The campaign is a first-of-its-kind crowdsourcing platform that gives customers a simple, and easy way to donate miles to non-profit organizations and charities in need of air travel. Brian Kelly, founder and CEO of The Points Guy, will kick off a holiday donation drive today in Terminal C at Newark Liberty International Airport by meeting and encouraging MileagePlus members to donate miles to the effort.
The inaugural round of Miles on a Mission assisted 12 charity campaigns, which raised more than 11 million MileagePlus miles in just 28 days. MileagePlus members can now visit united.com/donate to make contributions to non-profit organizations in need of air travel.
"As our customers begin to think about ways to give back this holiday season, we are proud to offer more options to use miles in support of causes and charities that are meaningful to our customers," said Sharon Grant, vice president and chief community engagement officer at United Airlines. "We know many of our customers are looking to make a difference and we want to give them opportunities to make the giving of their miles go even further. Donating miles is a powerful way to contribute to an organization."
The following non-profit organizations are participating in the Giving Tuesday campaign:
- A Walk on Water
Surf Therapy organization serving families of children with unique needs by offering transformative experiences at the beach. - Compass to Care
Chicago-based organization that assists children suffering from cancer with travel to receive life-saving cancer treatment. Thirty percent of children diagnosed with cancer do not have treatment options within 60 miles of their homes. - The Extra Mile
Chicago-based organization that gives flights to those in need of visiting terminally ill loved ones, who cannot otherwise afford the trip to say their final goodbyes. - I AM ALS
I AM ALS is uniting patients, advocates, and the scientific community to reshape public understanding of ALS, provide key resources to the community to fight ALS, and empower them to lead the search for treatments and cures for this currently terminal disease. - PeaceJam
A global peace organization teaching young people the skills they need to tackle today's most pressing issues. Your miles will support youth to work directly with PeaceJam's 14 Nobel Peace Laureates at summits around world. - Rainbow Railroad
Organization that helps those who identify as LGBTQI seek asylum from their countries of origin. They will use the miles they raise to book flights for individuals they are helping to travel to safety. - The Station Foundation
Organization committed to protecting and empowering U.S. Special Operations veterans returning from combat, their spouses, families and Gold Star children. - Up2Us Sports
Organization that works to engage, train and support sports coaches to serve as mentors and role models to youth in underserved communities all across America.
Eligible charities can apply for the opportunity to launch a 28-day rotation to raise miles for their organization through MileagePlus member donations. Approved charities will work with United to reach goals of raising between 250,000 and 5 million miles. Organizations looking to launch a campaign can visit the Miles on a Mission website for full application details.
Every customer. Every flight. Every day.
In 2019, United is focusing more than ever on its commitment to its customers, looking at every aspect of its business to ensure that the carrier keeps customers' best interests at the heart of its service. In addition to today's announcement, this year United:
- Announced that MileagePlus award miles will never expire
- Gave Economy customers a choice of complimentary snacks on domestic flights
- Made DIRECTV free for every customer on more than 200 aircraft
- Released a new version of the award-winning, most downloaded app in the airline industry
- Launched a new tool called ConnectionSaver, dedicated to improving the experience for customers with connecting flights
- Partnered with CLEAR on free or discounted memberships for MileagePlus members
- Announced PlusPoints, new upgrade benefits for MileagePlus Premier members
- And introduced products in its amenity kits made exclusively for the airline by luxury skincare line Sunday Riley