If someone promises you something on behalf of many other people, don't believe him. This applies to anything in life. Lesson learned

I also have never heard this before. Can anyone else verify that this VDB policy has actually changed?

There is no cap at the bid; however, they might use the bids to set their initial offer (they need 3, 3 people bid $400 or less so they start at $400). When their alternative is good (I've seen them offer a nonstop arriving earlier to connecting pax for a VDB), the price tends to be lower.

They were offering $1000 on Sunday for ATL-TUL, but it was a full 24 hours before the next available flight. I would have been peeved if I had underbid or even bid on such a layover.

At MSP a few weeks ago we had the infamous $200 gift card offer on the last MSP-MCO flight. A couple of us in the SP line just chuckled at the low number for a delay which required an overnight.

Is it possible what actually was said, was meant to be understood more along the lines of "this is the maximum that is going to be offered for flights to AAA today" or "this is the maximum offer that we are offering today based upon current bookings." I'm highly doubtful that an agent would make a blanket statement of $500 is the maximum offer for VDB for all flights today. I think they assumed that the OP like most others would understand that they mean for flights to that city, and based upon current bookings.

This makes sense. It's a stretch, but "today" could have also just referred to the flight. "You won't get a better offer today."

That's kind of how I took it.

This is all that matters as far as I'm concerned, if the GA for your flight got all the volunteers they needed for your flight for $500, what any other person got for any other flight is meaningless. If $500 was not enough for you, you should not have accepted it. They are not obligated to give you whatever you ask for.

Honestly, your whole post comes off as arrogant and entitled to me. GA's do not have the luxury of time to hold complex negotiations with passengers. You are certainly entitled to try and negotiate with them, but if they are unwilling to do so, I don't see anything unreasonable about that. If I was a gate agent I would have probably just thanked you for volunteering and said I'd call you back up if you were needed, then put your name on the bottom of the list.

As for those who think the offer you make at check-in is meaningless, I don't understand that. The only time I've been bumped in recent years I had put in an offer of 'just' $300, knowing that if I took a bump from the early evening flight I was already on I wasn't going to accept more than a few hour delay (i.e., I wasn't overnighting anywhere). At the gate they never asked for volunteers, but they called me up, they gave me the $300, and gave me a boarding pass for the flight at the next gate over that was already boarding, the connecting flight they put me on was scheduled (and did in fact) arrive earlier than my originally scheduled flights. I've seen several claims that the bidding process is for 'data only', but in my experience that is not the case.

From what I can tell, it is usually (effectively) for data only; but if they just need one or two VDBs, and they want to do it early (as in your case, where waiting until your flight closed would have made the other flights unavailable), they'll just offer at your bid.

BTW, was the new route longer, did you get ORC (just for MQMs), or not ask?

See here's the issue - I was just fine with the $500. What comes off to me as stupid on your part is the supposition that having a brief negotiation is somehow entitled or arrogant. I'm not sure if you really read my OP. My negotiation with the gate agent lasted less than two minutes. I asked if they still needed volunteers. He said Yes. I asked how much? He said $500. I asked about my rebooking options. He clicked on his computer and then answered. I asked if he could go any higher since it was a significant delay, he said that $500 was as high as they were giving out for ANY FLIGHT THAT DAY. I accepted. He asked me to wait. I sat down. He called me up a few minutes later and processed me. We wished each other a good day. End of interaction. If that makes me arrogant and entitled than so be it. In my opinion not asking for more than they are offering is stupid and sheep like.

Had he said "$500 is as high as I'm willing to go" there never would have been an issue.

Things didn't get heated till I spoke to the Red Coat several hours later. It started out as an inquiry and her attitude caused it to escalate. I didn't demand to see her supervisor to complain about the gate agent I demanded to see her supervisor to complain about her poor customer service skills. There are any number of way she could have easily diffused the situation had she any skill whatsoever at dealing with the public. Something along the lines of, "If the gate agent said that, I apologize but there's nothing to be done after the fact. Here is the policy we follow.... If you'd like to submit a comment to Delta regarding the policy here is how you do that...." Pretty much customer service 101 stuff that any airline employee should know on their first day.

Let's remember - the Airlines make a small fortune overbooking and with out us entitled people "playing the game" they'd be handing out IDB compensation and dealing with the regulators. Believe you me, Delta needs people to take these deals. You won't blame them for trying to get me or someone else to take it for a little as they can, why are you so upset when I try to get as much as I can?

And while I do not post often I read this board quite a bit and I know that there are many of the same people who consistently jump all over anyone who dares to question the wonder of Delta Airlines. What is truly amusing is the way these same people bristle when someone call them a Delta Apologist. The truly great part is that if you try to explain away the actions of someone or some group that is the very definition of apologist.

In closing - if you think that attempting a brief VDB negotiation, inquiring after the fact to a read coat, and then speaking to that red coat's supervisor when when she behaves in a way you find objectionable to be silly, entitled, arrogant then I'll accept that title gladly. Its better than being a stupid sheep.

I think taking the comment to mean any flight to any city is a little much. I think they clearly were meaning any flight to your destination that day. Also since they're not fortune tellers (or RM would employ them in their department) it's clear they were meaning based on current bookings.

Could they have been clearer in saying that? Yes, of course. However, I don't think it's unreasonable to assume when making the statements they made that the restrictions above were implied.

Who are we to opine on what the gate agent actually said or meant to say? We weren't there. I say let's cut the OP some slack.

I don't doubt that what he says he heard, was what was spoken. All I think is that he's construing the statement in a manner that isn't what the GA was meaning. It's the one problem with implied meanings. Someone, somewhere, along the line, is not going to understand the implied portion of the conversation. They will then come up with a different meaning for the same statement.

Not sure if they can only offer the bid amount these days or what, but I'm still bidding $100 and if they want my seat they will have to pay me at least $300 depending on when I can get to where I need to go.

Don't want to negotiate DL? Fine by me, find another pax willing to VDB.

There are circumstances under which they'll just offer you your bid (especially if they can get you an earlier arrival). And if they use the bids as information, you're hurting everyone else, too.