Strange (but good) VDB happenings last Friday
Feb 16, 2004, 5:39 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Sacramento, CA
Programs: Nothing much anymore. Used to be annual 1K but ditched the work travel life. Still 1MM on UA.
Posts: 269
Strange (but good) VDB happenings last Friday
I was flying SAN-SFO-SMF last Friday and whether it was due to being a Friday before a holiday weekend or Friday the 13th, I should have known some weird stuff was going to happen..
The 1:35pm SAN-SFO flight was delayed (surprise!) but there was still plenty of time to make my connection, so I wasn't too worried. As I suspected, the flight was oversold and they were looking for VDB's, but the gate agent specifically announced that he was only looking for people whose final destination was SFO.
I thought this was kind of weird. I guess I can understand the thinking behind it -- all possible connecting flights out of SFO were already oversold (more on that below), and UA didn't want to have to pay for hotels if they didn't need to -- but it was something that I had never heard before. It would seem to me that if they needed volunteers, they would take them any way they could get them.
I would have gladly taken a bump, but since I was connecting to SMF, I was not eligible. Maybe they ended up loosening their restrictions, but I didn't wait to find out and boarded the plane.
I get to SFO only to find out that my 4:00 flight to SMF has been cancelled. When I got to the Customer Service desk, I had already been confirmed on the 6:21 flight, as the 5:35 flight was oversold. The 6:21 flight was oversold as well, but somehow I was confirmed, so I wasn't complaining -- especially when I asked for, and received, a $12.50 meal voucher.
The 5:35 flight ends up being delayed (it gets delayed even when I'm not on that flight!) and it leaves within minutes of the 6:21 flight. However, both flights are so oversold that they are offering the choice of a free round trip ticket or $600 in travel vouchers! I have never seen that much offered on any flight I've ever been on -- let alone something short like SFO-SMF. (They were also offering $600, looking for 8 VDBs on an SFO-BOI flight at the next gate, so UX must have been WAY oversold!)
Needless to say, I jumped on that offer, and took one of the buses to SMF that SkyWest had chartered. Having $600 in travel credits made the bus ride just fine by me.
I do have one question though about the credits...I actually got four separate $150 credits. They say something to the effect of "treat as Type B voucher" on them. They also say that they are "Non-Combinable" but I was assured from two people at SFO that I could combine these and use them all on one ticket. Does anybody know if that is indeed the case? Maybe "Non-Combinable" means I can't use any other type of certificate (e.g. CS25) in conjunction with these vouchers? I hope so, because if not, I won't be too happy.
The 1:35pm SAN-SFO flight was delayed (surprise!) but there was still plenty of time to make my connection, so I wasn't too worried. As I suspected, the flight was oversold and they were looking for VDB's, but the gate agent specifically announced that he was only looking for people whose final destination was SFO.
I thought this was kind of weird. I guess I can understand the thinking behind it -- all possible connecting flights out of SFO were already oversold (more on that below), and UA didn't want to have to pay for hotels if they didn't need to -- but it was something that I had never heard before. It would seem to me that if they needed volunteers, they would take them any way they could get them.
I would have gladly taken a bump, but since I was connecting to SMF, I was not eligible. Maybe they ended up loosening their restrictions, but I didn't wait to find out and boarded the plane.
I get to SFO only to find out that my 4:00 flight to SMF has been cancelled. When I got to the Customer Service desk, I had already been confirmed on the 6:21 flight, as the 5:35 flight was oversold. The 6:21 flight was oversold as well, but somehow I was confirmed, so I wasn't complaining -- especially when I asked for, and received, a $12.50 meal voucher.
The 5:35 flight ends up being delayed (it gets delayed even when I'm not on that flight!) and it leaves within minutes of the 6:21 flight. However, both flights are so oversold that they are offering the choice of a free round trip ticket or $600 in travel vouchers! I have never seen that much offered on any flight I've ever been on -- let alone something short like SFO-SMF. (They were also offering $600, looking for 8 VDBs on an SFO-BOI flight at the next gate, so UX must have been WAY oversold!)
Needless to say, I jumped on that offer, and took one of the buses to SMF that SkyWest had chartered. Having $600 in travel credits made the bus ride just fine by me.
I do have one question though about the credits...I actually got four separate $150 credits. They say something to the effect of "treat as Type B voucher" on them. They also say that they are "Non-Combinable" but I was assured from two people at SFO that I could combine these and use them all on one ticket. Does anybody know if that is indeed the case? Maybe "Non-Combinable" means I can't use any other type of certificate (e.g. CS25) in conjunction with these vouchers? I hope so, because if not, I won't be too happy.
Feb 16, 2004, 5:44 pm
#2
Moderator: Midwest, Las Vegas & Dining Buzz
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Posts: 17,981
You can't combine BOOKS. You can use 1, 2, 3 or all 4 in your book towards a ticket. In addition, you can use a CS25 or a 15 percenter on the ticket too, but be prepared for a hassle from many agents who say you can't comine them. One (the CS or the %) is a DISCOUNT towards a ticket and the other (VDB vouchers) are a PAYMENT towards that ticket. Don't take "NO" for an answer.
Hope this helps.
Hope this helps.
Feb 16, 2004, 5:45 pm
#3
Flyertalk Evangelist and Moderator: Coupon Connection and Travel Products
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Milton, GA USA
Programs: Hilton Diamond, IHG Platinum Elite, Hyatt Discoverist, Radisson Elite
Posts: 19,045
If they are part of the same book (same identification numbers) then they can be combined... I have never had any trouble combining them.
William
William
Feb 16, 2004, 7:36 pm
#4
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: BOS
Programs: JetBlue Mosaic, WN A List Preferred, Hyatt Globalest, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Platinum, IHG Spire
Posts: 3,966
Even if a gate agent announces they are only looking for volunteers on the given flight, you should still try even if on a connection. Just tell them you are "ok to go tomorrow," or something like that, and they will usually still take you as a volunteer. They are just looking for the easiest volunteers to rebook, but that doesn't mean they cannot take a connecting volunteer. But it sounds like in this case, you lucked out in the end!