London - Long Trip - In My Favor

I arrived Sunday morning in London after a very long trip. It was a 3 ½ hour commuter flight to New York then a 6 hour turned 9 layover before catching my flight to the Big Smoke. However, it all brilliantly worked out in my favor. Whenever flying out of the country I always look for the best deals, use airline miles, etc. For my recent flight I was a little short of the necessary 50,000 miles for a free flight to Europe. I noticed the air carrier, Delta, was have a sale on miles. Whatever I bought I received the same amount for free. Basically miles were on sale for ½ price. I purchased the extra miles to gain the required 50,000 and called Delta. They informed me that things had changed and that I needed 65,000 but none of those tickets were available so I'd need 75,000. With a little investegation I found 15,000 expired miles on an old lost account and had them reinstated for $50. I then purchased some more 2 for 1 miles. By time I got my ticket I had spent close to $500 USD for my flight to London. Not too bad considering the going rate right now is around $1,200!!!! With budget ticket in hand and an economy seat I was good to go. My first flight was on time and fine but not the most comfortable. I was tucked in the back of a small sized commuter jet near the engines. It was very loud and my Mp3 player with volume turned all the way up didn't help. I was happy to get off at JFK, New York. Then began the anticipated 6 hour layover. Time passed reasonably fast but it was clear the flight would not be leaving on time when I stood at the gate window around departure time and there was no plane. I also noticed that there were a heck of a lot of passengers and the flight was likely over overbooked. I then found out there was a later flight in a little over 2 hours.  I put 2 and 2 together saw an opportunity. Usually when passengers are bumped off an overbooked flight they are given some kind of compensation. Since my flight was going to leave late anyway it got me thinking. I approached the gate ticket counter and informed an agent that I'd like to be bumped if compensated. The compensation offered was a $600 travel voucher for a future ticket. A couple of other people got the same idea and we were put on a list. About an hour later the plane arrived ready for boarding. The original ticket agent, who took names, disappeared but I remained attentive. I waited until the plane was just about totally full and approaced a different agent taking tickets. I told him I was prepared to give up my seat in exchange for a $600 voucher. He appeared surprised and relieved as he was anxiously trying to find a seat for someone else. Apparently the other agent hadn't passed on the list.  In the end it was me and one other passenger who gave up our seats. Boarding for the original flight closed and I was passed over to a supervisor. The supervisor immediately booked me on the next flight, handed over a $600 voucher, a meal coupon for while I waited, and told me that my boarding pass would be issued right before the plane was being loaded. I could see that the supervisor was having one of those days but I seemed to take the edge off with a little humor and thanked her for her help. I had good rapport with her. Well, the second plane was late as well but I was very patient and stood by the ticket counter not to loose sight of the supervisor in case I had any kind of problem. Just as the plane was about to board I tactfully inquired about my seat. A few moments later I was given a boarding pass. After a 9 hour layover and a bit of juggling I couldn't wipe the giddy grin off my face as I took a seat in First Class……… $500 ticket minus $600 voucher plus a first class seat in exchange for one long trip to London…. Well, this trip appears to be getting off to a good start. After a couple of nights in London it's a train ride to Penzance in the Cornwall region of England. Once there I'll start to formulate a plan. Naturally I'll be doing a lot of walking.