GET THE MOST OUT OF BEING BUMPED!

As many of you know I trave just about every week all over the world. I wish I had more time to write about the places that I travel. However, this is one of my favorite tips to offer those that are thinking about taking a BUMP! 

Some carriers initially offer a coupon for a free domestic ticket to volunteers who give up their seats on an oversold flight. If you agree to be bumped, ask for a travel credit voucher instead•a dollar amount that can be used toward the purchase of a future flight. (About $300 is the going rate, though gate agents often up the ante if they’re having a tough time finding volunteers.) Vouchers that are good for a round-trip ticket (as opposed to ones with a dollar amount attached to them) are subject to the same restrictions as frequent-flier awards•blackout dates and increasingly tighter capacity controls•making them much more difficult to use. The monetary voucher, however, is good for any flight and doesn’t carry any restrictions. Also, tickets you purchase with a monetary travel voucher qualify for frequent-flier miles, while those from travel credit vouchers don’t.