I love Chris Elliott's blog, especially when he seems to have read my mind in his critiques of travel providers.
In his most recent newsletter, Chris reports on the downside of those paper flight coupons airlines offer as compensation for bumps and fare adjustments. Like Becky Granger, Chris's reader correspondent, I was chagrined when I realized I'd have to pay a ticketing fee to cash in a flight voucher I'd received for giving up my seat on a sold-out flight.
Unlike Becky, however, I was able to limit my inconvenience to the $15 charge incurred when I used the voucher at American Airline's counter.
Yes, it still chafes my butt raw to have to pay to redeem something given as free.
But there's no need to make a special trip to the airport just to play airfare roulette at the airline's ticket counter. Of course, if you have the time and patience, you can always make a reservation by phone and mail in the voucher. Or you can book online, if you then call the airline and tell an agent you'll be mailing a voucher.
Otherwise, here's the best strategy, one that shouldn't cause too much distress to most frequent fliers. You'll have to think ahead, of course, but it shouldn't be too difficult to redeem your voucher during your next trip.
Just go online as usual to book the ticket you plan to pay for using your voucher. For most discounted fares, American Airlines holds your reservation until midnight of the next day, but in some cases, your ticket is held without payment until 30 minutes before flight time.
In my case, I was in Orange County on the second leg of a round-trip that had originated there, and I had decided to use my voucher on a one-way return to O'Hare, my home airport.
I booked the ticket online to guarantee its price. Arriving at John Wayne Airport at the normal preflight check-in time, I simply waited a few minutes at the AA ticket counter, and, along with my ID, presented the voucher to the agent.
After processing the ticket sale (there was a small balance that went on my credit card), the agent issued the ticket, printed my boarding pass, and checked in my bags. The whole ordeal took perhaps 10 minutes more than usual.
Please keep in mind that YMMV.
I have elite status on American, so I can use the First Class ticketing position at most airports. (Note that some airports may be limiting that privilege to First Class and Executive Platinum passengers, so as a lowly Platinum, I might have had a longer wait had I tried to use the voucher at O'Hare.)
Alternately, if you're a member of an airline-sponsored lounge such as the Admirals Club, agents in most lounges can help you with future flight ticketing.
When I spoke with an AA customer service representative by phone, she assured me there are plans to make these vouchers redeemable online. In the meantime, if you're offered a bump or a fare adjustment, you might want to ask for $15 more (or $20, apparently, if you fly United) to cover the cost of redeeming the paper credit.
