Friday, February 6, 2009

Fly Right and Donate

Are you like me and have tons of frequent flyer miles that you don’t use? Donate them to a worthwhile cause!

A lot of people don’t know that many charities in the United States accept donated airline miles so that they can conduct their business more easily.

While different airlines have different rules about which charities you can donate miles to and how, it’s usually pretty easy and can be done by making a phone call, sending an e-mail, or filling out a simple online form. For instance, Delta will let you donate miles to the American Cancer Society, the American Red Cross, Canine Assistants, Habitat for Humanity, and Unicef (as well as many others) by sending a quick e-mail.

While the donations are not usually tax deductible, if your miles are about to expire or you simply have too many, you might as well donate them and support a worthy cause – it costs you nothing!

For more information from major airlines, go to the links below:

Delta - https://www.delta.com/skymiles/use_miles/donate_miles/index.jsp
United - http://www.united.com/page/article/0,,1363,00.html
US Airways - http://www.usairways.com/awa/content/dividendmiles/programdetails/purchasemiles/donatemilesform.aspx
Continental Airlines - http://www.continental.com/web/en-US/apps/onepass/donate/donateMiles.aspx
American Airlines - http://www.aa.com/aa/i18nForward.do?p=/AAdvantage/partners/charities/milesToKids.jsp