Use Your Frequent Flyer Miles to Support Our Troops |
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In September 2003, the Pentagon started giving two week leaves
to soldiers stationed in Iraq. Soldiers on R&R or emergency leave
are flown by the military to Germany or three airports in the
United States: Baltimore/Washington, (BWI); Dallas/Fort Worth,
(DFW); or Atlanta, (ATL ) at no cost to the soldiers. From those
locations, the soldiers have been responsible for flights to their
destinations until Congress provided funding for this purpose
on November 3, 2003. However, this funding is not yet available
and may not be sufficient.
Every day, more than 470 soldiers arrive in the U.S. on R&R,
but until the Department of Defense can authorize payment for
their connecting flights under the new law, many soldiers must
purchase high-priced, last minute tickets to get home to their
families. Furthermore, the new law does not include soldiers
on emergency leave who still must pay for their domestic travel
to get home for the death, illness, or birth of a family member.
You can help get these soldiers home by donating your unused frequent flyer miles to the Department of Defense. The following airlines are accepting donations to bring our heroes home to spend time with their loved ones.
Miles donated to participating airlines will be transferred to
the Department of Defense, which will allot the miles to servicemembers
at their discretion. If you have any questions regarding how
the miles will be distributed by the DoD please call the Department's
Public Inquiry Office at (703) 428-0711. |
Airlines Accepting Donations
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AirTran Airways has donated 8,000 flight credits, enough for 500 round trip tickets for our troops. In addition, AirTran plans to match every donation up to 500 credits.
AirTran A-Plus Rewards members may donate their flight credits to Operation Hero Miles. Flight credits donated by A-Plus Rewards members will not have an expiration date. The flight credits will be aggregated in a single account accessible by a designated contact from Military Travel Command who can redeem the credits for free flights for any U.S. military personnel they select
To donate your AirTran A-Plus Rewards credits, please log onto your A-Plus Rewards account and click on "my rewards," "request rewards" and then "Military Leave Credit Donation," where you can indicate the number of credits to be donated.
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Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air Mileage Plan members may donate
miles to Operation Hero Miles, with a minimum of 500 miles.
For every 5,000 miles donated, Alaska Airlines and Bank of America
will each contribute an additional 1,000 miles.
To donate your Alaska Mileage Plan miles, please send the following information:
- Your Mileage Plan account number
- Your name
- The number of miles to be donated (minimum 500 miles)
You may send your donation request as follows:
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American Airlines AAdvantage members may donate a minimum
of 500 miles to Operation Hero Miles. Please be sure to include
your AAdvantage account number, name, mileage donation and
signature on all mailed or faxed pledges.
To donate your American AAdvantage miles, please send the following information:
- Your AAdvantage account number
- Your name
- The number of miles to be donated (minimum 500 miles)
- Your signature (required for mailed and faxed donations forms)
You may send your donation request as follows:
- call AAdvantage at 1-800-882-8880, or
- Fax a note to 817-963-7882, or
- Mail a note to Miles for Heroes, American Airlines AAdvantage Department, P.O. Box 619688, DFW Airport, TX 75261-9688
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Delta Airlines has donated 10 million miles to jump start Operation Hero Miles, enough for up to 400 round trip tickets.
To donate your Delta SkyMiles, please send the following information:
- Your SkyMiles account number
- Your name
- The number of miles to be donated (minimum 5,000 miles), and
- A request to have your miles donated to "SkyMiles for Heroes"
You may send your donation request as follows:
- Email to delta.bids@delta.com,
or
- Fax to 404-773-1945, or
- Mail to: Delta Air Lines Inc., SkyMiles Service Center, Dept.
654, P.O. Box 20532, Atlanta, GA 30320-2532
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Pan Am and Boston-Maine Airways will provide free air transportation to military personnel on leave. Transportation will be provided on a space available basis and the individual will be required to present his/her leave orders to qualify.
Immediate family members of military personnel travelling with a qualifying service member will be provided space available transportation at one-half the normal price.
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Rapid Rewards members may donate free tickets they have earned in Southwest Rewards. Partial credits may not be donated.
To donate your paper Rapid Rewards Award Ticket, please send your ticket to:
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Southwest Airlines
Civic & Charitable Contributions-HDQ 1CV
Attn. Donna Blackford, 'Operation Hero Miles'
2702 Love Field Drive
Dallas, TX 75235
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To donate your Ticketless Rapid Rewards Award, please call Customer Relations at 1-800-445-5764
Award Tickets must be valid for at least two months. No tax or credit information will be given to the Rapid Rewards Member by Southwest Airlines. Rapid Rewards Members' names and personal information will be uncensored from the Award Ticket.
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