Flight attendant reveals how she decides to give free upgrades – and it won’t cost you much to get them

A FLIGHT attendant has revealed the cheap way passengers can increase their chances of getting an upgrade.

Being taken from economy into the luxury of business or first class is every person's dream when boarding a flight, but it's something that happens very rarely.

However, there are ways that people can endear themselves to their cabin crew and increase the likelihood of them being moved up into a better seat near the front of the plane.

One of those ways is to bring gifts for the flight attendants.

Tiktoker and cabin crew member Cierra Mistt () claims that she is always willing to go the extra mile for passengers who bring her gifts.

She was asked to reveal a company secret that shouldn't be in the public.

In , she responded, saying: "If you want free upgrades to first class on your next flight, free unlimited drinks, if you want the special treatment, bring us a gift card.

"The things that we do for passengers who bring us the silliest little gifts and quirky s***.

"Anything that gives us just a sliver of joy in our lies. Because we are peasants.

"Get your flight attendant a gift or a gift card, and then watch the magic strings that she'll pull for you."

Cierra explained that the beauty of a gift card is that it could have as little as 80p on it - the cabin crew won't know until they try and use it at a later date.

She added: "It doesn't matter if it's a five dollar (£4), ten dollar (£8), $100 (£80), or even $1 (80p) gift card, we're not going to find out on that flight anyway. Just bring us a gift card."

The video amazed passengers, who said they would be looking forward to their special treatment next time they flew.

One wrote: "This is GREAT to know! Never would have thought this."

Another added: "Thank you for all these tricks."

A pilot also chimed in saying that the trick works.

He said: "As a pilot I can confirm this."

Sun Online Travel's resident flight attendant said that telling every member of airline staff you meet that you're flying for a special occasion will also do you no hard if you're looking for upgrades.

They said: "If you're travelling for a honeymoon or a big anniversary or something, it's at our discretion whether or not we give you an upgrade, or provide you with freebies.

"But it's up to you to tell us all about it because we won't know otherwise.

"The best people to tell first of all are the people who operate the check-in desk- they're the people who are responsible for allocating seating initially.

"They're the people who are most likely to give you an upgrade if there's spare business or first class seats available.

"But it also can't harm your chances if you let every airline staff member you come across know the reason for your journey, on the off chance they're feeling more generous than others."

Meanwhile, this is how some sneaky passengers manage to get into first class without having to pay for it.

And these six tricks could increase your chances of getting an upgrade free of charge.