javabytes

Are gift cards with 6 month expiration dates even legal? The CARD act requires that gift cards expire no sooner than 5 years after activation, and many states have their own laws.

Zeeb

If the amounts are the same, and the process is pretty painless to get them, I'm okay with this as long as their aren't tax implications or anything like that. $800 in AmEx cards or Amazon credit is worth more to me than $800 in Delta dollars. Though I'm a little worried about the "no rebooking until the flight is closed" part unless they clarify that you can be protected on your replacement flights, just not actually rebooked, until your original flight closes.

I have a flight through MSP this afternoon that was soliciting for volunteers at check in. So maybe I'll see this in action today.

BenA

Correct, but this doesn't affect the expiration of the physical card. It should be possible under these regulations to have the card reissued with a new expiration date, but that would be a pretty sizeable hassle. Better to just spend it quickly, or extract the value into some other non-expiring currency you know you'll use.

(That's why I like Amazon balances; in my case, as a Seattle resident, I buy everything from groceries to books and movies from them, so I know it'll get used there.)

http://www.consumerfinance.gov/askcf...-my-money.html has more details.

MSPeconomist

Not only that, but doing other gift cards, either in addition to or instead of DL vouchers, wil encourage more kettles to volunteer, probably for very small amounts.

MSPeconomist

Some employers claim ownership of IDB and VDB money if the employer has paid for the ticket. This is especially true if the rebooking causes the employee to miss work, although in those cases, one probably shouldn't accept a VDB. If it's a DL voucher, it's easy to use it to book your next business try on DL. Otherwise it will be a mess and this will discourage those folks from taking VDBs.

mridley2

This approach was also utilized today at LGA for my VDB opportunity. So if it is experimental it's not limited to just MSP. All volunteers were promised amounts and given a general idea of what flight that would be placed on and told to standby. Many volunteers were told to board just before the boarding door was closed. I was one of four volunteers needed. We were offered $1000 gift card of choice or delta voucher. Gift cards are administered through an email link. You click the link fill out basic info and the card will arrive within 10 days.

Gift card options included AMEX, Amazon, Macy's, Bloomingdales, and others that I can't recall. I opted for AMEX (no brainer!)

I see a real problem with this approach; let me explain why. After the GA for my flight (LGA-ATL) confirmed the final manifest she took the final paperwork down the gateway and told us to wait there. She was gone for probably 10 minutes or so before she came back.

Then she issues all of us compensation.

Then starts re-booking us one by one. This takes time. Lots of precious time. In all that processing time what if the flights we were promised are no longer available? 2 of the 4 vols on my flight needed the 4:30pm LGA-RDU flight which I'm not sure if they were going to make. I left the gate at 4:20 and their tickets still had not been re-issued (gate agent was on a long ish hold for re-issue desk).

ATLMike1234

I thought that this was the only way that it was done... I have experienced this as far back as 2013 and wasn't aware that they ever send volunteers away until the door is ready to close. I've VDB'd probably around 4-5 times in the past few years, and have always gone up and been told my compensation amount, then told my alternative routing and had a seat protected on it, then told to wait and keep my original boarding pass. In some of these cases I've been told to board the aircraft, other times gone up to be reticketed for the next flight. But I've never just been given a new ticket and sent on my way before the original flight was ready to depart.

jrl767

this pretty much kills a lot of the benefits of VDB for seasoned/informed travelers who volunteer with their desired option, particularly if said option is less than, say, 30 minutes away ... it represents a lot of extra work for a GA who is doubtless already harried by the need to process VDBs in the first place

my last VDB experience likely would not have happened under these rules -- 725 departure DTW-DCA needed three volunteers when I got to the gate at 640, first option was DCA at 1030 and second option was IAD at 741 ... I said IAD was fine, GA said "I'll take you right now" and generated the BP and the voucher immediately

MSPeconomist

Being given a protected seat on an alternative routing is very different from only being told in a general way how one will be rebooked.

PayItForward

My one and only time was in March this year. They did not even ask for volunteer but instead page me to the front and offer to get me to my destination earlier on a different route (2 segments). No compensation, just confirmed upgrades in both legs (I was already cleared for the first leg anyways) and the new flight leaves earlier than my original route. I did managed to get the original route MQM credit. I was 'new' and did not ask for anything +_+

Widgets

When volunteering gets you rerouted to your final destination earlier than you were originally booked, it's called an "early off" and no voucher compensation is offered/allowed. You can still get other perks like drink coupons if you're in Y or a meal voucher if you're super lucky.

Zeeb

Yep. They are offering Amex cards for volunteers in MSP tonight. I volunteered for only $400 because I wanted to see how it works.

MSPeconomist

Can you use these things to pay an AmEx bill or do you need to remember to use them when you're buying something?

BamaGirl

I'd be more curious to know if you can use them to purchase 'real' amex give cards on the Amex site, since those do not expire.

Zeeb

As a data point, they are still waiting to see if they need me but have already protected me on the next flight out.