Can you donate airline miles to charity in the UAE? 

Yes. You can donate both Etihad Guest and Emirates Skywards miles to charity. However, the two programmes take very different approaches. 

Emirates Airline Foundation 

Emirates Airline Foundation is a charitable organisation established by Emirates Airlines.

The foundation was launched in 2003. The foundation’s mission is to support and help disadvantaged children and provide humanitarian aid in underprivileged communities worldwide.

Emirates Airline Foundation focuses on improving the lives of needy children through various health, education, and social welfare initiatives.

These initiatives include medical programmes, providing access to clean water, building schools and educational facilities, supporting orphanages and children’s homes, and offering disaster relief and humanitarian aid in times of crisis.

The Emirates Airline Foundation is funded through various sources, including donations from Emirates Airlines, its employees, customers, and other stakeholders.

How to donate Skywards Miles?

You can make donations in multiples of 2,500 Skywards Miles. Simply login into your Skywards account and then click here to donate miles to the Emirates Airline Foundation. 

Donating Etihad Guest Miles 

Over 250 million Etihad Guest Miles have been donated since the donation programme launched in 2007, all of which have been converted to cash for charities to spend on what they need the most.

Etihad has partnered with a handful of respected non-profits and NGOs to support causes related to education, healthcare and humanitarian relief.

SolarBuddy

SolarBuddy is a non-profit organisation that provides solar-powered lights, or solar buddies, to children living in energy poverty. These portable lights are charged using solar panels during the day and provide light at night. This enables children in developing countries to study and engage in other activities that require light.

Red Crescent UAE

The Emirates Red Crescent Reach campaign is a humanitarian initiative by the Emirates Red Crescent, a member of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Organisations.

Through emergency relief, healthcare, food, water and sanitation, shelter, education, and other forms of aid, the campaign seeks to alleviate suffering, restore dignity, and promote resilience among those affected by natural disasters, conflicts, health crises, and other emergencies.

UNHCR 

Since 2020 Etihad has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The UNCHR uses donations of Etihad Guest Miles to help their initiative to deliver meals to needy refugee families in Mauritania.  

How to donate Etihad Guest Miles? 

You can choose specific partners and projects to donate to in the Etihad Guest Rewads Shop. Each project is individually priced. Prices range from as little as 120 miles to over 100,000 Etihad Guest Miles.

Log in to your Etihad Guest account and then click here to donate miles to charity. 

Why should I donate miles?

Donating Skywards Miles is a good way to use miles that would otherwise expire. Skywards Miles have a hard expiry date of three years. If you do not have enough miles for a flight reward or upgrade, using them for charitable purposes is better than letting them simply expire.

Etihad Guest Miles expire after 18 months of inactivity for Bronze, Silver and Gold Tier members. Donating Etihad Guest Miles to charity qualifies as an eligible transaction that extends your miles’ validity for additional 18 months. As donations start from as little as 120 miles this is a low-cost way to stop miles expiring.

Even if you don’t have any miles expiring multiple studies have shown that giving money away makes us happier than spending it on ourselves.