Mods: I wasn't sure which forum to put this in - feel free to move if needed.


Last week I fly EWR-LHR-EWR on UA and ended up getting voluntarily bumped three times in a row - totalled $3,000 in vouchers in one day. Now I'm hooked.


Question 1: These vouchers (I have 3, they are $1k each) say they cannot be combined when buying a new ticket. Does anyone know if that is really the case? Is it different if I call and pay the phone booking fee? Also, are they really limited to UA metal? Or just UA flight numbers, regardless of metal? (Or any * ticketed by UA?) Anyone have experience here?


Question 2: I need to fly NYC-LON again very soon. Need to book ASAP, be in LHR July 1 and 2, and have to keep the ticket under $2,200.

Other than that, I'm very flexible - depart/return dates I can do +/- 3 and I have a couch to crash on in London - so I'm happy to take my chances, even last-minute.

Given the above, how do I maximize my potential for getting bumped?



Are there any tools I should know about other than UA's 'expert mode' for search?

Considering schedules and summer weather, do you think Y8 on a 9:00am departure EWRLHR is worth more/less than Y8 on the departure 12 hours later?


[Are there any UA-specific threads about voluntary bumps that I should read up on? (I looked but didn't see any)]



THANKS for whatever thoughts you have!
Go well,
Jake