So I show up for my 6:55 AM flight, and as I approach the counter to get my BPs, I notice that the place is pretty well packed with pax. No upgrades, either. Hmmm. My spider sense starts tingling.

I dash to the semi-secret alternate Security entrance, and a few minutes later I'm airside. Strolling past the gate, no one's there, so I go for my morning coffee and bagel.

About a half hour before scheduled departure, I go back to the gate. Approaching the GA, I asked her right out if she needed any volunteers. She allowed as they might, so she took my BP. All the pax load on the plane.

She's pecking away, so she tells me I might as well board, and if they need me she'll come get me -- like I haven't heard that before.

Anyhow, my original seat (5D) is now taken up by a family of three with an infant, so, good guy that I am, I go to his former seat, 12B. A middle seat. Hmmm. There had been a flight cancellation, so much to-ing and fro-ing with duplicate seat assignments and so on.

Finally, the GA is strolling down the aisle doing a head count. She spots me and discretely raises a quizzical eyebrow. I respond with a slight head nod, and she motions me out. Whoo-hoo! I made it!

I spring from my seat (greatly suprising an Asian woman in the aisle seat, who was wrapped in two blankets ... "Lady, you're not flying non-stop to Narita from Buffalo!" ... Sheesh!).

Well -- I get off and after a couple of minutes she hands me two BPs (in F, naturally) for the next flights out, and two $5 meal vouchers. She tells me she's closing out the flight, so she'll do the ECV's when I come back for the next flight.

That suits me, so I wander off for breakfast. While I'm eating I get all my paperwork done, which consists of two crossword puzzles, the Jumble, and the Cryptoquip. Whew! Finishing up, I then head back to the gate.

At the gate, she tells me they don't have $300 there (I presume she meant they don't have that option on her menu), so she hands me one for $250 and another one for $100. Sweet.

Then I read the text -- it seems that each voucher is good for $250/$100 toward the purchase of another flight, or 25,000/10,000 miles! Holy Mackerel! 35,000 miles just for waiting around for a couple of hours! Hey, I can do that all day long.

Naturally, I tried it on the next flight, but they had just enough seats. You can bet I'll be attempting this on every flight I possibly can from now on. It won't last forever, but I'm gonna ride this pony until it drops over dead.

So my question is:

1. Is this normal for a bump voucher? The last one I got was $300 off, pure and simple.

2. I think I'll take the miles -- I'm told you can only use one voucher per ticket, whereas miles go in the pile with all the rest. 35,000 miles gets you a domestic r/t, but the Good Lord intended that miles shall be used for premium seating internationally, and that's what I'm going to do.

Anyhow -- dollars or miles - what would you do?

If you need EQMs to qualify for staus, go for the $$. Or else mileage is a good option. Remember that when you sppend $$'s you earn miles.

Well, $300 bucks gets me, what? a transcon r/t? maybe 10,000 miles all told?

I'm qualifying for status with segments, and the only reason I worry about FF programs at all is so I can get miles to spend on ... all together now ... international premium seating.

Suppose I pull this off 10 times. That's $3000, or 350,000 miles (more or less). The three grand gets you one WBC seat (maybe, and you can't combine the vouchers anyhow), while the 300,000+ miles gets you three.

Yes, in terms of redeemable miles $$'s is not a good option. But this is tax free money and boosts your hour rate.

A very gratuitous racial reference. A great post, other than the above quote.

And just to top off the day, Marriott upgraded me to a suite for the rest of the week.

Buffalo is a huge destination for Japanese tourists, because of Niagara Falls just up the road. Naturally, NW is more than happy to accomodate them (and their tour operators) by flying them from Japan to DTW/MSP to Buffalo.

Half the plane were asian pax and I have no idea why this smallish woman had wrapped herself in a couple of blankets as if she were hunkering down for a 13-hour flight. She was certainly astonished when I lept to my feet. At first, I didn't think she was going to let me out.

Other than that, it was certainly not intended to be a gratituitous racial insult.

What should he have called the Asian woman?

There is absolutely nothing inappropriate with the OP's post.

Seems like we (the forum, not you and I) just had this argument a few weeks ago...

I think we deemed that everything that could be considered exclusionary was offensive, with the exception of POS, which is perfectly fine when referring to a passenger.

For a voluntary bump on a domestic flight the normal NW compensation is a free-trip coupon. Depending on the markets you fly to/from, the free trip can be worth up to $500, but the flights are booked from "W" inventory and obviously don't yield miles.

The free-trip coupons can also be applied as cash vouchers worth $250.

For involuntary domestic bumps, the federally mandated compensation ranges up to $400 in cash, but generally the airlines will "negotiate" by offering you vouchers and hoping you don't object. If you do object, make sure you know the rules: Under some circumstances little or no compensation is actually mandated and the vouchers can be a gift.

That makes sense. Hopefully BigLar will make Buster CT1K happy and from now on refer to Asian woman as POS.

Aren't adjectives supposed to be exclusionary?

Not sure if you missed my tounge-in-cheek reply, or I missed yours.

Either way, I was just kidding.

I take offence to that Sir or madam of any racial, ethnic, sexual or height specific difference from me (as discussed we have previously determined that POS can be discriminated against)! As a member of the "Adjective Supporters Society" (...) we have an issue with those who discriminate against people who use adjectives. HOW DARE YOU! I am sure you will be hearing from our lawyers shortly... and yes we had a pretty funny string on the over-sensitive nature of life today a few months back, I just do not have the time to search for it.

I was bumped a couple of weeks ago and given 300. You can use more then one at a time, as long as you are on the ticket. I just bought a ticket using them for me and my wife and they took them without out any issues, even though it was only my name on the ECVs. Maybe it was because I did it at my home airport, but I doubt it.

The $250+$100 offer is abnormal. It is typically $300 as others have echoed. I'd consider yourself fortunate. In addition, I have not seen the ones that can also be redeemed for miles. To me, that's new. But, I haven't really been bumped in 1.5 years, either.

I have horrible luck. At everything.