Have you ever donated miles?
 

I’m researching for an article to be published in InsideFlyer (Randy Petersen’s magazine) about miles/points donation and am looking for answers to the following questions:

1) Have you ever donated miles/points?

2) If yes, how many miles/points did you donate (approximate total)?

3) If you haven’t donated, would you donate miles/points if there wasn't a minimum miles/points requirement set by the programs?

4) Do you plan to donate miles/points in the future?

Thanks for answering these questions and please include any thoughts you have on the subject. If you prefer, you can email me at [email protected].

You can see the completed article starting Dec. 1 at insideflyer.com.

Lynda Young
Managing Editor
InsideFlyer

Your article might also delve into a hotly debated issue: the tax deductability of miles donated to a charity. To my knowledge, no court has ever decided that issue and the IRS has yet to take a position on it.

I have donated miles, but really for the purposes of keeping the rest of the miles in my account from expiring. I did get a warm fuzzy out of the process, but my motives were mostly selfish.

Like a lot of people, I would happily donate otherwise orphaned miles if there wasn't some set amount.

No way, I donate US dollars. Miles are actually valuable.

1) Yes

2) Maybe 400,000 in total?

3) N/a

4) Probably

1) Have you ever donated miles/points?

yes

2) If yes, how many miles/points did you donate (approximate total)?

approx 300'000

3) If you haven’t donated, would you donate miles/points if there wasn't a minimum miles/points requirement set by the programs?

...

4) Do you plan to donate miles/points in the future?

yes

BUT: so far I did donate miles for specific flights on request of well known and trusted Flyertalkers who asked me to helpout third persons (unknown to me) in urgent need (one example: health problems that had to be treated elsewhere). I wouldn't feel comfortable to donate miles to organisations where I have no idea who will finally profit (I know to many, in general well trusted international organisations, example the Red Cross, where top administrativ people fly first-class ...).

1) Yes, I have donated miles.

2) Don't remember.

3) N/A

4) I wouldn't rule out donating miles totally, but ever since I've learned more about mileage programs, I donate dollars and keep my miles now.

I've begun to make it a point to donate miles received as compensation to charity. For example, I received 15,000 miles for a problem with an upgrade on a continental flight and donated it to one of the Continental charities. This was just recently, but I plan to continue doing this rather than pocketing the miles that I get.

If you want to wade in on the controversy, hold those miles for over a year and then donate them. I think there is a strong argument that you can take a chartiable deduction for the fair market value of such donated miles .

1) Have you ever donated miles/points?
No

2) If yes, how many miles/points did you donate (approximate total)?
---

3) If you haven’t donated, would you donate miles/points if there wasn't a minimum miles/points requirement set by the programs?
Probably - I would use up the dormant miles before they expire, but that rather works against the economics of the FFP for the airlines.

4) Do you plan to donate miles/points in the future?
No plans at present.

There are plenty of other ways (some potentially more effective) to help those who would do well to receive some assistance so I don't see a need to donate my hard earned miles at present.
In my position, miles are generally more valuable when spent on flights. Therefore spending them on flights leaves more cash available at the end of the day to spend elsewhere.

I have donated miles, usually a few thousand at a time and miles that were about to expire anyway. I have personally seen children and their families benefit from miles with Make A Wish, and I would rather help someone in need than let the miles expire and let the airlines keep them.

Aloha, lynda_insideflyer!

Mrs. kaukau and I regularly donate miles through HA's Hawaiian Milres Charities Program: http://charities.hawaiianair.com/

Enrollment is free, and HA deposits an additional 10% of all miles one earns - any miles: credit card, merchant, BIS or bonus - into an account that one may access to donate miles to one's choice of participating charities: there are 8 on the list. One also may or may not include miles from one's personal account for donation, though that is entirely optional.

I estimate that this program enables each of us to easily donate more than 10,000 miles a year to charity.

It is a great program that let's one earn additional miles to donate to charity, at no cost to the donor, with ease. I don't know if other airlines have a similar program, but I recommend they check it out!

1) Yes, I have donated miles.
2) about 100,000...

Yes, we have donated miles.

Back when we used to have a 1k club here in Seattle, there would be times when the 1k club agents would call with very specific emergency cases where a people needed miles immediately to travel to a specialty hospital for treatment. In those circumstances we would donate miles.

I can remember one instance where a group of FlyerTalkers pitched in miles to fly a young girl and her parents to an east coast clinic for surgery, and then also donated a ticket for a nurse to fly back with the girl, post-surgery.

Donating under these types of circumstance is something I would happily do in the future. Just donating miles to an organization, withou knowing how they will be used, makes me hesitate. Like Rudi, I would not feel good about flying charity administrative personnel around in first class.