Programs to receive donated FF Miles??
 

Recently my hours were cut at work down to 32 per week and I can't afford the flight. It is going to cost $600-1000 to fly my daughter out her depending on the airline either Allegiant or Delta going from either Grand Rapids, MI or Detroit, MI to Las Vegas, NV. Are there any programs to receive donated frequent flyer miles?

JaredVegas, welcome to FT!

We're going to move you thread to a more apropos forum.

Please follow at it's new home.
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Cholula
CommunityBuzz! Co-Moderator

Thanks for moving it to the appropriate forum. I really hope someone here knows of of some programs. As it is now I barely have enough to live on let alone put away. Been trying to find part time work or another job to pay for it but having no luck. Ideally I would like to have her out for the month of July so we can see the fireworks and I will have some vacation time to use.

So you would like to use someone elses miles for your families non-essential trip? I can see it for an emergency situation (I dont think such a programme would be all that bad actually, but I know many people would abuse it). But to fly her out to have a holiday and watch fireworks is a completely different story.

I don't consider seeing my daughter non-essential and I'm sure she doesn't either. She wouldn't be flying out just for a holiday, it would be for 1 month so that we can spend time together. It just happens that the holiday falls during the summer. I wouldn't be asking if I could afford it. This is the only time I get to actually be with my daughter, otherwise it is phone calls and web cam. She misses me and I miss her. Again I am asking if someone has knows of a program or has extra miles to help out for us to be able to see each other. I don't consider this non-essential. I thought this was worth a shot since I am running out of time trying to find another job where I could afford this.

Getting upset is not going to "help your cause." I think what SirJman is pointing out is that most donated FF miles go to flying sick children for treatment, transporting military families to military hospitals where their loved ones are being treated, Make a Wish to transport sick kids to live their "dreams," or other charities, usually ones that are 501(c)(3), IRS approved non-profits.

I did a quick check of Expedia, and Delta flights, booked now, are running between $310, leaving on weekdays (6/29 and returning 8/2) and $370 leaving on Friday, 7/1 and returning on Sunday, 7/31, not the $600-$1,000 you quote.

Not to diminish your situation, but how many other families are in similar situations, where they can't afford to fly to visit each other? I don't see a lot of people who use these miles to want to donate them simply so that a daughter can, in essence, vacation with her parent. It's still a tough economy, and a lot of people are skipping their own vacations because they can't afford them.

I don't know how old your daughter is, but it's not as if she has no communication with you. She has phone calls and web cams and such, which is more than many others have. Many military families go through situations where they aren't able to see or talk to their loved ones regularly, so daughters and sons aren't able to see or talk to their fathers or mothers and aren't able to see them for 6 months to a year.

Depending on how old your daughter is, would it be possible for her to earn a bit of money to help with the costs of this? If she's not old enough to have a part-time job, could she help neighbors with their gardening or yard chores, get a paper route, hold a yard sale, or baby-sit? Also, are you able to take vacation the entire time she is there? If not, if she's young enough that she's not able to earn money for anything, who is going to watch her while you are at work?

There are also other options--Amtrak and Greyhound come to mind.

Where I got the figure was $347 for the flight and an additional the $200 fee to fly by herself on Delta. If I flew to get her on Allegiant which is the only airline that has direct flights from Grand Rapids I would need 3 round trip tickets at roughly $330 each. My daughter is 8 years old and Amtrak and Greyhound are out of the question. Amtrak takes 2 days of travel time at $310 including a connecting bus in Kingman, AZ. Greyhound would take 1 day 20 hours with 4 transfers. I understand that most miles go to family's with medical emergency's and I am grateful my daughter doesn't need it for that reason. I am sorry then for wasting everyone's time then I thought this was worth a shot.

Three round trip tickets on Allegiant? Why three tickets?

Yes, if your daughter is 8, Amtrak and Greyhound are out of the question unless you have a trusted adult traveling with her. That said, by playing with travel dates, you can shave about $100 from the ticket cost on Delta.

Alternatively, to reduce costs, why would you not fly to where she is, since that would eliminate the unaccompanied minor charges, and save $200?

However, if she is 8, I again question if you have enough vacation to take the entire month off, or if not, how you intend to cover child care costs for her while you are working, since at 8, I don't think she'd be old enough to stay home alone while you are at work.

I understand that you miss your daughter and want to see her, and that she misses you. However, I think that either the trip should wait until you can afford it, but that's just my 2 cents.

I'm just shuddering at the thought of an unaccompanied minor on Greyhound or Amtrak :eek: - even if they were allowed which I'm guessing they aren't.

If you're date-flexible, watch for fare sales on MDW-LAS. I mean, if your daughter is in Grand Rapids and you're already considering DTW, might as well throw Chicago in there too. MDW-LAS can be notoriously expensive at some times but then can wind up with $99 deals popping up on Southwest. Add $50 each way for the UM.

You aren't alone in your quandry with today's airfares. In previous economic expansions, airlines would typically add tens of thousands of seats and battle each other for market share, using cheap leisure fares as a tool. Since the '08-'09 recession they've taken a different path: keeping capacity tight and focusing on capturing higher yields from business travelers.

In other words, the inventory of seats that used to be filled by leisure travelers simply isn't there. Airlines can make more money flying fewer planes filled with a greater mix of business travelers. Thus the old late-night $59 each way Chicago-Vegas seats on a mostly-empty United 727 are ancient history.

Even Southwest, the airline you used to count on to add flights, add cities, and start fare wars is playing a much more business-traveler-focused game these days.

If I were to fly with her up I would need 1 round trip ticket for her and two tickets would be for me since I have to fly out there to catch the her fly out and a returning flight back after I drop her off. I have 2 weeks vacation time and friends that could take care of her while I am at work. I will find a way to see her this summer.

i haven't heard of any sources that you could use, sorry, but hope you find something....good luck...

Welcome to FT!

Please ignore the rude replies. There is nothing wrong with a father wanting to see his daughter in person. There are many men who want nothing to do with their child.

I'm not aware of any such programs, but if your credit allows you can sign up for credit cards to earn miles that can be used for your daughter's flights. Current opportunities include 75,000 AA miles for $1500 or $4000 spend or Continental 50,000 miles for little spend (which may have expired). See the respective threads in the MilesBuzz! forum (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/milesbuzz-370/).

Thanks for for the support. But yeh my credit rating sucks or I would of went that route. I am tired of not having money and trying to find a job in the casinos as a slot tech is a dead end at the moment. Seems all I do at the moment is put in resume after resume. I need to get back in school and find a job that requires a lot of traveling.