Help Me Hank: Airline vouchers

Michelle and her family were at the Phoenix airport, ready to fly home from a family trip.

Michelle Tisdell
"We went to go see the Grand Canyon."

Deborah and her family were at the D.C. airport, on their way to see the Pats and the Panthers in North Carolina.

Deborah Stein
"My daughter and I usually fly somewhere warm for one game a year."

But their travel plans took a turn when they agreed to be bumped from over booked flights. They thought they'd hit the jackpot because they were offered free round-trip vouchers to give up their seats.

Michelle Tisdell
"I was all excited. I was jumping for joy. I was like woo hoo."

Michelle's family had to wait hours for another flight. Deborah and her daughter had to spend an unscheduled night in D.C. But they thought the value of the vouchers made it worth the hassle.

Deborah Stein
"How could you go wrong?"

Well, here's how. They started planning their freebie trips, then called the airline to put their vouchers to use, but no matter what dates they tried to book they got bad news!

Michelle Tisdell
"There's no flights available."

They knew the vouchers expired in a year, so Michelle and Deborah kept trying for reservations.

Deborah Stein
"Different dates, different months, and there was just never anything available using vouchers."

Were they grounded?

Soon they went to a different source hoping to be cleared for take-off.

Michelle Tisdell
"I saw you on the television. So I just typed in Help Me Hank."

Uh-oh, Help Me Hank has some bad news about bumping via travel guru Terry Trippler.

Hank Phillippi Ryan
"Are all vouchers created equal?"

Terry Trippler, Travel Expert
"Oh goodness no."

Trippler says vouchers may, legally, have all kinds of drastic restrictions and he thinks gate agents don't always explain them.

Hank Phillippi Ryan
"If you don't ask the right questions, where could that leave you?"

Terry Trippler, Travel Expert
"It could leave you with a voucher you find out is almost impossible to use."

That's exactly what happened to Michelle and Deborah. But now they hope their experiences will at least help other flyers.

Michelle Tisdell
"I just felt that people needed to know this."

Bottom line: bumping can work for you, but make sure you know the deal before you say yes.

(Copyright (c) 2006 Sunbeam Television Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)