Frequently Asked Questions
Are you a refugee, asylum-seeker, or stateless person looking for help?
Because the Miles4Migrants team is not working “on the ground,” we depend on a global network of partner organizations to identify and vet individuals in need of assistance. We do not accept direct requests for assistance from individuals; only flight requests that come to us via our partner organizations will be processed.
Miles4Migrants does not have the capacity to provide any assistance outside of airfare support for members of the refugee community. This means we do not provide financial assistance, legal assistance, assistance in finding housing, reimbursement for flights already purchased, etc.
We are unable to assist individuals in procuring visas or applying for refugee or asylum status, nor provide legal advice. We do not offer any financial or employment support. We only can purchase flights for individuals referred to us by our partners, and who already have the necessary travel documents for the country that they are resettling in. Unfortunately, we do not have partners in all countries. Please click here to visit the UNHCR HELP site for information on asylum, legal assistance, education, and other services in the country of your interest.
Please note that we do not fly individuals who have been granted work visas or travel visas.
Ukraine Crisis FAQ
Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET) helps Ukrainians and their family members come to Canada as quickly as possible and provides them with the ability to work and study while in Canada.
The CUAET program also gives those who are already in Canada the option to extend their visitor status, work permit or study permit so that they can continue to live and work or study in Canada temporarily. Visit the Government of Canada website to learn more
With CUAET, Ukrainians and their family members can stay in Canada as temporary residents for up to three (3) years. They will also be eligible for a free open work permit or study permit, which will allow them to take a job or enroll in an education program.
For all CUAET and visa related questions, please visit https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/ukraine-measures/cuaet.html.
Miles4Migrants does not operate charter flights. All of the tickets that we book for our passengers are on commercial airlines. The Canadian government has announced a limited number of charter flights operating from Europe to Canada. Ukrainians who have received their visas to come to Canada through the CUAET will be contacted by email with information on how to register. These flights are NOT operated by or associated with Miles4Migrants. We advise you to check the Canadian government website for updates and registration dates.
Please note that Miles4Migrants does not provide any other kind of assistance, including financial, housing, childcare, employment services, reimbursements for tickets already bought, legal, etc. This program does not include flight support for domestic travel within Canada, nor can we reimburse you for tickets already purchased. If you are selected for the program, prior to receiving flight tickets, you will be contacted by our partner MOSAIC, a regional organization in Canada will send you a list of links to learn about resources available to you in Canada.
No, we cannot reimburse you for tickets already purchased.
No, this program does not include support for domestic flights within Canada.
Please note that Miles4Migrants does not provide any other kind of assistance, including financial, housing, childcare, employment services, reimbursements for tickets already bought, legal, etc. This program does not include flight support for domestic travel within Canada, nor can we reimburse you for tickets already purchased. If you are selected for the program, prior to receiving flight tickets, you will be contacted by our partner MOSAIC, a regional organization in Canada will send you a list of links to learn about resources available to you in Canada.
Afghanistan Crisis
If you are still in Afghanistan, please visit the following link for information provided by the Evacuate Our Allies Operations Center. It provides the most current updates regarding Afghanistan and the known resources available to assist those still in the country. Check the link regularly for updates.
Miles4Migrants is aware of the dangers many are facing in Afghanistan, and that people are desperately trying to leave the country. However, please note that Miles4Migrants does not have the capacity to assist in the procurement of visas to leave the country.
If you are still in the process of receiving your Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) to the United States or a visa to resettle in another third country, you should contact the nearest embassy. Miles4Migrants is only able to review referrals for individuals who have the necessary prospective travel documents to arrive at their desired destination.
Miles4Migrants depends on organizations we are partnered with to identify and vet individuals in need of assistance. We do not accept direct requests for assistance; only flight requests that come to us via our partners will be processed. However, we may be able to refer you to one of our travel request partners once you have received your SIV stamped onto your passport.
Please only contact us once your visa is in your passport and you are ready to travel. Please indicate in your message to us that you already have your SIV in your passport.
Donations/Pledges
To donate miles/points or cash, please head to staging.miles4migrants.org/donate. If the miles/points that you would like to donate are not listed on our website, this unfortunately means that we cannot accept them.
Please note we cannot earmark pledges/donations for a specific cause or population (see “Can my donation be earmarked” below).
We accept miles and points from most major airline and credit card programs. Miles4Migrants partners directly with the following airlines, allowing you to transfer your miles directly into Miles4Migrants pooled accounts:
- Delta Air Lines
- United Airlines
- Air Canada Aeroplan
- Alaska Airlines
- JetBlue Airways
Other commonly used miles/points:
- Southwest Airlines
- Flying Blue (Air France and KLM)
- American Express Membership Rewards
- Chase Ultimate Rewards
- Capital One Rewards
- Citi ThankYou Points
Because Miles4Migrants provides flights for both domestic (U.S.-Mexico border) cases and international cases, the number of miles required for a flight varies. Other considerations are whether we are flying just one person or several members of a family, award seat availability when the flight reservation is made, and which airlines fly the specific route needed. We are only able to combine pledges if they are donated to one of our pooled airline accounts, so each donor’s pledge is used by itself to cover the flight.
Some examples of miles requirements:
- 12,000-20,000 miles will fly one person within the U.S.
- 20,000 miles will fly one person from Afghanistan to Europe
- 25,000-40,000 miles will fly two people within the U.S.
- 40,000 miles will fly one person from Africa to the U.S. or Canada
- 42,500 miles will fly one person from the Middle East to the U.S.
Minor children need to be on the same reservation as the adult, which requires even larger pledges. For example, if we are flying an Afghan family to Europe, the miles required might be:
- 60,000 miles for an adult and two minor children
- 100,000 miles for an adult and four minor children
If you pledged miles to one of our pooled account partners, then you will receive instructions about how to transfer your miles to our account at the time you make your pledge on our website. Please check your spam folder if you do not see an email. Once you’ve successfully made the transfer, you’re done!
If you pledged miles from another program, our Donor Engagement team will reach out to you with the next steps. Your pledge will then be in our queue, allowing the flight booking team to match it with an incoming travel request from one of our partners. Miles4Migrants works with partner NGO organizations to identify refugees or asylum seekers that are in need of flight assistance. Once a partner brings us an approved case in need of airfare, our flight booking team works to identify the best award flight options, and then matches the flight with a donor who has pledged the corresponding number of miles to the associated airline reward program. As the volume of flight requests varies, your donated miles may be needed within a matter of weeks, but it is likely that it could take longer to process your specific program/donation amount. We appreciate your patience. Don’t worry, we haven’t forgotten about you!
All miles and points are used to support members of the refugee community around the world, and cannot be earmarked for one particular population or destination country. We appreciate our donors entrusting our team to make the best use of all donations, ensuring that we can meet all flight requests.
Yes! Please head to staging.miles4migrants.org/donate to donate. Cash donations help us cover the fees associated with each booking or the cost of a ticket that cannot be purchased with miles. As little as $5 can cover the fees for one U.S. domestic trip. $50 covers the fees for one international ticket, $300 covers the average cost of a one full domestic flight, and $500 covers the cost for a single average international flight.
Thank you again for your interest in supporting Miles4Migrants!
All contributions to Miles4Migrants are used solely to help refugees, asylees, and asylum-seekers. No funding or contributions are used to cover any personal costs of staff or volunteers, and under no circumstance is any donated money used for political activism or lobbying.
The IRS recognizes the donation of airline miles or points as a gift from the airline to the charitable organization. Therefore, miles donated to Miles4Migrants are not considered tax-deductible by the individual donor. For further information, consult IRS Publication 526 and/or your personal tax advisor.
Miles4Migrants is registered as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charity, and monetary donations may be tax deductible.
For each flight reservation made, Miles4Migrants determines the lowest cost reasonable itinerary for the number of people requested on the day that we scheduled a flight. We define “reasonable itinerary” as one layover or fewer and exclude low cost carriers because these flights often charge additional fees. We do not use the cost of the exact flight we have booked with points because it would often lead to an inflated cash value since cash prices do not always directly correlate with the award flight cost in miles.
For example, if we received a flight request to fly two passengers from San Antonio to Philadelphia, and we booked those tickets using United Airlines miles, it may cost 30,000 miles and $11.20 in fees. Then we’d find the find the lowest cash cost one stop flight from SAT-PHL. If the lowest cost option was a $400 Delta flight, we would record the cash value as $800 ($400 x 2), even if the particular United flight reservation we made cost $900 per ticket, since in any realistic situation where someone had to pay cash, they would purchase the $400 flight, not that particular $900 flight.
Yes! Please head to staging.miles4migrants.org/donate-crypto to donate your cryptocurrency. Donating cryptocurrency is a non-taxable event, meaning when you donate crypto to a registered charity, you do not recognize capital gains from the donation and can deduct it on your taxes. In other words, donating your crypto can often reduce your tax burden. This makes Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrency donations one of the most tax efficient ways to support your favorite cause.
All miles and points are used to support members of the refugee community around the world, and cannot be earmarked for one particular population or destination country. We appreciate our donors entrusting our team to make the best use of all donations, ensuring that we can meet all flight requests.
Yes! Please head to staging.miles4migrants.org/donate to donate. Cash donations help us cover the fees associated with each booking or the cost of a ticket that cannot be purchased with miles. As little as $5 can cover the fees for one U.S. domestic trip. $50 covers the fees for one international ticket, $300 covers the average cost of a one full domestic flight, and $500 covers the cost for a single average international flight.
Thank you again for your interest in supporting Miles4Migrants!
(Revised: 08/2022)