United (and northwest) currently let you transfer miles between any member to any member. There are limits, fees and rules to be very clear on. For United, check this link--found simply by going to their home page at www.ual.com and pulling down the MileagePlus tab for "transfer miles."

http://transfermiles.ualmiles.com/

I suggest giving yourself about a week+ to be sure they move over to the destination account. the act of transferring is not immediate. (will your plans to fly award seats still exist when you try to book this trip a week from now? Consider that too)

One thing: If you happen to have and use a United visa, I think they'll double the amount of miles earned for the transaction of the fee being paid online to do this, (but obviously not the amounts of miles being moved).

I suggest printing everything out--every step--and holding onto this stuff til you see them post in one account and deduct from the other. Read the rules and know and understand what they all mean.

United uses a different third-party transferring entity of doing this than NW, (and Delta used to do it too but I do not know if they still do). But all charge(d) a $25 handling fee on top of the cost per 1,000 miles to move. They have a 5k min, so it is a good idea to transfer as much as you can if you do it.

Anyone can book a flight for anyone, however, so why not just have your daughter book you the flight with the miles she has--that is, if she happens to have enough for an award. If not, obviously you guys should go from the lesser account in order to save some money. And then, if you add these fees and costs to the value of your ticket, is it woryth flying an award, or could you have actually saved money if you just paid for a RT ticket. I have no idea where you are flying to and from but consider these things when doing all of this, and do take the time to figure it out. Even free has its costs... one of them, as you may have discovered just by posting in here, is time.

We are all mile addicts, however, so time is nothing, right.

MM