{"id":47,"date":"2011-04-29T04:31:20","date_gmt":"2011-04-29T04:31:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldwanderlusting.com\/?p=47"},"modified":"2011-04-29T04:31:20","modified_gmt":"2011-04-29T04:31:20","slug":"the-bump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldwanderlusting.com\/?p=47","title":{"rendered":"The Bump"},"content":{"rendered":"

At times, flying for free just isn’t enough for the insatiable soul of the wanderluster.\u00a0\u00a0We want more than to fly for free… we also want to earn even more frequent flyer miles while<\/em> we indulge in complimentary travel.\u00a0 Yet, as\u00a0exhilarating as it is,\u00a0redeeming frequent flyer award tickets precludes us from such joy.<\/p>\n

Enter, “the bump.” “The bump,” as it is known, is the wanderluster version of good fortune\u00a0 – the epitome of serendipity.\u00a0 In their\u00a0zeal to keep load rates high, airlines overbook flights with the expectation that a small percentage of travelers will fail to arrive in time for boarding.\u00a0 \u00a0When the airline finds itself in this peculiar situation, they solicit passengers to volunteer to have their flight re-routed.\u00a0 In exchange for what will range from a mild inconvenience to a major flight-overhaul, the airlines offer their profuse apology in the form of a travel voucher – generally somewhere around $400, depending on the routing.\u00a0 And here’s the kicker – when you redeem that voucher, (hopefully to a\u00a0destination that’s pronounced with a Spanish accent)\u00a0 you’ll earn even more FF mileage.<\/p>\n

As someone who ranks $400 in free travel\u00a0as euphoric\u00a0on the ecstacy scale, I jump, nay, leap at the opportunity.\u00a0 In fact, I’ve learned to pre-position myself when I’m aware of an overbooked situation, the same way an NBA forward blocks out for a rebound.\u00a0 I want to be absolutely sure that I’m the first one in line when they start asking for volunteers.\u00a0 Yet, you’d be surprised how little attention these offers get.\u00a0 Few travelers seize the opportunity, but that’s because they don’t find what they’re not looking for.<\/p>\n

I’ll summarize with a few key bits of advice on how to ready yourself for “the bump:”<\/p>\n