Are You An A**hole If You Don't Give Your Boss A First Class Ticket You Paid For?

Should you be obligated to give your boss a first class plane ticket that you personally earned?

As weird as the question might sound, it's a question that popped up on my Instagram discovery page Wednesday afternoon in a viral video.

I couldn't believe what I was watching as a scenario was laid out alleging a manager was upset that an employee used personal credit card status to upgrade their plane seat. The employee wanted to know if they were the a**hole for not giving up the ticket…..they earned through their credit card!

You can check out the video below, and then we'll dive into it.

First class manager/employee protocol sparks debate.

First off, I'll be honest when I say I didn't even think this was real when I first saw it. How could it be? How could such an outrageous scenario have actually happened? Turns out it does actually stem from a very real Reddit post that I was able to dig up.

Below is the scenario as described on Reddit:

"Yesterday, my boss and I were flying home from a conference. We were on the same flight, but our original seats were not next to each other. I’m a frequent traveller on this airline and use their credit card, so I often get free upgrades to first class. I got upgraded on this flight and my boss did not. After the flight, when we were collecting our bags she said she wanted to talk to me about my "lack of respect for protocol". She thinks that because the company paid for my original ticket, and she is more senior than me, I should’ve given her the first class seat. I think this is absolutely insane. While the company paid for my seat, it’s my own personal credit card spending, and frequent travel that earned me the upgraded seat. Is this some sort of corporate standard I’m not aware of? AITA?"

Pretty wild, right? Well, the overwhelming theory online is that the person was not an a**hole. Check out a few responses.

• NTA (not the a**hole). If you want to cya going forward you can always email HR and ask "X happened while on this trip and Manager Y advised that I should have done Z. Can you point me to where I can review the protocols so I know going forward?" It documents the incident without being accusatory and lets you be able to cite chapter and verse if there's a next time.
• Obvious NTA. Is your boss 5? What f*cking protocol says you have to give gifts to your boss?
• NTA - this was your upgrade, not a company upgrade. I’d keep an eye on this boss from here and document anything in case of retaliation.
• NTA - you got upgraded. YOU. The upgrade was connected to your own personal credit card use. Your boss is a bully and she is being completely inane about this. If she brings it up again, I’d just tell her that she is wrong and leave it at that. Document this too, in case you need to take it to HR.
• NTA. The entitlement of your boss is astounding. As long as the company allows you to use your card for miles (not all do), you've done nothing wrong. You could have used those miles on whatever. She could have paid extra for the upgrade, as well, but she CHOSE not to.

I'm actually stunned this is a debate. In what world would someone have a right to demand a first class ticket *THEY DID NOT PAY FOR*?

Now, it would be one thing if there was a single first class ticket that the company paid for. In that case, I imagine seniority or status would dictate who gets the first class seat.

That's not what happened here. The employee claims they used their own credit card status to get an upgrade. Once their own status earns an upgrade, then the company ticket is irrelevant. It's completely irrelevant at that point. How could anyone say differently?

I'm 100% on the side of the employee in this situation. If the company paid for a first class ticket, then we're having a different debate. That's not what happened here. The employee's credit card status was the reason for the upgrade.

Does not giving your boss your first class seat make you an a**hole? (Credit: Getty Images)

Lastly, I'm a big believer that when you're in a group going on vacation, you all fly in the same class around each other if possible. Despite what rumors might say online, I don't really fly first class that often. Have I accidentally stumbled into it? Sure, but it's about as rare as a unicorn sighting. If the boys and I are going somewhere and one person is in coach, then we're all in coach. I'm a man of the people after all. However, if I'm on a work trip and my credit card gets me a specific upgrade for free, I'm taking it and not looking back. Think I'm right? Think I'm correct? Let me know at David.Hookstead@outkick.com!