Delta has a pretty cool system where you can bid for the price to take a bump. A bump is a slang term used when you are bumped or moved off a flight to another flight. There is either a voluntary or involuntary bump. In this case it’s a potential for a voluntary bump and Delta is rewarding their customers willing to take a different flight with the amount of their choosing.
A recent flight was Baby Weekly Flyer’s first flight in a separate seat. So if our bid gets taken, we’ll get 3x the bump. I noticed the default bids were really low, so I entered my highball bid. It wasn’t taken, but I didn’t really want the bump. But if I did, the question would have been: how aggressive do you get with your bidding?
So what would you bid to take a bump?
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The Weekly Flyer writes about travel from a business traveler perspective. He travels the world every week accumulating points and miles along the way.
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I have bid on these dozens of times, but I never seen an agent actually use the bids. They just end up recruiting volunteers at the gate and paying $200 – $600 for VDBs, depending on the wait involved and the supply/demand.
Never ever bid under $200. If you have any idea how much you’ll be delayed by taking a later flight, GAs seem to use the following scale:
2hrs or less – $200
2hrs to 4 hrs – $400
4hrs+ – $600
Who values their time so little to accept $50??