Money cannot change hands. Since your friend has already been trying to sell the miles "on various websites," you need to assume that your friend does not know how to keep things under your hat and you are a risk of losing both the $2,500, the miles, and your own frequent flyer account as well. Not to mention the friendship. I would not agree to this transaction.
I don't know how you're being "too" paranoid. Once a friend hits me up for $2,500 for something he knows is against the rules, I drop the friend. He has already dropped me in my mind and removed me from the "friend" category to the category of "someone I can hit up for money now that my mom has told me to GTFO."
Originally Posted by
joer1212
My friend, Dave, has about 187,000 United miles in his ff account. He has been trying to sell them on various websites, but hasn't because he says these sites seem shady, and he doesn't trust them. He was trying to sell these miles for about 1.5 cents each, or $2,800. I told him I'd be interested if he can do better, and he offered them to me for $2,500. I said I needed to do some research and think about it. So, here I am.
Is this a good deal?
We are aware that United charges about $15 per 1,000 miles to transfer them to another person, so instead of transferring them he would simply give me access to his account, and I could reset the password and use the miles.
Aside from the cost, (which seems kind of steep to me) the only other issue I see is that Dave has a United MileagePlus Explorer credit card that he plans on cancelling before the $95 annual fee is due in a couple of months. The only problem with this might be that once he cancels the card, the time meter will start running on his miles, which would expire in 2014. I'm not sure if I can use these miles by then, even though I will be booking a couple of international flights in December, 2013 for the following year. What if there is no availability for the dates I want? (I'll be going to Egypt and Argentina, with at least one of these flights in business class). What if the United starts playing games with me and prevents me from using my miles, causing them to expire?
I'm probably being too risk-averse and paranoid, but 2.5k is a lot of money for me to risk.
They know because he has been posting on these various websites (we know airlines check Craigslist and eBay for starters) and because they will also call him on the phone to ask him about the gift. We have no reason to believe that your friend is a plausible person that can pass the test of being quizzed about the transaction; indeed, we get the opposite impression, that he's a hinky guy so low down that he will hustle his own friend for $2,500. (As another poster points out, more than the miles are worth. I always value miles at 1 cent a mile, then if I have to buy a "high" award or can't use them for the exact trip I wanted or whatever...I'm not worried. But it's absolutely silliness to buy something for 1 cent a mile, against the T&C of the airline that retains ownership and control of the miles, that you value at 1 cent a mile. You are not even getting a deal for doing something underhanded.)
The airline owns the miles, and they can close his account and refuse your travel without recourse even if they just have a bad feeling. Don't know how often United does this, as I don't follow them, but AA and DL make no bones that they have and will do this, so why would UA be shy? Your trip is a whole year away. Do some mileage runs or otherwise "fun" things to get the miles for the trip. Don't just hand over $2,500 to the guy unless you feel sorry for him, and even if you do, feeling sorry for a guy is no basis for a continued friendship. Either way, you are likely to find the friendship is over, whether you say yes or no. So say no and keep the money!
The airline does not need proof that would stand up in a court of law. Read the T&C.
Originally Posted by
joer1212
But how would the airline know that I paid money for the miles? It would be the same as if my friend is booking flights for me when I log into his account to redeem the miles that I [secretly] bought from him.