The whole United fiasco has really opened the general public’s eyes to the ways airlines overbook. I know many people think United didn’t overbook and it was an operational issue but call it what you want—either way there weren’t enough seats for the paying passengers so in my eyes they overbooked.
My last two tips were well received and shared hundreds of times on social media:
To dig a little deeper and to shed light on the situation for those who aren’t familiar with the ways that passengers can benefit from the airlines overbooking, I’ve created this step-by-step guide on how to get bumped.
According to data from the Department of Transportation, 46,000 travelers were involuntarily bumped from flights in 2015. On the flip side, there were 505,000 voluntarily bumped. That’s a huge difference. The reason why is that many travelers don’t mind volunteering their seats to wait for the next flight out. In fact, some people will even book flights just so they can get bumped to earn extra cash for travel.
As we all know, the airlines have cut capacity, which means that most flights are operating with a full house. This increases the chances of getting bumped, especially on peak travel days like Monday, Friday, Sunday, and around the holidays.
Here’s how to get bumped:
1. Check flight loads
Most airlines will allow you to see your flight’s seating chart (go into your reservation online and click the “change/view seats” link). But it’s best to try booking a ticket (don’t purchase) on your particular flight. If they aren’t selling seats then they are full or oversold. You can also call the airline directly and ask the operator if the flight is oversold. Here’s a handy list of all the airline websites and their toll-free numbers.
2. Volunteer to get bumped
Airline reps love it when passengers volunteer to get bumped. When I’m playing the bumping game, I will usually check-in with an agent at the ticket desk to let them know. Then I will go to the gate and wait for an agent to arrive—usually an hour before departure. I then ask politely if they are oversold and if they need volunteers. If so, I ask to be included on the list. NOTE: Most of the time, agents won’t know if they need volunteers until midway through boarding so they will put you on a list and hold your boarding pass. Tip: Don’t keep bugging the agent…it will only tick them off and decrease your chances of getting the good stuff.
3. Wait close to the gate
Sometimes agents come to the gate late and just get on the PA and announce they are looking for volunteers. That is why you should be standing close to the desk so you can be one of the first people to jump in line if they ask.
4. Be sure to get on another flight
Before accepting a bump, first find out how much they are offering; domestically it’s usually around $400 and internationally it can be up to $1,350. Then find out when the next flight they can get you on is. If it’s an overnight bump, the airline should provide you with a hotel, transportation, meal vouchers and sometimes even a calling card, though not always.
5. Get a cash voucher not a flight
This is very important. Do not accept a roundtrip flight because they come with heavy restrictions and blackout dates. Plus, you won’t get frequent flier credit for your flight(s). Instead, ask for a cash voucher that’s usually valid for one year from the date of issue for that airline. Note: Some airlines (Ahem, Delta) will even offer you gift cards to stores like Amazon.com.
Good to know: If the airline involuntarily bumps you (meaning you didn’t volunteer to get bumped), be sure to ask for cash, not a voucher. This happened to my sister and her family when they were traveling from Miami to Barbados because they were the last to check in and they each received $1,350.
6. Be nice
It’s very important to be genuinely nice to the agent. I always try to make friends with them and will even bring them chocolates since most passengers treat them terribly.
7. Ask for a lounge pass, upgrade, hotel, and food
If the agent is struggling to find volunteers, the money usually goes up and so do the perks. I normally won’t change my plans for anything less than $500, even if it’s a short bump. But I will always see if they can bump me into first class on the next flight or give me a premium economy seat. Before I had credit cards that got me into the lounges, I would ask for a lounge pass as well. If you don’t have one, ask for lounge access and a meal voucher (usually $10-$15).
8. Do it all over again on the next flight
During busy periods, you can get bumped multiple times the same day or over a week. It’s a great way to get some serious money towards flights. Tip: When you get bumped, take a photo of the voucher and email it to yourself so you don’t lose it. Also, set reminders as to when they expire so you don’t lose out on your hard earned bump.
9. Don’t check luggage
You will have a much greater chance of getting bumped if you don’t have checked luggage since it’s a pain and very time consuming for the airlines to find your bag in the cargo hold.
Good to know: If you choose to volunteer and they don’t need you (they let you know at the last minute), you may lose your overhead luggage space and sometimes agents could give away your seat and you might get stuck with a middle. Ouch!
Please let me know if you agree or disagree with these tips or if you think I missed anything.
Happy travels!
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Big blizzard storm touching down in NY today. And the NY airports are apparently shutting down.
My husband and I are scheduled to fly into Philly tomorrow. I’m thinking there may be travelers who need to take our flight to Philly in order to arrive at a NY destination for important business. Is there any way to offer via phone to be bumped to another flight?
We are flying USAir, and on their websites, they are allowing people to switch flights for free if they are flying into Philly, NY, or most east coast airports, today or tomorrow.
We would LOVE to get $400 cash or a voucher, and accept a later flight, but barring that compensation, if the flight can arrive safely, I think we would want to keep our designated flight.
WHAT WOULD YOU ADVISE?
Airlines don’t get compensate for bad weather
Getting bumped can be a good way to extend your vacation or get bonus flights, but it can also become a nightmare if you aren’t looking over the agent’s shoulder when they rebook you. My husband and I volunteered to be bumped on our way from NY to Amsterdam, but the agent either didn’t notice or didn’t care to tell us that we would then be leaving at different times and on different flights from Dublin to Amsterdam. After arriving in Amsterdam on my own with a dead phone battery, I was certain I would never see my husband again. By some miracle I did manage to find him at the airport, but I will certainly be more vigilant the next time I decide to take the offer to be bumped.
What’s the best/non-greedy amount to ask for when volunteering to be bumped? I’m actually leaving a day earlier then I need to in hopes that I get something but dont wanna be greedy and have them deny me and wind up with nothing!
United airline agent La Toya Love (who is amazingly great at her job) was about to force a few people out of the aircraft but I decided I would get off and so did a dozen of other people volunteered. Our flight was from D.C. to San Antonio, Tx. Voucher valued was the highest I have ever heard for domestic flights – $1,300!!!
A few years back, I was travelling on business and got bumped. Alaska gave me a $300 cash voucher plus my employer paid me hourly at time-and-a-half to sit at the airport for a few hours. Not too shabby.
Perhaps there was a time when I was near the top of the heap for such travel perks. On a domestic ticket 15 years ago I set the stage for a $2000 bump from Detroit to Dulles.
The chocolate example is also personal to me as I presented NWA employees with over 500
pounds of 10lb chocolate bars, thanking them for their great service to me.
But now…I am over all that
My party of 4 was offered a bump in Rome last week $600 cash or $900 travel voucher plus hotel, food. I didn’t need to be back but the rest did, so I went along with them, but I really want to make this work in the future. Thanks for the tips!!!
I have volunteered to be bumped several times flying Southwest and as far as we can tell, they will not give anythinh but vouchers and never for more than the inital cost of your tickets.
I volunteered to be bumped on a Southwest flight from SFO to SAN last summer. Voucher is good for a year, and the value was $300 plus original cost of the one-way airfare, so total was approx $400, which is not bad for a two hour delay.
Also in my experience airlines are reluctant to compensate passengers flying on reward tickets who volunteer to get bumped, at least on international flights. I’ve tried unsuccessfully.
I don’t know if or how they’d compensate a rewards passenger if they had to bump them on an involuntary basis. That probably depends on the regulations in each jurisdiction.
I have volunteered to be bumped on an AA award tkt,ORD-YUL.
Received a $500 voucher,hotel and a meal voucher.
Michael
Here’s an insight on volunteering for bumping of Spirit. We were flying from San Diego to Las Vegas the day before Superbowl. The second busiest day in Vegas behind New Years. The Spirit reps were desperately trying to get passengers to give up their seats during boarding. First offering vouchers for anywhere they fly, then upping it to two. Plus they would put you on a Southwest flight leaving in a couple hours. My wife and I went for it and we received four vouchers. During the announcement we were told that there would be no blackout dates.
Blackout dates did apply and I couldn’t fly on the initial dates I wanted for two different cities. For two tickets (San Diego -Chicago R/T), they waived the cost of the flight which was a savings of $190 each. However we had to pay the fees, taxes, seats, agent transaction fees ($20), and bag checking. Our initial out of pocket was about $320 for both of us. This is a pretty good price, but I expected to only have to pay the federal taxes and fees. Spirit hides a lot of self imposed fees in addition to the base price of the flight + pre-flight seat selection + carry-on or checked bag fee. To save $40, we could have not picked seats in advance. Our of pocket (with $40 for one checked bag r/t) was about $280. No bad really, but beware of all the extras that Spirit charges and rules. It was not as good as expected.
Are you at risk of your hold baggage flying off without you or are they always removed for security reasons?
They are supposed to be removed due to security.
I cannot forget, many years ago one Sunday, returning to my home in Manhattan Beach (LAX) from SYR via STL on TWA. I had an early morning flight out of SYR. The 10 AM, STL to LAX, was oversold. I volunteered, collected about $300 and was confirmed on the next flight, 2 hours later. That flight, also overbooked, provided the same benefit, .i.e., $300 plus confirmation, however, in FIRST Class on the next flight. Again, the third oversold, and a cash and first class confirmation on the next, and 4th flight, which was not oversold. Three “bumps” in about 6 hours! Certainly, a day well remembered.