Use Your Useless Or Expiring Airline Miles
Welcome to Saving Money with Andrew!
I fly one airline (Delta) as much as possible, and use my SkyMiles for the occasional free flight. But over time, I’ve accumulated small sums of miles on several other airline programs. Too little to redeem for flights, they often just sit unused for years.[1] I’m sure many readers are in the same boat.
Here are three great things to do with these miles:
Mags For Miles
Mags For Miles is a great place to use unused Alaska, Delta, Frontier, Hawaiian, and United Airlines miles. Typically, you can get a wide variety of subscriptions (though at the moment the selection is pretty thin) for less than 2,000 miles and often fewer than 1,000. Just make sure not to enter your credit card to ensure that you never get charged. Over time, we’ve used Mags for Miles for subscriptions to Martha Stewart Living, Vogue, Real Simple, and the Wall Street Journal.
Gift Cards
Historically, most airlines offered the option to redeem miles for gift cards to a variety of merchants, but many have eliminated these offerings (likely to make it more likely that small amounts of miles remain unused). Delta still allows you to redeem relatively small amounts of miles for Delta gift cards—the ratio isn’t that great (a mile is worth about 0.9 cents if redeemed for a Delta GC)—but if you have 5,000-10,000 miles it may be a good option, and some other airlines still offer limited gift card options.
Donations
Most miles programs let you donate miles to charity, including Delta and American Airlines, even in very small quantities. If the miles will otherwise remain unused, they’re much better put toward a donation, especially in times like these.
And now…Andrew’s pick(s) of the week:
$87.50 for 3 Minutes: Inside the Hot Market for Videos of Idling Trucks
The Real Mission Impossible: Saying “No” to Tom Cruise
Oil Price Rise ‘Trickles Down to Everything,’ Even Your Potato Salad to Go
Being on Your Parents’ Phone Plan Is Now Cool Thanks to Inflation
In America’s No. 1 Inflation Hotspot, Democrats Face Restive Voters
I hope this has been helpful. If you liked it, please share it on social media! Also, please send me your feedback, requests, and success stories.
[1] Much like gift card breakage, unused miles are a major source of revenue for the airlines.