Donate Airkine mile to charity?

[ripvanwinkle]

I have a American Airlines account with about 25k point(miles) on it. However they do not fly to where my granddaughters are like Alaska air. My miles are due to expire in December. They say I can donate them.

My question is how much of a tax deduction do I get on 25k miles?

[toomuchreality]

Doesn't @theotherme do taxes?
It seems like there are a few people who are accountants on here. Unfortunately, I am not one of them.

I'm glad you caught this before they expire!

[TheOtherMe]

Here is an article  thepointsguy.com/guide/donate-points-miles-charity/

Last paragraph


Bottom line

While the TPG team loves to use points and miles for travel, donating them can go a long way to help someone in need, especially if you’re not traveling right now.



Keep in mind that points and miles donations are typically not considered tax deductible, as the IRS recognizes award points and miles as a gift from a corporation or to the individual. However, if you plan to donate large amounts, you can always contact a tax professional to discuss your options.


I donated enough miles to a charity to cover a flight.  The paperwork said I got 0 for a deduction on my tax return.

No income was shown when you earned the miles.  Hence, no  typically no deduction when you donate the miles.

[billisonboard]

However you do receive 25k karma points if you donate the miles and lose that many if you just let the miles expire. 

[toomuchreality]

Oct 31, 2022 8:40:45 GMT -5 billisonboard said:

However you do receive 25k karma points if you donate the miles and lose that many if you just let the miles expire. 

Karma points are better than nothing!

[Deleted]

First, you can use AA miles for flights on Alaska Airlines.

You can also keep them from expiring through many activities, including buying miles, selected donations (currently offering 10 miles for every $25 you donate to Stand Up to Cancer, although I promise the charity will deluge you with solicitations forever after), and buying things from their online shopping portal.  Cheap ways to keep miles active.  Well, maybe not buying them.  $75 for 2,000 miles isn't a great value.

[Artemis Windsong]

I think the airlines need to create a miles bank so odd number of miles can be donated, mingled and used.  Mine expired years ago.  H's also.  His were lost with airlines being sold and changes to reward programs.  He did get to use a lot of miles to upgrade his travel.

I overheard a guy talking about his wife who booked travel for conferences for a company.  She'd charge the flights/hotels to her credit card and get reimbursed.  The activity put her in a category through purchases where she could get companion tickets for free for the next year.  She used it for their travel.

[Deleted]

Nov 13, 2022 22:01:41 GMT -5 Artemis Windsong said:

I think the airlines need to create a miles bank so odd number of miles can be donated, mingled and used.  Mine expired years ago.  H's also.  His were lost with airlines being sold and changes to reward programs.  He did get to use a lot of miles to upgrade his travel.

Ah, but the airlines WANT them to expire.  They need to include the value of unused miles on their balance sheets as a liability and it's getting to be a major item since they're making a fortune selling miles/points to credit card issuers and other companies.