I've tried your ploy of switching my flights to ones more convenient by saying "my flight is oversold, and the one I want is empty" - but the fact is fares have restrictions and it's the airline's problem, not the travelers problem when flights get overbooked. You don't get any bargaining room til you bump off your flight.

Also, you'll never be able to get put in F when switching carriers on an upgraded Y ticket whether it's a bump or irregular ops. Only exception would be if only F was available.

I think you came out way behind. I don't bump much anymore because I'm not going to lose a half day of work or vacation and give up my upgraded seat for a small voucher.

The times you come out ahead is when you are on a lousy routing and get rebooked on something more convenient...or if you end up getting an upgrade out of the deal.

I've had cases where bump vouchers are about to expire and force me to buy expensive tickets on airlines that are inconvenient for my plans, or I have to go to the airport to ticket a trip.

This is a far cry from a few years ago where I was completely obsessed with getting bumped....seems like my last minute tickets cause others to get bumped more often than I volunteer.