Merry Christmas!
It’s getting to that time of year — planning a last minute mileage run, watching your last elite qualifying miles post — it’s easy to get caught up on your own travel plans and patterns.
If you’re spending time with family, take some inventory of swag or instruments that you might not be able to use, but can make someone else’s trip more bearable.
Do you have hotel or flight upgrade vouchers that are going to expire soon? Upgrade a relative.
Have a lounge pass or two that’s expiring? Pass them out at the airport to someone who looks stranded.
Drink vouchers or Wi-Fi vouchers that you won’t be using? Give them to someone onboard that looks like they would appreciate it.
Companion Certificates? Take a friend or relative on a mini-vacation this winter.
Here’s a quick scenario:
I have a friend that mentioned he has a trip to Houston coming up before the end of the year. I noticed I had a lounge pass in my wallet (I think I was saving it for the HNL JAL/AA Lounge), but I’ll be on three upgraded segments back-to-back (HNL-SFO-JFK-BCN – no jetlag issues at all!), so the idea of spending additional time in a lounge isn’t that appealing when I could be spending it on the beach.
My friend is excited about hitting United Silver status for the first time, so this made a great Christmas present because the impact will be disproportionately greater than if I burn it.
It’s important to remember that these little things might not mean much to us, but can make a huge memorable difference for other peoples’ travel plans. So share the love!
