I know that these types of articles are just written for the clicks, but I can’t help but clicking on them when I see them pop up in my news feed. Recently, I saw an article entitled “Flight attendant reveals the three ways passengers can get FREE upgrades to first class – and why where you sit helps“, which purportedly lists three ways that you can get an upgrade to first class. The source is former flight attendant Cierra Mist, who now shares TikToks and other videos talking about flying.
The Three Ways To (Not) Get A First Class Upgrade
Here are the three ways that this former flight attendant shares that you can get a first class upgrade
- Be nice to your gate agent or flight attendant – “‘We can work miracles if given some Starbucks or a bag of chocolate when we haven’t even had time to stop for food from working on back-to-back flights”
- Due to “weight and balance” –Â “if you sit at the back of the plane in an area that is heavily booked-out and you might get lucky and be asked to move all the way up front to first class”
- Be an ”able bodied person” such as a doctor, nurse, firefighter or police – “you might be able to get a free upgrade if you tell staff how you can assist if needed when boarding”
This Does Not Work
As I have written about before, I hope that I do not have to tell most readers of this site that these three pieces of advice do not work at all.
(SEE ALSO: This is the dumbest advice to get a first class upgrade I’ve ever heard)
At this point, even people with elite status are often not getting upgraded, since airlines are doing a much better job of monetizing their first class and business class cabins. I may try this though on my next flight as I board –
Excuse me, but I am an able bodied person and can assist if needed. May I have a first class seat?
The only one of those that has any grounding in reality is the weight and balance one. That is an actual thing that airlines look at, but will only apply if the plane is VERY empty. Even then, I think it’s more likely that passengers would be moved to the BACK of the aircraft, since most people sit as far front as possible.
I have only been moved for weight and balance once in my flying career (not counting flights on small turbo prop planes). I was on a very empty Southwest flight from Cincinnati to Chicago on a Boeing 737 and after I sat down (in around row 7 or 8), a flight attendant came by and told me for weight and balance that I needed to move to any seat in any row past Row 12. I thought man if my moving 4 rows back is really going to make a difference, I’m a little nervous…
The Bottom Line
If you follow the TikTok advice, you can try these three “hacks” to get upgraded to first class. I do encourage anyone to try these out and report back if you’re able to get a first class upgrade using these tips. I remain… skeptical :-).
What do you think? Will any of these “hacks” get you to sit in the first class cabin?
This site is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as thepointsguy.com. This may impact how and where links appear on this site. Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers and that compensation may impact on how and where card products appear on the site. Any opinions expressed in this post are my own, and have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by my advertising partners and I do not include all card companies, or all available card offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers and other offers and benefits listed on this page. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more. Other links on this page may also pay me a commission - as always, thanks for your support if you use them
User Generated Content Disclosure: Points With a Crew encourages constructive discussions, comments, and questions. Responses are not provided by or commissioned by any bank advertisers. These responses have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the responsibility of the bank advertiser to respond to comments.
Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
Recent Comments