I’m a travel expert and here’s the secret reason I’m GUARANTEED a free seat next to me in economy

December 17, 2023 by EUNILITO

By Ted Thornhill, Mailonline Travel Editor

13:41 17 December 2023, updated 13:41 17 December 2023

One of the biggest thrills when traveling is undoubtedly booking economy on a plane – and having a spare seat next to you.

This turns a cow class seat into a budget business class seat, with the option to tilt your feet to one side and use the companion seat for storage.

It’s a scenario that travel expert Nicky Kelvin reveals he’s used to when he flies British Airways – because he has guaranteed a seat as reserve partner. Every time (well, almost).

How? The Points Guy Editor-at-Large revealed all in one year Instagram posts – and added further explanation in an email to MailOnline Travel.

The secret? Level status.

Nicky Kelvin, the Points Guy Editor-at-Large, revealed in an Instagram post why he is guaranteed to have a reservation next to him when he flies economy with British Airways.

Nicky wrote: “I fly for work a lot, and often in economy. I worked hard earlier this year to regain gold status in the British Airways Executive Club.

“In addition to the usual benefits of first class check-in, first class lounges, extra baggage allowance and more, a widely unknown benefit is that British Airways has a seat blocking system for members gold to give them a chance for a free seat next to them, and only release those seats when they have to.

“So unless a flight is completely full, you’ll often have a free seat next to you, greatly improving your budget flight experience.”

Wondering if this status is out of reach?

Nicky explained that it really is easier than ever.

He continued: “It has become easier to gain status with British Airways these days because of the double-tier points offer on British Airways holidays, which was one of the tactics I used to gain status quickly.

Nicky wrote: “I fly for work a lot, and often in economy. I worked hard earlier this year to regain gold status in the British Airways Executive Club. In addition to the usual benefits of early check-in class, first class lounges, extra baggage allowance and more, a widely unknown benefit is that British Airways has a seat blocking system next to gold members.

“For those who spend large amounts on credit cards, you can now earn 200 extra tier points every year by using the British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card.

“Another tactic is to find cheap flights in premium cabins of British Airways or one of its partner airlines and do as many segments as possible.

“You can often find these cheaper flights by starting your flight in different European airports such as Amsterdam, Oslo, Sofia or Bucharest.

“It aims to earn tier points at a cost of less than £2 per tier point. This means that gold status would normally cost between £2,000 and £4,000.’

For more from The Points Guy visit thepointsguy.com/uk-travel.