This is how I got $1000 from a Delta Airlines bump

Recently I spent a few days at a conference for work in the Raleigh-Durham area. I had bought a Basic Economy ticket – total fare of about $350 roundtrip, though I used part of my airline credits from credit cards to offset part of the cost. Basic Economy doesn’t come with a seat selection, which was fine since I was traveling by myself, and on Delta, you still get a carryon bag. My first inkling of potential trouble was on the outbound leg, where I ended up in Seat 19A of a 20 row airport. I’m usually not that far back, so this portended a potential Delta Airlines bump voucher coming down

Getting a Delta Bump voucher

For the return leg, I checked in right around the 24 hour mark, and got 2 ominous messages. First…