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Airline vouchers can be a terrific way to get a discounted rate on your airfare. In some cases, you can even get free air travel because the cost of the voucher covers the full cost of a ticket somewhere. And it’s nice because vouchers can be used at virtually any time (before they expire, usually one year after they’re issued) so you can choose to take a spontaneous trip with a voucher that you wouldn’t have otherwise been able to take.

One way to get flight vouchers is to try and get bumped from a flight that you are already planning. If you have some flexibility in your travel plans, try to book a flight that looks like it’ll fill up and then plan on hanging out in the airport for awhile. When you get there, ask if there’s a volunteer list for people who might get bumped. Sometimes, when a plane is overbooked, people will get bumped from their flights. These people get vouchers. So you just take a later flight for that trip and then get a voucher to take a trip at another time.

Another way to get a flight voucher is to play the part of the squeaky wheel. Of course, no one is advocating that you complain about things that don’t deserve complaints. But we all know that there are frequently delayed flights, problems with planes and poor customer service to deal with. Take advantage of these situations by complaining, loudly, and demanding to talk to supervisors. They’ll often offer you a voucher for your troubles or ask what they can do to help (in which case you can bring up the voucher idea).

Finally, keep an eye out for contests online and through local radio stations. Sometimes the winner of these contests receives flight vouchers, letting the travel anywhere that they want to within a certain time period. Vouchers aren’t perfect; sometimes they have limitations about when they can be used and they do limit you to a single airline. However they can be a good way to afford an extra trip during the year that you wouldn’t be able to take otherwise so they’re a good thing to keep in the back of your mind.