I recently traveled to New Orleans to speak as a panelist at Meet Plan Go! Nola. It was a very inspiring trip and I came back more determined than ever to get to work… but I also came back with an extra $1,000 courtesy of American Airlines for being a flexible traveler.
You see, American Airlines, as well as others like Continental and United, have a horrible habit of overselling their flights.
In order to compensate, they often ask for volunteers to take a later flight or re-route their trips, in exchange for a voucher of some amount. Usually they start off with $200 or $300, and if no one volunteers, they’ll usually go to a maximum of $500.
Volunteer
My original flight from Dallas to Tucson was oversold, so they started offering vouchers. No one budged. Eventually, they increased the amount to $500, plus free meals, plus free hotel for the night. I went for it! I was supposed to be rerouted in the morning, from Dallas to Chicago and then onto Tucson, which I didn’t mind.
But in the morning, my flight to Chicago was oversold. Once again, they started calling off, $300, $400, $500. I didn’t know that I was even eligible to volunteer, but I went up to the counter and began asking.
They were able to put me on a direct flight from Dallas, WITHOUT having to go through Chicago, putting me in 2 hours earlier… Oh, and they gave me another $500 voucher for ‘inconveniencing me’.
You could really make a business of this. How?
- Fly Through Busy Hubs: If you can, schedule your return flight through a large, busy airport, such as Dallas, Miami or Chicago. You’ll have a better chance of finding oversold flights.
- Be Flexible: Get real comfortable in airports, and understand the value you’re getting. If you’re scheduled to get back at 5 p.m., and a new flight puts you back at 8 p.m., who really cares? You’re already in the airport all day anyway. If you can be flexible and are open to being re-routed, you’ll be able to cash in big.
- Don’t Go For The First Offer: Surprisingly, most people DON’T want to give up their seat, no matter how much you pay them. Most have to go to work, have to get back to their families, etc. Which is great for you. If you hear the airline reps continue to increase the price, wait until they hit $500. That’s usually their max.
Needless to say, I’m super excited. The vouchers are good for one year, without any restrictions on black-out dates. With the free money, I’m planning on taking my boyfriend to Italy. He’s never left the country (in almost 2 years of us dating) and I’ve never been to Europe. Next time I go through Dallas (or anywhere, really) I will absolutely volunteer again. Why would you not?
How about you? Have you ever received a travel voucher for being flexible? Where did you go?
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Um, American stranded Scott and me last Christmas while it was SEVENTY DEGREES and sunny in Memphis (meaning not due to weather, due to an undersold flight), didn’t so much as offer a hotel until we pushed and got a sketchy airport motel, said they wouldn’t be able to get us back for four days, then only gave us a $400 voucher TOTAL after we complained for weeks via social media because what turned into a 48-hour delayed resulted in a $700 car towing fee. So no, I have not had such luck with American =) Glad you got so much money out of your efforts, though!
(And I always try to volunteer but it’s either not on my flight or people beat me to the counter!)
The best my family got was back in August, 2001 we flew on TWA from LAX to JFK and on to BDL (yeah, exactly, WTF?!). When they asked for volunteers, my mother FLEW to the counter.
For our inconvenience, we got rerouted via STL and then on to BDL (so much better), free food vouchers, upgraded to first class on our LAX->STL leg and free round trip tickets in the US on TWA (and then AA, when they got bought out like a month later) valid up to a year.
Now a days, LAX only offers like maybe $300. And I’ve never seen anyone budge more then that.
It will never be as good as pre-9/11!!
Wow, what a score for you! I never seem to be on overbooked flights. It’s only happened twice and I was unable to be flexible enough on those occasions to accept the bump. I keep wishing it would happen to me, though!
Just discovered your site via Twitter – great article. On an oversold flight with Delta, I once received a free upgrade to first class on a flight from London to New York, as well as a voucher for a car ride to my destination. Also with Delta, I managed to snag a $400 flight voucher thanks to giving up my seat on an oversold flight.
Volunteering your seat is a great tip for people who don’t mind the bit of inconvenience it causes!