Earning miles while helping others
 

Since I've been on FT, I have found two great ways to earn miles/points while doing good and helping others. Has anyone else found other ways?

The two I am active with are:
1- microloans to small-scale entrepreneurs in developing countries through Kiva:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/commu...-kiva-org.html
(loans can be made using virtually any credit card)

2- volunteering thru Takepart:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...-annually.html
(volunteer time earns Membership Reward points)

Anyone have other suggestions?

Note that it does (or can?) take three months to get AmEx MR points posted (just in case you're a little rushed :) ). I can post later how long it actually takes for mine to post. Should be around September...

What a great idea! Do you know of any way to have a local non-profit added to the list?

Who is the contact for questions from charities participating in Members Project?

Please address any questions regarding our charities to Daya Wolterstorff

Search for the name in the FAQ's and it will have her mail to try and get on the list

Actually it may take more than 3 months for MR points to post. They do it once a quarter, but I don't know the lag time after the quarter is done. I haven't received any points yet, but I'm in no rush because I am enjoying the volunteer project I'm on. The points will be a bonus.

I don't know anything about how to get a charity registered with this offer. You will have to look through the websites noted in Mia's post above.

Does anybody know how many months does it take to get back the loan? and what happens if the person taking the loan does not pay back?

HI Kyunbit,

I suggest you read the FT thread on Kiva:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/commu...-kiva-org.html

and read the info on www.kiva.org

Each loan has a different time frame and there is a slight risk of losing your money (Kiva's repayment rate is 98.79%).

Thanks so much for this thread. If I read the Members Project FAQ correctly, any volunteer opportunity listed on volunteermatch.org is eligible. What's great is that I've already been volunteering with a local soup kitchen that I found on volunteermatch.org. The only bummer is that it says you can only get a maximum of 10,000 points (20 hours) per year for volunteering. Can someone tell me how much 10,000 points equals in miles?

HI JohnInNYC,

You need to have a membership rewards AMEX in order to receive points for your volunteering. If you have a MR AMEX, then this website can tell you ways to transfer points and how much they are worth in various programs:
http://www.membershiprewards.com/

If you don't have a MR AMEX, then you can find out more at that website or by searching for membership reward threads on FT.