"Good" Friday: Thank-Yous

Today one of my students thanked me for coming to campus to teach on a bitterly cold Friday. Yep, someone actually thanked me just for doing my job. This unexpected kindness reminded me how easy it is to get busy and distracted and to forget the simplest mitzvah of all: saying “Thanks.”

This also reminded me I’m overdue in thanking several fellow bloggers for their kind mentions of Daily Mitzvah. Last month Upgrade: Travel Better and inFlightOut both referenced my December 14 post about donating frequent miles to charity. More recently, on Monday The Lost Albatross gave us a very nice hat-tip mentioning the January 19 Keep Wisconsin Warm post, which our local collaborative blog Dane101 also kindly included in their January 19 “Breakfast Links.” I really enjoy reading each of these blogs: thank-you to all!

Today’ mitzvah: Thank someone who isn’t expecting it, either in person or with a surprise eCard.

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Too Few Miles for A Ticket?

The business trip is winding down, but my quest for travel-related mitzvahs continues. I’m a happy frequent flyer mile accumulator — I often face a dilemma: buy things via a charity portal to help others, or a via a miles-earning portal for me! Yet even for a mile hoarder like myself, FF miles on some airlines are unlikely to grow into a free ticket anytime soon. A random flight, an airline that no longer flies into my city — these account balances will languish in the 1,000– to 2,000–mile range until they eventually expire. One option: use the miles for magazine subscriptions. Yet, if one has all the magazines one needs, excess unusable miles can often be donated to charities via a program with the airline. Here are links to several major carriers’ programs. If your airline is not listed here, the programs are easy to find on GoodSearch.

• Continental Airlines: Donate your miles
• Delta Airlines: Sky Wish Charities
• Midwest Airlines: Miracle Miles
• Northwest Airlines: Air Cares Partners
• United Airlines: Charity Miles
• USAirways: Miles of Hope

Today’s mitzvah: Consider donating those unused frequent flyer miles to a good cause.

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