How you can donate your points and miles to charity

As much as we love to earn points and miles, we’ve learned to not hoard them, as they can be devalued at any time. In fact, we here on the TPG team have accrued lots of miles throughout the pandemic that many of us likely won’t redeem anytime soon.

Donating points and miles can be a great way to give back without shelling out any cash. It’s also an easy way to extend the validity of your points by resetting the expiration clock on your remaining balance.

Even small contributions can make a huge difference in another person’s life, so it’s worth learning how your unused points and miles can be put to good use.

Here are some of the best opportunities to donate your points and miles to charity.

For more TPG news delivered each morning to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.

Miles4Migrants

Founded in 2016, Miles4Migrants is a nonprofit that accepts donations of frequent flyer miles and uses them to book airfare for migrants with financial hardships. From refugees to asylum-seekers, Miles4Migrants has helped over 30,00 people using over 370 million points and miles.

You can donate from a range of airline loyalty programs and credit card rewards, including:

• Air Canada Aeroplan.
• Air France-KLM Flying Blue.
• Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan.
• American Airlines AAdvantage.
• Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards.
• United Airlines MileagePlus.
• Amtrak Guest Rewards.
• American Express Membership Rewards.
• Capital One miles.
• Chase Ultimate Rewards.

To donate, you will need to pledge a minimum of 1,000 to 47,500 points or miles, depending on the program. Once you submit a pledge, the flight booking team at Miles4Migrants will match the miles donated to an individual in need. Keep in mind that the matching process can take weeks. Miles4Migrants will update you with the recipient’s photo and story of how your contribution has helped them.

Besides frequent flyer miles, you can also donate travel vouchers and cash. Miles4Migrants currently accepts most vouchers from Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest, JetBlue, Allegiant Air and others. Additionally, cash donations also help to cover any award taxes, fees and surcharges.

How it works

A TPG staffer recently pledged to donate 15,000 JetBlue TrueBlue points. Shortly after, they received an email thanking them for their donation along with information on the next steps. They filled out a Google form with their contact information. Sometimes the turnover is fast, so you’ll want to provide the best way the organization can reach you. Miles4Migrants will also ask if you have a preference of whom you’d like your miles to be used for and how you’d like the reservation to be made.

You will need to sign an electronic donor agreement and then provide your contact information to the flight booking team so they can discuss the use of your miles with you.

JustGiving

JustGiving is a fundraising platform that has more than 1.5 million nonprofits registered, including Malala Fund. American Express has partnered with JustGiving, so you can donate your Membership Rewards points to a charity of your choice.

To participate in this program, you must have an Amex Membership Rewards-earning card. Once you create an account and link your eligible card, you can apply your points at checkout. The donation amount can be covered entirely or partially by points.

When donating, your Membership Rewards points are worth 0.7 cents each, which is lower than TPG’s value of 2 cents apiece. Despite that, donating points instead of using cash at checkout can help offset your donation and is a solid option to consider.

Related: The best credit cards to maximize your nonprofit donation

Donating credit card points to charity

Amex points aren’t the only credit card points that can be donated to charity. Another easy way to make donations using credit card points is by using a fixed-value card to pay for donations and then using your points to “pay” for the charge on your statement.

As a part of Chase’s Pay Yourself Back feature, Chase Sapphire Reserve customers and Chase Sapphire Preferred Card customers can redeem Ultimate Rewards toward donations to eligible nonprofit organizations at 1.5 cents and 1.25 cents, respectively, until Sept. 31. Eligible nonprofits include the following mix of social and racial justice, humanitarian aid and hunger relief organizations:

• American Red Cross.
• Equal Justice Initiative.
• Feeding America.
• Habitat for Humanity.
• International Medical Corps.
• International Rescue Committee.
• Leadership Conference Education Fund.
• NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
• National Urban League.
• Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
• UNICEF USA.
• United Negro College Fund.
• United Way.
• World Central Kitchen.

Citi also recently announced new charity partner redemption options. You can now donate ThankYou Rewards points at a rate of 1 cent apiece to the following nonprofits:

• American Red Cross.
• No Kid Hungry.
• Smile Train.
• Susan G. Komen.
• World Central Kitchen.
• UNICEF USA.
• UNICEF Kid Power.

Donating airline miles to charity

Many frequent flyer programs offer an option to donate your rewards to organizations they partner with. Note that this is not an entirely comprehensive list.

Giving back through these partnerships can be a great way to donate smaller balances of points and miles. It’s also one of the easiest ways to keep your miles from expiring.

International airlines have similar charity partnerships. If you have mileage balances with Lufthansa, Emirates, Virgin Atlantic or Aeroplan, you can offer those up to charity too.

Donating hotel loyalty points to charity

In addition to airline loyalty programs, these hotel loyalty programs offer donation opportunities.

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.

Stella Shon contributed to this post.