Give A Mile MileagePlus Holiday Fundraising Campaign

Give A Mile is a unique charity that takes donations of miles and uses the miles to book flights for to book tickets so that those in need can be together with loved ones in their last moments of life, so that people don’t die alone.

This is a small organization with a strong cadre of volunteers. There’s not much overhead. There’s no marketing department. Just people committed to do some good using miles. I’ve given a lot of my own miles to the cause, and serve on their board.

And they do more than just spend your miles. They work with hospices, ICUs and hospitals to confirm details – they find the people who need help, validate their stories, and connect people in their last moments of life. They’re a 501(c)3 public charity and all miles going towards the program.

There aren’t enough opportunities to use miles to accomplish charitable objectives. Most are airline-selected corporate charities. And rarely do the miles actually get used for tickets. You can give as few as 1,000 miles.

United does something really unique, and I was genuinely surprised by it five years ago at launch. Instead of picking their own corporate charities, and asking you to support their efforts with your miles, they allow charities to solicit miles directly. You actually decide which causes to support. That way your miles align with your values.

Five years later this remains unique in the industry, but shouldn’t be. Maybe it’s because United hasn’t gotten enough credit for doing it, that others haven’t felt the need to follow. Charitable efforts get de-prioritized relative to commercial ones, even though there’s really not a distinction: empowering customers to make the most of their miles, and feel fulfilled because of their loyalty, is a real commercial win. It makes the miles more valuable to members which in turn makes members more interested in chasing the miles.

In the meantime, I’m asking: do you think you could help out with a donation? Thank you.