Bumping flights is one of our favorite ways to make money traveling.
Imagine this. You, traveling amazing places with your family and having new adventures. And it’s amazingly-jaw-dropping cheap, or free, or you actually end up making money. Yes. Making money. Traveling.
Learn how to do it in ways that works with your family and you can start traveling for free!
What is a flight bump?
Airlines bump passengers whenever they oversell a particular flight and more people show up to the flight than they have seats available.
All flights have people that buy tickets and do not show up for their flight. Therefore, airlines sell more tickets than there are actual seats on the plane with the expectation that not everyone will make it. When everyone does shows up, there’s not enough seats and some people aren’t getting on. That’s when people have to get “bumped” off that flight and onto the next one.
It sounds sketchy on the part of the airline but it’s perfectly legal, as long as they offer you compensation.
What kind of compensation are we talking about?
The bump flight is paid in different ways depending on the airline and sometimes even on the situation. The more desperate they are, the more awesome the stuff they may offer you. You can get airline vouchers, gift cards, and sometimes cash!
Most airlines offer airline vouchers that can be spent on future flights. This is how we have gone on many of our family vacations when airfare was too expensive. Our bump from one pays for the tickets of the next.
The more they are overbooked or the longer people wait to volunteer, the more they will offer you to bump, $100s of dollars or more! $400-$700 bump incentive per ticket is pretty common.
The most we have ever been paid is $1200 each. We were coming back from Paris on a holiday weekend through New York City. Our connecting flight from there was extremely overbooked, so we volunteered to bump to the next morning’s flight. The offer started at $700 each, but grew as no one else volunteered to $1100. Since we didn’t live in New York we also were given $100 each for a hotel that night. It ended up paying for our entire vacation and then some extra!
They can give up to $1350 per ticketed passenger, and more for voluntary bumps. The actually amount depends on your flight and how overbooked they are.
Beware that some of these offers can be highly specific. With blackout times and other rules, so it is a good idea to ask about these details before offering to take a bump.
Our favorite right now is Delta, they offer the money to be put onto a prepaid gift card of your choice (including Amazon and American Express which is just about as good as cash). Delta even has a higher limit up to nearly $10,000 for voluntary bumps! A gate agent even told us about a man who bumped for several flights in a row and used the money to buy an engagement ring for his girlfriend.
Right now, I may lean towards buying a Delta flight over another even if it is slightly more expensive.
When should you volunteer to bump?
Now you want to bump every chance you get? Sometimes we feel that way too! But we do not always take a bump when it’s offered.
We usually turn down a bump is when we feel that the costs do not outweigh the bump incentive.
For example, we don’t often bump when headed to a vacation. By the time we add up the missed hotel night and activities we could have done and all the fun stuff we had planned, we don’t often feel it is worth bumping. (Unless it’s a short wait for the next flight or such a big incentive that we can’t pass it up.)
The key to bumping, as with all things travel, is that the more info you have, the better a decision you can make. So ask! “If I bumped this flight, when would the next flight be?”
Waiting for a few hours at the airport as a family while waiting for our new flight after bumping (and making $600 each!).
This is key: Plan for a bump day on the way home
When we are traveling home is when we do the most bumps, we give ourselves this flexibility by allowing for planned bump days.
Yes, we are that committed to saving on our vacations. It works like this: If we have to be home from a vacation by Monday for work or school, then we don’t come home Sunday night. Instead, we come home Saturday. That way if the opportunity to bump (or even a few bumps in a row) arises, you can take it with no worries about what you would be missing. Worst case scenario, you come home a bit early before the craziness of life starts again. (And you know you could use one of those days.) Best case scenario, you make it home a bit later than planned with some extra money in your pocket.
How do I get the most out of a bump?
Best advice I can ever give for any traveler…be nice to the people around you! Especially to the desk agents. Most of their job is working with stressed travelers and they have to deal with travel crises on a daily basis. Being kind and patient is appreciated by them and goes a long way.
I have a process that I follow to score a sweet bump.
First, when I arrive at the gate after security I go up to the desk agent and tell them that if they have to bump someone off this flight then we volunteer. (Even if the flight app already asked me if I want to bump and I said “yes” I still do this.) This puts you on a list that they will choose bumps from. It’s on a first volunteered basis, so you want to be on the top of that list!
Secondly, when volunteering (nicely!) ask a few questions of the gate agent before you agree so you know it is worth it to you:
- “What else could you offer me if I am bumped off this flight?”
For example: hotel compensation (should always be included in an overnight flight bump), meal vouchers, flight upgrades etc.
- “What is the bump incentive you are offering?” (future flight vouchers, cash, gift cards, etc)
- “Are there any restrictions to using the vouchers in the future?” (for example, must it all be used in one purchase, are they transferable, are there blackout dates?)
- “If the money you are offering to bump goes up again, will you match our offer now to it?”
- “Will we be able to bump our family (when traveling with kids) together or only part of the group?”
- “If I bumped this flight, when would the next flight I would take be?”
Something to keep in mind is that the airline still makes more money by overselling the flight and then compensating those they bump. You are doing them and your fellow passengers (who don’t have to get involuntarily bumped since you volunteered) a favor. Therefore, you should (kindly and considerately) take full advantage of that.
Final bumping tip: ride that bump wave as long as you can!
Double bump. Triple bump. If you have the time and it still works for you and your family, keep going. We have had times where our flight we were bumped onto was also oversold and we bumped again, and got paid again!
We have the perfect example of this:
My parents took an anniversary trip to Costa Rica and paid $238 for each flight. They bumped to the next flight with first class complementary upgrade, arriving 5 hours later and with 4 meal vouchers and $1200 in flight credit.
With this, they were able to make a second anniversary trip to Cozumel for a scuba diving vacation. On the way home, they found themselves booked on a plane of Texan spring breakers headed to go skiing in Colorado. We are never people to stand in the way of family ski time…so they volunteered to bump again.
They used this to pay for our family of 6 (we were ages 15 to 7 at the time) to Puerto Vallarta for Christmas. Overall, 3 trips and $1000’s worth of vacation for $476 in plane tickets!
Ok, so what happens to all my stuff I just checked in?
This depends on where the plane is and how soon it is until it leaves.
If the plane has not even arrived at the gate yet, there is a chance that they will be able to pull your luggage before it is loaded onto the plane. If it is already loaded, it is unlikely that they will go and get it for you at that point. It will take the flight without you and will be waiting for you in a secure location when you arrive at your destination.
This does not include anything that you gate check (things like strollers, carseats and wheelchairs that you bring through security with you and then get checked right before you enter the plane) as you will still have them with you. It also is another reason that I like to only use carry-ons whenever possible.
Sweet! Where can I learn more?
The official US Department of Transportation has a great site that explains the legal details of when airlines can bump you with and if you’re entitled to compensation.
Remember, if it is not the airlines’ fault (weather, security hold up, you were late, etc.) you usually don’t get any form of extra compensation.
Any luck you’ve had with bump flights or tips to make it more beneficial for travelers?
5 comments
Question, can you negotiate the offer they are giving you? I almost took a bump (but I was feeling so sick I didn’t want to hang around in the airport) and they were offering $800 in travel vouchers to use in the next 3 months. Can you counter, like, “I’ll take it if you can change it to the next 12 months”?
That is such a good question that you should absolutely ask. The agents have a certain amount of liberty on how much and what they can offer. If you ask and explain what is holding you back, you will start an open conversation and they may change the offer to accommodate you. Remember that you are doing them a favor by volunteering to bump!
How have I never heard of this before!!!!
It’s such a great secret because so many people think that bumping is a bad thing! They don’t realize how much money or free trips it can get them!! Are you going to try to bump your next flight?
Such a article. My husband and I run a diving center in Cyprus. We want to offer something more than diving to our customers, something different, thought provoking, unique and absolutely appealing. Open to any ideas? Complimentary refreshments already a given…