Update, A reader won the Dodger’s auction I wrote about below with their United miles and gave the experience to their son as a Bar Mitzvah present that he’ll never forget! Miles aren’t just for flying first class and staying in luxury hotels for free, they’re great for experiences that you (or your kids!) will never forget.
You’ve gotta’ love the tzitzis flying around 😀
Topping off the experience by having A-Gon autograph it.
————————————————————–
Originally posted on 08/17:
Generally speaking airline miles are great for flights and hotel points are great for hotel stays. Rarely is it smart to use them for other redemptions where the value you get isn’t nearly the same.
However back in May I burned miles for non-travel for the first time and I posted then,
I’ve used my miles for some pretty cool things. Flying to Paris with my wife in a couples suite for 53K AMEX MR last December is up there. Flying 19 hours nonstop from Newark to Singapore with just a couple other people in the cabin and then continuing on to the Maldives for just 60K United was great. Being able to escape it all with a couple of month-long trips in our pre-baby days flying around the world in first class and staying in awesome 5 star hotels that were financed nearly entirely with miles is something I’ll never forget.
For me, my miles help me attain aspirational things that I could otherwise never afford or be able to attain. And I’m addicted to getting as many as I can for as close to free as possible.
I had won a mileage auction with 25,000 United miles (less than half the United miles you can earn opening a single credit card) for 4 box seats to an Indians-Yankees game and the right to run onto the field in the 7th inning and literally steal 2nd base from the infield. In the end it turned into 4 box seats to 4 baseball games, but that was just a nice fluke 🙂
Running onto the field in the top of the 7th…
…and stealing second base!
Making off with my loot.
It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience that as a die-hard Indians fan I’ll never forget. Everyone I passed inside and outside the ballpark wanted to just touch the base and couldn’t believe I actually got to take it home with me. And I still have the 2nd base in my office (covered in dirt and signed by Tribe Ace (that day’s winning pitcher) Justin Masterson to prove it. You can read more about it in that post.
————————————————————
Here are links to auctions sites where you too can bid on a once-in-a-lifetime experience:
Here are some current auctions that caught my eye:
-United: Steal 2nd base at an Indians Vs Mets game in Cleveland plus 4 field box seats (09/08).
The base even is nicely embossed with the date and both teams who played that day, so if you’re an Indians or Mets fan this will be an incredible experience.
-You can get a flight from LGA to Cleveland at 8:10am Sunday morning and returning back to LGA at 7:55am Monday morning for just 9,000 BA Avios round-trip.
-There is a train inside the Cleveland airport that can easily take you downtown to the game for just a couple bucks.
-You can stay the night at the Sheraton hotel that is 30 seconds away from Hopkins airport for just 4,000 Starpoints! The paid rate is $224 with tax, so that’s a value of 5.6 cents per point! It will be even fewer points if you have Starwood Gold or Platinum status.
See any other interesting auctions? Have you ever bid on or won a mileage auction? Hit the comments!
P.S. If you do win the stealing second auction beware that 2nd base is stuck in the ground good and tight and that you’ll have tens of thousands of people watching you struggle on the massive jumbotron…Not for the faint of heart!
Leave a Reply
19 Comments On "Using Miles For Sports Experiences"
All opinions expressed below are user generated and the opinions aren’t provided, reviewed or endorsed by any advertiser or DansDeals.
FYI 9/08 is Tzom Gedalyah.
Fyi:Rosh Hashana is 9/06
FYI stealing a base is assur
My bad I meant 9/07 is Rosh Hashana.
No Yankee stuff? wouldn’t mind some batting practice!
why not just SELL the miles? why waist them for sports?
dan what a amazing article, cant thank you enough for all these post!
@robert: not allowed to sell your miles against the terms and conditions!
@mey you were right 9/06 is Rosh Hashana 9/07 is shabbos 9/08 is Tzom Gedalyah.
@Dav: did u read the ad on the top of this page? “turn your miles into cash”. comeon!
@robert: doesn’t mean that its allowed!
I still maintain that stealing a base is worse an issur than selling miles (- even against terms and conditions)
On a whim, I managed to take my family to Milan this year to see AC Milan vs Barcelona (Champions League soccer) on points / miles… Game NOT included 🙁 , but it was a trip of a lifetime….
Thanks for all the “door opening” tips !!
My cousins won the Dodger’s auction!!!
They are huge dodger’s fans and this is a once in a life time opportunity for them.
All thanks to you posting!
thanks Dan and JJ for the tip!!! was really once in a lifetime!!!!!!!!
@Robert:At least Dan didn’t waste them on spelling lessons.
i ask again-why not turn them into cash?
ok guys, chill a bit!
Because there is nothing wrong with doing something fun with the miles.