'Events in Boston-donate miles?'
 

I'm not sure if this has been done before, but have we as a group ever contacted airlines reward reps. in order to see if they would match mileage donations towards aiding family members travel to their families if they can not afford it themselves? A few thousand here and there could add up to help some families in this time of tragedy. Thoughts?

good idea. i am in

I have some DL and UA miles sitting around doing nothing.

Moving to FT Cares!

Just donated my stash of B6 points.

I'm in too with DL - let me know about the Process

Please don't turn this thread into a candidate for OMNI/PR. :)

There are a lot of charities and fundraising efforts with which others do not agree or that others think are not worthwhile. However, I've found that if you disagree or think it not the best option, it is best to simply ignore it and support those with which you do agree. :D

Thank you kipper for saying what needed to be said here. I removed some posts that were turning this into a political debate/discussion. Please stick to the op's question.

l'etoile
sr. moderator

I have some American miles. Does anyone have links for places where we can donate?

I don't have any airline miles, but I do have Hilton points that are just sitting there...

Contributive, positive thoughts and offerings regarding how this can be achieved are welcome. Disruptive comments will continue to be summarily deleted. Ignoring warnings and discussing specific moderator actions are liable to incur disciplinary actions as stated clearly in the TOS here.

JDiver
senior moderator

To start with, American Airlines...
 

At this time, American Airlines seems only to have provisions for two programs for miles donation, Miles for Kids in Need (provides free transportation to seriously ill children and families), and Operation Hero Miles (travel for families of American military men and women who are being treated for injury at military hospitals due to their service in Iraq or Afghanistan).

http://hub.aa.com/en/ju/american-air...inc-aadvantage

http://www.aa.com/i18n/AAdvantage/re.../heroMiles.jsp

Miles contributions are not tax-deductible in the USA (as they are not taxed when earned by travel and purchase activities).

If you know of people in the Boston area who need transport (or who need transport to the Boston area) because they were affected by the terror bombings, you can still use your miles and points to secure award stays and travel for them.

AS has a program to gift miles to charities, but I don't know if they have set anything up for something like this. If they do, I have some miles to donate.

Donating Miles or Points through the Airlines affiliated and set up programs is an utter waste, you would have a bigger impact donating 50$ directly instead of 10,000 miles.

Related to this topic, can someone elaborate what would be the purpose of donating points (or anything for that matter) related to the events in Boston? This isn't a natural disaster with thousands of people effected and being homeless. A few people died, some more got injured. That's tragic but I fail to see what help miles or any donations can provide in this situation. :confused:

People may opt to donate points or miles so that loved ones may travel to Boston, to see their loved ones that are injured and so they have a place to stay while in Boston.

I'm sure there are a lot of people who don't have the money to drop on last-minute flights and hotel rooms for an indefinite amount of time.

Also, many of the injured will likely need long-term rehab, some of which may or may not be able to be completed at home, so many may need to stay in Boston.

Being injured is never fun--being injured in something like this, being far from home, and not having your loved ones able to stay with you would really be horrible.