I’ve told you about The Bump… how taking a small inconvenience on a flight can lead to piles and piles of free or very near free airline flights. In March of this year, somehow I stumbled into a situation that resulted very much in my favor.
Somehow, probably because of my proclivity for cheap fares, my flight from Boise to Orlando was routed through LAX with an ugly monster red-eye. I wasn’t exactly excited about it, but the first-class upgrades I had gotten thanks to my Delta Skymiles Credit card were easing my pain. When I got into LAX, I made my way to the gate for my next flight and positioned myself (according to custom) where I could pounce on any opportunity to skip the red-eye and have Delta buy my a hotel room for the night. Fortunately, it went down just like that. Before 10:00pm I found myself comfortably in bed instead of trying to sleep in an airplane.
The next morning I partook of the breakfast coupons I had also been given for my troubles and sit down at the gate, voraciously reading “The Count of Monte Cristo.” As the time for my flight approached, once again the attendant made the announcement that the flight was overbooked, and that they were looking for volunteers to take another flight. Once again I jumped at the opportunity, this time only adding a couple hours to the overall trip – a few more chapters in my book I figured, and for a $400 voucher, who can go wrong?
These vouchers expire in March of next year, and though a beautiful summer has already arrived in Idaho, I’m already anxious to have a use pinned down for these puppies. My wife and I celebrate 10 years of marital bliss here soon, so I’ve considered an anniversary escape to Hawaii. I’d also like to make my way into Cuba by way of Cancun. I have a good friend who wants to meet up in Roatan, Honduras in October. And there’s a part of me that wouldn’t mind seeing Nova Scocia in late August. If I need to, I suppose I can search out some secondhand vouchers if we decide to take the whole family. It’s a wonderful predicament to be in – plagued by wanderlust.
Wanderlust with me – post a comment on where my $400 Delta vouchers should take us.
I would hit up Hawaii. I think you might want a hotel card before you go though. Their hotels are really spendy. I loved Oahu, but I’ve heard other parts are better.
Did you ever try to look for flights that were at or under $400? I hold similar vouchers but I would prefer to not spend too much more for a “free” flight. I’m pretty flexible on the destination and the dates but I would want to stay within the $400 parameter, or close to it. I don’t know how to search for flights to anywhere for ~$400. Any ideas?
@Diane- I wish there was a super easy option, but this is definitely the best. I made the video for you!