Had a 'close yet so far' situation last month. GRR-ORD-LAS (and reverse for biz trip).

Outbound: offered $150 OLCI for GRR-ORD. Declined as I had to be in LAS for mtg & any other flights wouldn't get me there in time.

Return: offered $150 OLCI for LAS-ORD; declined. At kiosk printing BP offered $250; thought hmm, maybe/ok/say yes (forgetting my ORD-GRR was last flight of day). But while I was waiting for the flight I logged onto UA website to see how long delay/rerouting would be - and discovered I wouldn't get home until 1pm the next day (ie, not on the first flight in the morning after a red-eye). No way that's worth $250 (especially since I was up at 6am). So went to gate & asked him to take me off the VDB list.

Here's the close but so far part. ORD-LAS flight is taxi'ing out to runway & we have to return to gate because someone vomited on the plane & they had to have the cleaning crew come in & clean things up. So the flight is delayed. I'm now getting a bit nervous because I looked at the loads for the next day & realize I could still be getting home at 1pm the next day if I miss my connection but w/ zero comp. And by that time I just wanted to get home. Others are nervous because there are a lot of folk connecting to MUC. We land late &, wonder of wonders, people actually did stay in their seats to let the connecting passengers off first. I only had a couple of minutes to get to gate - at total opposite end of concourse - before flight is due to take off. I figure it's a lost cause, but stagger/run down the concourse anyway.

Get to the gate - and flight isn't boarding due to delay. Phew. While I sit there & catch my breath I hear them announce ORD-GRR is oversold & they're offering $400 ETC, hotel, meal cert, & flight out next morning. It occurs to me that this is a pretty good deal & I'd actually get more sleep taking the offer than getting home at midnight that night & still having to drive home. So I volunteer. They tell me they think they'll need me so to wait. So then they call me at the end & first say they don't need me, then as I gather my stuff they do need me, to again wait. So now I'm excited - $400, good night sleep, woo-hoo. So then they call me up & say they can't explain it but they did final head count & there is a seat open. So - no VDB for me. So close & yet so far! They must have started the VDB process, though, because I received a text message the next day telling me the morning flight they were going to put me on was delayed.

That's the closest I've come to a close but yet so far situation in getting it in terms of actual minutes & the back/forth.

Pre-merger there were a # of times I received a $400 (standard) offer on the ORD-GRR flights w/ seat on next flight guaranteed. Said yes every time & each time they didn't need my seat. Sigh...

Cheers.

This is true. Joe/Jane Public have now heard of VDBs & will take them.

My next door neighbors who fly one, maybe two times, year were coming back from Puerto Rico on holiday & got vouchers for the entire family & hotel when they took a bump to next day flight. My cousin's in-laws took a bump going to the in-laws family reunion (and didn't tell my cousin or her hubby who got stuck waiting at the airport for 3 hours - they were pissed). Again, people who rarely travel.

I don't think Joe/Jane are as savvy re: waiting for the offer to increase or know what they're entitled to in the case of IDB, but I think a lot of folk will take them nowadays.

Cheers.