JETTING THERE

Movin’ on Up

Travel expert Johnny Jet offers tips on how to get an upgrade.

By Johnny Jet

I’m all over the place. Each year, I fly at least 25 different airlines to about 20 countries around the world. I take cruises and rent cars and spend hundreds of nights in hotel rooms. So if you’re thinking of getting out and about, don’t leave home without taking my advice: Get an upgrade.

I learned the old-fashioned way how to get an upgrade and how not to. My best advice is to sign up for loyalty programs and be genuinely nice to everyone you encounter, from reservations agents to flight attendants. If you can’t do that, then you really have no business traveling, so stop reading.

It’s a good idea to arm yourself with information.

Your first task is to find out if there is even a seat, room, or cabin available for an upgrade. You can do this through a website, travel agent, or a reservations agent. For example, if I want to find out if there is space in first class on a particular flight, then a few hours before departure I log on to the airline’s website and go through the motions of purchasing a first-class ticket, in order to view the available seats. Alternatively, you can call your travel agent. It’s that easy.