Contents
The Offer
- American Airlines is offering bonus miles when you donate to Stand Up To Cancer.
- 25 miles per $1 donated
- 50 miles per $1 donated for American Airlines cardholders
Our Verdict
Miles aren’t elite qualifying unfortunately. Might still be useful for anybody that highly values miles.
Hat tip to Parts_Unknown-
Did anyone who donated get their miles yet?
FYI: You can no longer deduct donations above the line, so this is the same as buying points for 2 cents.
Where can I find info saying that this is the case?
Would this be activity that would keep miles from expiring?
Yes
According to the T&C, miles are valued at 3cpp when issuing the donation receipt, so if you’re a cardholder, the donations won’t be tax deductible at all
Not necessarily true, you don’t have to accept American Airline’s valuation of the miles. You can use your own valuation if it is reasonable and backed by data. The easiest way to dispute the 3cpp would be to cite a popular travel blog like the points guy. Most blogs value American Airlines miles at around 1.2 cpp which means you would be able to claim some sort of deduction.
Adam, I’m a tax practitioner. If you are not a tax practitioner, it is probably best not to offer advice on a tax topic that is far more involved than most think.
Yea and I work for NASA
WTF is a tax practitioner? So, not a CPA?
lol Tax practitioner is the most BS thing I ever heard.
lol do you have a cpa? no? then sit down.
Completely anecdotal, but as a CPA I can assure you that the piece of paper you get for passing that exam is about as useful as a TSA agent making you take your shoes off before getting on a plane.
I am the egg man!
Koo Koo Kachoo
Not tax advice – I like Adam’s response.
I am a “tax practitioner” I’ve worked as a tax accounting staff member for several public accounting firms, preparing and reviewing tax returns for ultra high net worth clients.
American Airlines can claim that their miles are worth 3 cpp each until the cows come home, but what is non-deductible in a quid pro quo contribution is the “fair market value” of goods received.
On the very off chance you get a notice in the mail claiming that your contribution is non- deductible, you write a letter back to the IRS with evidence that American Airlines miles are worth way closer to 1.2 cents a piece than they are 3 cents a piece. It should be easy to cite a bunch of travel blogs and show a bunch of sample flight in which the miles are worth way less.
This really is a moot point though because very few people nowadays itemize and the above the line deduction for charitable contributions isn’t in effect for 2022.
Exactly!! Do you really think the IRS cares or has time to worry about peoples $500 purchases of some airlines miles? No, they dont. End of story lets move on. The whole premise is about donating for S2C.org not arguing over meaningless airline mile deductions.