Originally Posted by csaribay
Should be noted that bumps are first come, first served: If you acknowledge to the GA immediately after they arrive that you would be willing to give up your seat (and let them hold your BP), you essentially hold the first place in line. Note that this approach can yield slightly less than the going rate (a few times I've lost $100 from the initial solicitation rate, though it was worth the ease of knowing that if someone is going to be kicked to the curb, it's going to be me).
That's not entirely true. The GA can choose to take someone else further down on the list for whatever reason. This happened to me just yesterday, when a busy GA chose to skip over me (#1 on the list, flying on an upgraded coach ticket) in favor of someone with an actual coach seat. If a GA ends up with more volunteers than needed, I would not be surprised if s/he took the path of least resistance, passing over someone with checked bags in favor of someone with carry-on only.
Also, the GAs are
supposed to give everyone who volunteers the same compensation offered to the last person who volunteered. So there should be no disadvantage in volunteering early; if the GA sweetens the deal to try and get more volunteers, you should get the same sweet deal.
Of course, when it comes to bumps, just about anything goes (mostly dependent on the mood/desparation level of the GA), so the above "rules" may or may not apply
