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Unless you’re a true road warrior and travel every week, the spending requirements for elite status with airlines such as American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines are likely out of reach. Plus, status is just less valuable than it used to be. Gone are the days of complimentary upgrades for elite members, along with a number of other snazzy benefits.

If you purchase an economy-class ticket after you’ve stepped off the airline status merry-go-round, you may think you’re stuck in coach — but there might still be hope for an upgrade.

What’s changed? Airlines have gotten more aggressive about selling upgrades, even on international flights. And, in some instances, you can also use your airline miles for those upgrades.

Here’s how to check for affordable upgrades using miles or cash on your next flight with some of the world’s largest airlines.

Upgrades on American Airlines

American Airlines has long offered upgrades that can be purchased with miles, and they frequently come with a cash copay.

American maintains a chart that lists the fees you can expect to pay for an upgrade using miles (as well as the cash portion). Unless you’re buying a pretty expensive economy-class ticket, you can expect a copay to apply on virtually all flights. Even with that copay, using your miles to upgrade on certain routes can be a really good use of AAdvantage miles.

Unfortunately, unless you have a systemwide upgrade in your account, you won’t be able to see upgrade inventory on American Airlines’ website. The best way to search for one is by using ExpertFlyer (a product owned by Red Ventures, TPG’s parent company).

Recently, American has also started to offer greatly discounted cash upgrades, even on international and award flights. However, scoring one of these upgrades isn’t as easy as we might want. The most reliable way to find an upgrade is to check your reservation after ticketing on the AA website or in their app. You will often see cash upgrade offers listed under your flight details.

The pricing for these upgrades is subject to change and can fluctuate on a daily basis. So if you don’t like the first upgrade offer you see, be sure to check back again.

Related: How to upgrade your American Airlines flight using miles

Upgrades on Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines is much more straightforward about using your miles to upgrade a flight. Whether you want to do so during the booking process or after making your reservation, Delta will display the cash and miles prices to upgrade your flight. In contrast to American Airlines, they won’t charge you a cash copay when using your miles to upgrade.

Unfortunately, you generally won’t find a better deal with miles versus cash. Generally speaking, Delta will offer upgrades at a price of 1 cent per point, as in the example below.

You can typically find these offers both on Delta’s website and in their app. NOTE: While you may see an upgrade offer after selecting a TakeOff 15% discounted award flight, that’s really just Delta trying to get you to spend more miles. The total price of that premium seat is the same whether you book it outright or choose the “buy-up” offer after selecting a more affordable cabin.

Much like American Airlines, Delta frequently offers some pretty incredible cash upgrade offers. These are typically listed much closer to booking, meaning you may need to gamble a bit of time to find the best deal.

Related: Secure a better seat: The ultimate guide to getting upgraded on Delta flights

Upgrades on United Airlines

Of the three big domestic airlines with premium cabins, United Airlines is the stingiest when it comes to landing a cheap upgrade right now — there are fewer recent reports of affordable upgrades on United Airlines than on American and Delta. It’s a stark reversal from years past when United would frequently sell upgrades to members without elite status at rock-bottom prices, oftentimes at a lower price than they gave elite members.

Unlike American and Delta, United Airlines will sometimes offer a decent cash upgrade deal right after you finish booking a flight. United sometimes serves a pop-up with ridiculous cash upgrade offers on the final confirmation screen. We say “ridiculous” because every so often, the upgrade will be more expensive than the cash price of purchasing the cabin upgrade outright. Other times, it’ll be roughly the difference between the ticket you purchased and the price for the seat in an upgraded cabin. But, occasionally, you can get a pretty good deal.

Here’s the catch (there’s always a catch, isn’t there?): This offer will disappear when you navigate away from the page and typically never reappears.

United is also more complicated than its competitors when it comes to using your miles to upgrade to a better seat. It’s also worth noting that if you’re using United’s mileage pool feature, you can’t use pooled miles toward upgrade purchases.

Many routes require a cash copay along with miles, and the copay will vary based on the fare class of your ticket. United has a page on its website that allows you to determine the fee.

United Premier members are exempt from copays — except when they’re not. It’s a bit complicated, so United has a chart to walk you through it:

United makes it easy to browse the upgrade options on a specific flight you have already booked. Select the flight in question from “My Trips” on their website or app (this functionality works much better on the website). You should see an option labeled “Upgrade Cabin” in the top left. Click on that, and United will display all existing upgrade options in one place.

However, if United MileagePlus or PlusPoint upgrades aren’t available, you’ll need to regularly check this page to see if availability has changed.

One last thing. If you’re a Premier member of United Airlines, there are a few routes on which you can score a free upgrade to a Premium Plus seat.

Related: The ultimate guide to getting upgraded on United Airlines

Upgrades on JetBlue

JetBlue has a fantastic premium cabin on select flights called Mint. Mint cabins feature lie-flat seats, upgraded meals and snacks, on-demand movies and other amenities. You’ll typically find Mint cabins on flights to Europe and a handful of transcontinental routes.

Unfortunately, JetBlue doesn’t offer a true way to upgrade to Mint using your points. You can use your TrueBlue points to buy a Mint seat outright, but there’s no way to score a Mint upgrade.

However, there’s one way to perhaps get a cheap cash upgrade to Mint. On your day of departure, find an agent at check-in and/or at your gate to ask about a cash upgrade to Mint. Typical cash prices for last-minute upgrades to Mint are in the $500 range, which can be a screaming deal!

Related: JetBlue TrueBlue program: Earn and redeem points, transfer partners and more

Upgrades on other airlines

There are a handful of other airlines (some more aspirational than others) where you can find a good deal using miles or cash to upgrade your next flight. One of the best examples is Air France. Air France already provides incredible bargains on premium flights. Plus, the airline recently decided to lower the minimum number of miles needed to book business-class award flights. Air France will allow you to upgrade flights with miles, though you must call their customer service department to do so.

Lufthansa, a member of the Star Alliance, allows upgrades with miles from other Star Alliance partners. The system is a bit convoluted but still achievable. There’s no waitlist option, so your best bet is to frequently check their website if you want to snag an upgrade.

Lufthansa is also one of a number of airlines that allows you to place a cash bid for an upgrade. This is part of a growing trend that allows airlines to earn extra money off a seat that otherwise might go empty while allowing customers to score an upgrade for a lot less than the full price of a premium cabin ticket. The trick to a successful bid for an upgrade is finding that sweet spot just above what everyone else is willing to spend, which can be challenging.

Virgin Atlantic and Etihad Airways will also allow you to bid for an upgrade, but one airline (that’s admittedly less aspirational than some others) that famously offers affordable upgrade options through a bid process is … Spirit Airlines. Nobody will ever accuse the airline of dishonesty in their marketing regarding the Big Front Seat. Spirit unabashedly offers a big seat in … wait for it … the front of the plane. The offering excludes free drinks, checked bags, or bells and whistles. You simply get a big seat at the front of the plane. And, like some larger international airlines, you can bid for a cheap upgrade to one of these seats.

Bottom line

Airlines are working hard to monetize every empty seat on every flight. While that’s bad news for elite travelers hoping to score a free upgrade, investing some hard-earned cash (or miles) can be a great way to score a better seat. Savvy travelers can still find some good deals using miles or cash to upgrade flights.

However, some upgrades are just bad deals, whether it’s due to antiquated technology or algorithms that may not work in your favor. If you have some flexibility in your travel plans, a little know-how and digital legwork may help you get a better deal. Since American, Delta and United have essentially eliminated cancellation and change fees, you may be able to try a different departure date for your next flight if the price of an upgrade seems sky-high.

Lastly, bidding for upgrades has quietly gained in popularity among airlines. Don’t sleep on the opportunity to gamble for a better seat on a plane, and may the odds be ever in your favor.

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