James (Jamie) started The Forward Cabin blog to educate readers about points, miles, and loyalty programs. He’s spoken at Princeton University and The New York Times Travel Show and has been quoted in...
Edited by: Keri Stooksbury
With years of experience in corporate marketing and as the Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Qatar, Keri is now Editor-in-Chief at UP, overseeing daily content operations and r...
5 comments
Sean
August 04, 2022
Are these bonus miles treated as loyalty points for determining status?
Sean
August 04, 2022
Nevermind. I read elsewhere that they do not count as loyalty points. This would be good info to include here.
Katie Seemann
August 04, 2022
Hi Sean,
Correct, since these are bonus miles they won’t count as Loyalty Points, unfortunately. I’ll get that added to the post as I agree, it’s important info.
AnneG
August 04, 2022
While it’s still a contribution to a worthy cause, the donations are not tax deductible as charitable contributions and there is a warning on the landing page indicating that’s the case for amounts over $75 because you are receiving miles for the contribution. So you are basically paying 2 cents per mile. That may still be worth it depending on whether you have an immediate need for the miles but should be factored into the decision.
Terry Peets
August 05, 2022
I tried to donate $1,000 using the “50 points” button; the button was inactive…..I tried on two different browsers. At 50 points per dollar, I would donate. At 25 points per dollar, given the lack of loyalty points and the lack of deductibility, that offer was simply too expensive.
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