How to use a companion fare to upgrade to first class

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What if you could use a “buy one, get one” perk for first class — even though it technically only works for economy?

In recent years, airlines have made post-purchase upgrades easier, letting you go from one fare class (say, economy) and upgrade it at a later time to a cushier cabin (say, Comfort+ or first class).

This has pushed me to get more creative when using Buy One Get One (BOGO) perks on certain credit cards, and it may be the smartest way to reduce the effective cost of your next splurge trip.

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The Atmos Rewards Ascent Visa Signature credit card offers an annual Companion Fare, which lets a traveling partner fly on Alaska or Hawaiian Airlines within North America for $99 plus taxes and fees (starting from $23). Meanwhile, the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card provides a Companion Certificate for a domestic, Caribbean, or Central American main cabin round-trip flight each year upon renewal.

These are excellent perks if you’re fine to ride in economy, but what if you want to use them for a Comfort+ or first-class ticket? Directly, you’re out of luck. But there’s another way!

As an Atmos Rewards Ascent Visa Signature credit cardholder, I recently used my Companion Fare to book two round-trip tickets between my home airport of Raleigh-Durham (RDU) and Juneau, Alaska (JNU). By using the Companion Fare on a high-value ticket, I turned what would’ve been an $1,800 ordeal into a $1,000 charge — a savings of 44%. I added a third ticket via Alaska miles to get our family of three to one of the more far-flung locales in the U.S.

This is set to be a very special trip for us, and I wanted to upgrade two of the three tickets so that my son and wife could enjoy the ride in first class.

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Once I wrapped up the purchase, I logged into my Alaska account, visited the seat selector tool, and boom — first-class seats were available to purchase for a per-leg upgrade fee.

Now, these fees vary significantly by route and demand, and they’re not always a stellar deal. However, the flexibility to book an economy ticket to take advantage of the discount and then decide later if the splurge is worth it is a win in my book.

This works whether you're aiming for Comfort+ or going all the way to first class. As a rule of thumb, upgrade fees tend to be most worth it on longer legs where the cabin difference is most felt — and least worth it on short hops where you'd barely notice.

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