When Should You Really Accept The Airport's Rebooking Offer Or Flight Voucher?

If you fly frequently, you may have been in a situation where an airline has overbooked your flight. This can happen to compensate for no-shows, or even to make room for a Federal Air Marshal. When it occurs, the airline generally offers a sum of money or flight vouchers to volunteers who are willing to be rebooked on a different flight. 

It sounds like a dream if you don't have to be at your destination by a certain time, right? You get extra cash, you get put on another flight, and you come out on the other side with more than you started with. Not a bad way to balance out what you spent on your vacation. However, you may be missing out if you're one of the first volunteers. In fact, if you wait it out a bit, you can end up with more money than they're initially offering. After all, if they don't get enough volunteers, the number is likely to go up more and more. 

According to the Department of Transportation, there is no limit in terms of what they can give you, like vouchers or money. In fact, airline reimbursement rules benefit travelers in ways that include negotiating with the airline, and asking for things like food vouchers or hotel rooms if your rebooked flight means you're going to be waiting for a long time. Otherwise, you may end up spending some of the money they give you during your delay. Of course, it's a gamble. If they're looking for two or three volunteers, they may get that easily. However, if they're asking for more, you might want to hold out depending on how willing you are to lose out on the cash. 

You should know, however, that if the airline offers you a voucher for a new flight instead of, or in addition to, money, you're entitled by law to be given details about it — like whether it can be used during the holidays and how long it's good for. Of course, if they don't get enough people volunteering, even with some good offers, someone is going to get bumped against their will. That's why it's so important to pay attention to the SEQ number on your boarding pass. The number after those letters shows the order in which people checked in. For instance, if it says "SEQ 025," you were the 25th person to check in. If your number is near the end, and you were one of the last people, you may be the first to be bumped. Although that's also affected by things like the fare you paid and your frequent flyer status.

If you are denied boarding because of an overbooked flight, the airline owes you money anyway. In this case, airlines are required by law to give you a written statement that tells you what you have the right to in terms of compensation, and how they decided who to bump. With a few exceptions, like being bumped for safety issues, you qualify for compensation based on how much you paid for the ticket and how long your delay is going to be. At the time of this writing, short delays (one to two hours) generally get you double the one-way price for that specific flight, but airlines are allowed to limit this up to $1,075. However, long delays (over two hours) can get you four times the one-way fare, up to $2,150.