How to get upgraded to business class

I'm not a frequent business class traveler (in fact, I've only done so once, flying from L.A. to Paris). But I came across an interesting tip for getting business class upgrades during the busy holiday flying season, courtesy of Matthew Bennett's site flightbliss.com.

Because business travel is down during the holidays, business class fares also come down. In fact, according to Bennett, if you time it right, you can sometimes find business class fares near coach prices. The best time to shop for these fares is between September and November.

It used to be easy to get free upgrades by using mileage, but now the airlines have arcane hierarchies to determine who they upgrade. American Airlines, for example, doesn't allow you to use their miles for business class upgrades. The secret is creativity: Bennett says that American will allow you to upgrade even the lowest American fares by using Cathay Pacific miles.

Not a Cathy Pacific flyer? Me neither. But you can easily transfer Starwood Starpoints into Cathy Pacific's program, and you're good to go!