Frequent Miler's latest team challenge, Million Mile Madness, is happening now! Follow us as Greg, Nick, and Stephen compete to earn 1 Million SAS miles by flying 15 airlines before November 23rd. Who will complete the challenge with the most Speed, Affordability, and Style?
This year’s Kids First Fund travel auction will begin on Sunday, May 13th and the first block of items will run for 10 days (ending on May 22nd, with two more 10-day blocks with new items to follow), with airline miles, hotel points, and elite status up for grabs in an online auction. I’m not sure where the bidding will take these items, but it might be a good chance to buy miles or points at a discount or buy status for much less than the cost of earning it while supporting a great cause.
The Deal
- 2018 International Online Travel Auction for Kids, benefiting The Kids First Fund, running auctions in three 10-day blocks, will begin on Sunday, May 13th and run the first block of auctions until Tuesday, May 22nd
- Direct link to the auction listings
Quick Thoughts
Bidding on these auctions starts at $1 and increases in $10 increments. There are plenty of items on offer, so there will likely be some opportunities to score a good deal. Packages include things like:
- 30,000 Delta SkyMiles
- JetBlue Mosaic status
- United silver status
- 45,000 Choice Privileges points
- Southwest A-List Preferred status
- Wyndham Diamond status
- 40,000 Hilton points
- See the auction pages for more packages and experiences
Some of these are easier to value in concrete terms because we have other opportunities to buy them at a discount (like IHG points, Hilton points, Wyndham points), but others have a more fluid value as they either can’t be bought outright (like status) or might have particularly valuable use to you (Delta miles, Choice points, etc). Future weeks will include sightseeing experiences like a private tuk tuk tour in Amsterdam, a San Francisco Golden Gate Bay cruise, an Eiffel Tower guided climb, and more.
The Kids First Fund is a US-based charity that helps abused children in areas around the world with limited resources. As per the press release (which you can read in full here), every penny donated through these auctions is spent on projects to help children in need — no funds are deducted for salaries or administrative expenses. You can also read more about The Kids First Fund on their website.
H/T: The Gate via Loyalty Traveler
Want to learn more about miles and points? Subscribe to email updates or check out our podcast on your favorite podcast platform.
Hi Nick, (or anyone who might know)
If I have United Silver Status could I use this once mine expires or does it take effect immediately?
[…] Buy points, airline status, tours, & more in Kids First Fund charity auction (First block ends 5/22/18) […]
hey nick. u have any experience buying these? never even heard of this auction before and not sure how good the logistics are vs Daily Getaways. didnt know this was an annual thing. I would think this gets solid coverage, but I dont like the auction process. why cant they have BUY NOW. man. I would be all over their packages otherwise. because this just looks like a handful of limited packages for unknown prices. not sure I wanna deal with YMMV auctions.
I don’t, sorry. I know the auction is co-sponsored by Boarding Area and Inside Flyer, but I haven’t bid on it before.
The idea behind something like this is to raise money for the charity, so they do it auction style to raise as much money for the charity as people are willing to pay. In my experience with auctions, it just depends on who is online and bidding at the end.Set an alarm for 30 minutes before these end and hop on and see where the bidding is.and go from there.
thanks dude. u da man!
If you bid $1 more than the next highest bidder and get a deal you’re happy with it’s $1 more than the charity would have gotten, so it’s a win win. Alternatively, if you look at the auctions and they are too much for you, just think what the extra money can do for an orphan or victim of sexual abuse. Respectfully, also a win. Personally, I hope every one of the auctions goes way over what us travel hackers value these points for. If at the end of the auction, the delta miles all sell at four cents a point or some other value that seems way too high to us, that’s actually a good thing.
I’ve won a few auctions in the last couple years – in some cases it can take some time to get the prize – the method depends on the sponsor (e,g. airline or hotel chain). But every time I got what I bid for.