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If you are a flexible traveler, getting ‘bumped’ off of a flight or missing a connection on the airline’s part can mean a payout! In 2018, I was booked on a short flight from Denver to Salt Lake City, and it was completely full. I was able to score a free night at the Marriott Denver hotel, $600 in United credits and an airline food voucher! But how do you use an airline food voucher?

airline food voucher

Airline Food Voucher Hack

This past weekend, I was flying from San Juan, Puerto Rico to Philadelphia and then to Salt Lake City. Our first flight was delayed two hours, and it looked like we were going to miss our connection. The delay was due to personnel issues on American’s part. So American Airlines began processing a hotel and airline food vouchers for my wife and I.

However, our second flight was delayed as well just enough for us to make our flight in time! So now, we had a hotel stay we weren’t going to use and 2 $12 airline food vouchers. While the voucher I received from United was a physical print out, this voucher was a digital debit card.

airline food voucher

The difficulty with these is that you don’t have a physical card to swipe. Many places won’t be able to take a voucher like this. Be sure to ask the vendor if they are able to accept an airline food voucher.

Along with this, they are “single use”, meaning that it is only good for one purchase. If your meal is $10, the $2 left over disappears. And the voucher is only good for about 48 hours, so be sure to use it quickly!

I was able to use the card to put $10 on my Starbucks app. So if you aren’t hungry, I would recommend purchasing a gift card for somewhere you like.

Final Thoughts

If you are lucky to get an airline food voucher, be sure to use it quickly! If you have any other creative solutions, lets hear them in the comments.

 


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