Originally Posted by
SporkLover
In my limited experience it's best to do it upon checking in on your day of travel. Ask what they are offering for oversold/booked flights. When the airlines are desperate, they usually solicit volunteers as they are checking in.
I got a great package deal just before christmas with Delta. I was flying out of Stuttgart and the flights were oversold/booked for two days. Being very flexible, I took their $1000 vouchers two days in a row. Worked out great, because if I would have flow the first day, I would have just been stranded at my connection airport because of a potent winter East coast storm.
i did something like your strategy too. In the dead of winter, I was supposed to fly SFO-ORD-AUS redeye and in middle seats near the back and I quickly volunteered to give up my seat and got to stay in a nice hotel for the night, flew out the next morning SFO-LAX-AUS in bulkhead aisle and exit row aisle seats, arriving just a few hours after my original itinerary scheduled. Plus, I walked away with $300 in my pocket. A great trade huh?