically sleep anywhere.”

Maryann Eda Miller said she usually takes 10 to 12 international flights a year. “Going, I want to be as rested as possible, so I’ll pay up to $1,000 for lay-flat seats. Coming home, I’ll stay in Comfort+ or Premium (Delta and Virgin Atlantic) cause I can recoup at home, even if it takes a couple of days to get over the jet lag. If they make an offer of $400 to $500 coming home, I might take it depending on how hectic the trip has been.”

“I think overnight flights trans-ocean are worth up to $1,000 if the flight is nonstop and has lie-flat seats,” Stacy Antoniadis said.

Jamie Larounis agreed, saying, “I’d be happy to do $1k, but it depends on the flight. LAX to SYD? Sure!”

Finally, Amanda Buchan disagreed with our formula altogether. “I never understood why people base this on a per-hour standard rather than how much money they make. These amounts of money are going to be so different for different people. I think something like two days of pre-tax salary makes sense for a long-haul lie-flat seat.”

Not all upgraded seats are created equal

As our readers so eloquently point out, not all upgraded seats are created equal. Does the seat lie flat? That’s the first thing we think about when mulling over an upgrade offer.

Obviously, if it’s an overnight flight in a lie-flat seat at a decent price, it becomes much more attractive. But also think about the kind of business-class seat you’ll be getting. Is it an older recliner-style seat? Are the seats up front close together? Are a few extra inches of legroom really worth paying top dollar?

Some first-class cabins are very cramped with little recline. Maybe those aren’t worth it. Or perhaps it’s a business-class section on a European carrier that’s composed of blocked middle seats in rows of regular economy seating.

Lots of decisions.

Cash vs. points upgrades

Many airlines actually offer ways to upgrade with points. Delta Air Lines is the first that comes to mind; you can often find offers for points upgrades or cash upgrades in the Fly Delta app. Sometimes it can be worth it, but you’ll rarely get more than slightly over a penny a point in value. That can make sense, but you are not really getting outsize value that way.

Here’s a recent offer on a Delta Air Lines flight from New York’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA) to Miami International Airport (MIA) that is way too expensive with cash or miles. As you can see, you’re getting just a bit more than 1 cent per mile in value to use 72,900 Delta SkyMiles to upgrade.

Sometimes can make more sense to do an upgrade using a combination of cash and points or miles. American Airlines offers very reasonable cash and miles upgrades; for example, an international business class upgrade to Europe will set you back $350 and as few as 25,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles. That can be a real bargain.

Finally, some airlines will let you upgrade using just miles. Clint has been able to upgrade from premium economy to business class on Air France using just 30,000 Air France-KLM Flying Blue miles (and no taxes and fees). Check with your airline to see if that is an option for you.

Bottom line

Of course, everyone is different, and a number of factors determine the “worth” of a first-class or business-class upgrade. Still, we think a fair value for purchased upgrades is around $50 an hour for domestic flights, and as much as $100 an hour for international business class.

Hopefully, you see offers well below those prices and get to fly in the “pointy end of the plane.”

Related reading:

• When is the best time to book flights for the cheapest airfare?
• The best airline credit cards
• What exactly are airline miles, anyway?
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• Maximize your airfare: The best credit cards for booking flights
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• What are points and miles worth? TPG’s monthly valuations