Savvy Philadelphia traveler reveals how she bagged a luxury Italian vacation for free by exploiting a common problem faced by airlines
An American traveler in Italy made thousands of dollars and extended her luxury vacation by agreeing to turn down overbooked flights.
Susan Berry discovered her first flight from Naples to Philadelphia was overbooked. She took American Airlines gate agents up on an offer of a $1,200 travel voucher in exchange for a flight the next day.
The freelance photographer discovered that there is no limit to the number of vouchers she can receive, so she decided to try her luck and applied to be promoted again.
Berry ended up extending her stay in Italy for four days and was given $3,600 in flight vouchers. She was also allowed to stay in four-star hotels, and had transportation and three meals a day covered by American Airlines.
“The second day when I found out there was a potential two-week opportunity to do this. That’s when I started going, ‘cha-ching, cha-ching, cha-ching,'” Berry said Good morning America.
Susan Berry made thousands of dollars and extended her luxury vacation in Italy by agreeing to cancel overbooked flights
American Airlines gate agents offered $1,200 travel vouchers in exchange for a flight the next day
“I had just started, so I was mentally prepared to stay for two weeks.”
Every day, Berry returned to the airport with no intention of getting on a plane. Instead, she hoped to make money.
“Apparently American Airlines has overbooked the same flight to Philadelphia until August 15th and they need someone to volunteer to stand by for the flight until then. They are getting $1,200 in traveler’s checks every day,” she said on TikTok.
“I have $3,600 and I’d like to make $10,000. Then I’m going to travel the world.”
She described her experiences in the hotels where the airline placed her, calling them “Camp American Airlines.”
Every day, Berry returned to the airport with no intention of boarding her flight. Instead, she hoped to earn $10,000 in traveler’s checks
Sometimes Berry was the only one off the plane, other days groups of people came to her.
At some point, the gatekeepers began to recognize Berry and were surprised to hear that she was not yet home.
But on the fourth day, after enjoying her breakfast at the hotel, the flight was finally no longer overbooked and Berry was sent home.
“I’m going home, they’re throwing me out. You know what, I’m happy, I’ll take it, I’ve got a good trip ahead of me,” she said.
