I used points to upgrade my 13-year-old to business class on a long-haul flight — and I may regret it

15.04.2024 - 20:49 / insider.com / Delta I (I)

As a frequent traveler, I stockpile airline loyalty points and frequently earn upgrades to first class, business class, or premium economy.

I usually save those perks for me and my husband — we don't share them with our kids. But I made an exception on a summer trip to Israel when I was dreading taking long-haul flights from San Antonio to Tel Aviv, Israel, and back in coach.

After all, despite rising costs of living, trend reports suggest many US travelers are still seeking to upgrade their flights to business class or first class. And I get it — an upgraded flight is an easy way to make any trip feel way more luxurious.

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Since I was only traveling with my 13-year-old, I used my saved miles to upgrade us both to Delta One, which is essentially the airline's business class.

Going to Israel was a bucket-list trip for us, but I think my son was just as tickled with experiencing in-air luxury as he was with taking a dip in the Dead Sea.

Having extra-large screens for movies, seats that turned into beds, and extra-solicitous flight-attendant service was a pretty cool experience for me to have with my son. We enjoyed having nice meals and special desserts in the sky, too. It made the trip with just him and me more special.

Bonding over the love of travel is awesome. Bonding over the love of travel and eating hot-fudge sundaes at 37,000 feet was the cherry on top — pun intended. I don't regret upgrading his seat.

My kids fly with us a lot, but this is the first long-haul flight my son actually remembers. And I'm glad I could swing the upgrade this time, but it won't become a default for him.

If we'd been flying as a family of four as we usually do, I wouldn't have had enough points to cover Delta One for everyone, and the cash price to upgrade would've been outside our budget at thousands of dollars a person.

My 13-year-old is old enough to understand that we don't travel like this on every trip we take, but I'm sure he'll miss business class when he's in economy on his next international flight.

Hopefully, even though he's got a taste of flying up front, he'll learn to have the same balance I do. Although I often fly in upgraded seats, I occasionally get stuck in the middle seat in the back of the plane. I don't love it, but I also don't feel I'm entitled to sit up front or that flying coach is beneath me.

Still, I wonder. When we were enjoying our hot-fudge sundaes in our slippers in business class, he told me, "I wonder what the people who sit in the back are having for dessert." Probably not hand-dipped sundaes with custom toppings, kid.