If you love to travel, like I do, you will want to memorize my tips for earning free travel.
These are legitimate ways to earn free flights. No lying, scheming or collecting points. Proven tips.
The best part is, that you can use your flight credits as you wish. The only catch... you have to start with a busy flight.
Important definitions:
Bump - Travel slang for give up your seat and catch the next flight instead.
Oversold - The airline has more passengers than seats.
Volunteer (for compensation) - Offer to give up your seat in exchange for future credits
Voucher - Airlines will almost always give you meal vouchers ($10 or similar) when you are delayed
Booking strategy:
1. Choose flights that get to your destination before you need to be there. Example: If there are 2 flights that would get you to the church on time, choose the first. If you "bump" the airline will book you on the next flight out (which you already know gets you there on time). Thus, you are minimizing your inconvenience but maximizing your benefit.
2. Choose flights that are popular (like Sunday afternoons or Friday mornings when business travellers typically fly) and are likely to be full. Thus, increasing your odds of an oversold situation.
3. Choose Delta Airlines, or Air Canada. Both are generous with their compensation, have many flights (So you can still get to where you are going in a reasonable amount of time.) and often find themselves in an oversold position. Incidentally, I have had free flight credits (from volunteering to bump) from both these airlines in the last 2 years. So, if Air Canada and Westjet are offering the same route, at the same price, I would choose Air Canada as they are more likely to oversell and offer future credits.
Volunteer Strategy:
4. Be at your gate early. Sit close to the desk. Keep your ears open for announcements.
5. If/when they call for volunteers, don't hesitate! You want to be first or second in line for a good offer. In some cases, if the benefit offered is low, like $200, or $300 there might not be any volunteers. Then the airline's next move will be a higher benefit, like $400 or $600. Be polite, but also don't be shy about asking for food vouchers in addition to your flight credits. If there are two people in your travel party, and they need the two volunteers, you will each receive benefits. So, $400 x 2 = $800. Nice eh?
The key to getting free travel, is flexibility. If you can change your schedule a little. you stand to earn big benefits. Depending on the length of delay, and inconvenience, your flight credits will be between $300 and $800. With both Delta and A/C, the future flight credits can be split and used on multiple future flights. (But just for the one person who is named on the voucher.) For example, if Air Canada offers you $800 in future credit, you can use it for a flight to Calgary to see your cousin ($300) AND a flight to Hawaii to relax on the beach ($500) if you find a decent seat sale. And that would be TWO free flights, for one bump. Or....JACKPOT in my world.
The opportunity to bump certainly doesn't come up all the time, but I can say from experience that about 50% of my Delta flights have been oversold. The average traveller may not even recognize these opportunities to get free future travel, but once you tune in and benefit, it's sure hard to pass up.
