What is best use of $500 credit for overbooked?
Apr 14, 2002, 5:08 am
#16
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Encinitas, CA USA
Programs: Ex-Continental Platinum Elite, HHonors Diamond Preferential VIP, Former Continental Platinum Elite
Posts: 391
What to do with free vouchers?
Lets face it, most of us who travel on business don't have the time to earn them but the few times I have earned them I have converted them to cash for business travel. How? I used the voucher on a ticket that cost more than the face value of the ticket and then submitted the ticket for reimbursement. Never once was my expense report questioned.
For example - AW gives you a $500 voucher and you apply it toward a last minute ticket which you buy from a ticket agent at the airport. The ticket costs $568 and you are charged the face value of the voucher + $68. The receipt reflects the total price of the ticket - which is $568.
Further - because the fare basis of $568 is higher than the face value of the voucher ($500) - I was able to get miles + elite credit on this trip. BE SURE THAT THE FARE IS HIGHER THAN THE VOUCHER FOR CREDIT ! ! ! A $500 voucher and a $499 fare will result in NO MILEAGE CREDIT and NO QUALIFICATION CREDIT!
My company didn't have a problem reimbursing me - and your company shouldn't either. I then took the $500 and bought a LAX/LHR weekend mileage run for $471 during the Continental bonus period at the end of last year and earned 42,000 miles.
Lets see - are vouchers worth the trouble? I think so.
Best of luck -
JTB
[This message has been edited by hotlancer (edited 04-14-2002).]
Lets face it, most of us who travel on business don't have the time to earn them but the few times I have earned them I have converted them to cash for business travel. How? I used the voucher on a ticket that cost more than the face value of the ticket and then submitted the ticket for reimbursement. Never once was my expense report questioned.
For example - AW gives you a $500 voucher and you apply it toward a last minute ticket which you buy from a ticket agent at the airport. The ticket costs $568 and you are charged the face value of the voucher + $68. The receipt reflects the total price of the ticket - which is $568.
Further - because the fare basis of $568 is higher than the face value of the voucher ($500) - I was able to get miles + elite credit on this trip. BE SURE THAT THE FARE IS HIGHER THAN THE VOUCHER FOR CREDIT ! ! ! A $500 voucher and a $499 fare will result in NO MILEAGE CREDIT and NO QUALIFICATION CREDIT!
My company didn't have a problem reimbursing me - and your company shouldn't either. I then took the $500 and bought a LAX/LHR weekend mileage run for $471 during the Continental bonus period at the end of last year and earned 42,000 miles.
Lets see - are vouchers worth the trouble? I think so.
Best of luck -
JTB
[This message has been edited by hotlancer (edited 04-14-2002).]
Apr 14, 2002, 8:31 am
#17
Join Date: Jul 2000
Posts: 470
I always volunteer to be bumped, and invariably sell my bump vouchers, they go for ~ 50 cents on the dollar in the open market. I would not do so with FF miles themselves since they are directly from my account. -Somehow selling the voucher works in my mind's eye, at least.
As to using the voucher for a work-related trip and then being reimbursed, that is an awesome approach if your company permits it. Under that approach you wind up getting $1/$1 in USD. I know for certain that my company (a Fed agency, that is) would can someone on the spot for such activity in that you can only submit expenses for which you actually paid for. Still, if you folks in the open market can do so, this would be a great approach. -Might want to run it by your Co. first, though.
As to using the voucher for a work-related trip and then being reimbursed, that is an awesome approach if your company permits it. Under that approach you wind up getting $1/$1 in USD. I know for certain that my company (a Fed agency, that is) would can someone on the spot for such activity in that you can only submit expenses for which you actually paid for. Still, if you folks in the open market can do so, this would be a great approach. -Might want to run it by your Co. first, though.
Apr 16, 2002, 8:20 am
#18
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Arizona
Programs: MSP raised, Elite since age 17
Posts: 4,723
Back to the original topic of how to use a $500 voucher.......
Could you pretty much put together 2 round trips in the same reservation?? Imagine something like this: LAX to EWR to ONT to LGA to LAX. If each round trip NYC to LA area would be about $250, I think the whole thing would price close to $500.
I wonder if you could even do LAX-EWR-LAX-EWR-LAX in the same reservation.....
Could you pretty much put together 2 round trips in the same reservation?? Imagine something like this: LAX to EWR to ONT to LGA to LAX. If each round trip NYC to LA area would be about $250, I think the whole thing would price close to $500.
I wonder if you could even do LAX-EWR-LAX-EWR-LAX in the same reservation.....
Apr 20, 2002, 12:21 pm
#20
Suspended
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: IAH-LAX -IAH Continental - Platinum EARNED(with calouses on my butt) Hilton Honors - Diamond
Posts: 321
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by FarAway:
What about waiting and using them on DL?</font>
What about waiting and using them on DL?</font>
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May 2, 2002, 2:09 pm
#21
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Las Vegas, NV, USA
Programs: AAdvantage EXP/1mm/Admirals,United Silver+Club (life),Marriott Titanium,Hilton & Accor Gold
Posts: 5,061
I was hoping to use a voucher for travel to Anchorage this summer. Unfortunately, the seasonal PHX-ANC route will no longer be flown by America West Airlines.
"Because of an effort to maximize performance and revenue possibilities, America West has indefinitely cancelled two routes: Las Vegas-Milwaukee and Phoenix-Anchorage*, and has temporarily delayed Las Vegas-Indianapolis until later this year. (*Seattle still remains a connection point to Anchorage, via our codeshare with Continental.)"
"Because of an effort to maximize performance and revenue possibilities, America West has indefinitely cancelled two routes: Las Vegas-Milwaukee and Phoenix-Anchorage*, and has temporarily delayed Las Vegas-Indianapolis until later this year. (*Seattle still remains a connection point to Anchorage, via our codeshare with Continental.)"
Jun 26, 2002, 11:56 am
#23
Join Date: Jun 1999
Posts: 539
I'm starting to look into ways to use my 3 $500 vouchers creatively.
Per the back of the voucher it is good for "1 roundtrip".
I called to ask if a circle trip (e.g. ONT-ORD-EWR-ONT; that's certainly a "round" trip, isn't it
) would qualify or if a scenario such as Viajero Joven describes could work.
I was told, no, only a pure roundtrip ticket qualifies. Supposedly there are some rules (not listed on the voucher itself) which prohibit circle trips and the like.
But, knowing better than to trust an answer I get from a CSR I thought I'd ask here: has anyone had any luck booking anything other than a pure vanilla roundtrip ticket with the bumping vouchers?
Per the back of the voucher it is good for "1 roundtrip".
I called to ask if a circle trip (e.g. ONT-ORD-EWR-ONT; that's certainly a "round" trip, isn't it
) would qualify or if a scenario such as Viajero Joven describes could work.I was told, no, only a pure roundtrip ticket qualifies. Supposedly there are some rules (not listed on the voucher itself) which prohibit circle trips and the like.
But, knowing better than to trust an answer I get from a CSR I thought I'd ask here: has anyone had any luck booking anything other than a pure vanilla roundtrip ticket with the bumping vouchers?
Jul 2, 2002, 7:27 am
#28
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: Land of 10,000 Upgrades
Posts: 9,465
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">One of the small things which annoys me about HP is, they are militant about making sure you can't get elite upgrades for revenue tickets bought with this form of payment.</font>
Jul 15, 2002, 2:20 pm
#29
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: San Francisco (Marin County), CA
Programs: UA Global Services, AA Lifetime ExecPlat, LH Senator, SQ PPS Solitaire, Hyatt Courtesy Card
Posts: 3,003
Well, after last night's fiasco with PHX being closed and scores of cancelled HP flights, we're $1000 richer via two $500 vouchers.
UpgradeMe, was your ticket purchased for a dollar amount OVER the value of the certificate, so there was an add collect? Did you book online? Did you need to do anything special to get your FlightFund upgrade processed, or did it process automatically?
We want to be sure we can get elite credit, upgrades and miles if we fly these out, otherwise we'll try to trade them.
Is the general consensus out there that if there's an add collect, you get the miles and UG's??
UpgradeMe, was your ticket purchased for a dollar amount OVER the value of the certificate, so there was an add collect? Did you book online? Did you need to do anything special to get your FlightFund upgrade processed, or did it process automatically?
We want to be sure we can get elite credit, upgrades and miles if we fly these out, otherwise we'll try to trade them.
Is the general consensus out there that if there's an add collect, you get the miles and UG's??
Jul 28, 2002, 6:45 am
#30
Join Date: May 2002
Posts: 445
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by MisterNice:
I noticed yesterday someone is selling a $500 HP cert on Ebay.
MisterNice</font>
I noticed yesterday someone is selling a $500 HP cert on Ebay.
MisterNice</font>
Type America West Voucher in the search box - they appear to eventually sell for about 50 - 70 cents on the dollar