Do you have a few thousand orphan miles in an account that you barely use? Or do you need a few miles to reach an award level? A new Web site aims to provide users with the ability to barter their frequent flyer miles for products, services and other miles.
You can also list items you would like to exchange for an award ticket or specific number of miles.
The developers of the site compare milehighswap.com to eBay, “except people are using frequent flyer miles instead of cash to barter with.” Signing up and posting an item to swap is free, but it will cost $0.99 to contact another user about a possible exchange or you can sign up for a subscription and contact as many users as you want for one monthly fee.
If your transaction includes a transfer of miles, you or the person you are trading with are responsible for paying the transfer fees imposed by the airlines. You can also agree to split the fees. In general, it costs approximately $10 per 1,000 miles plus a $25-$30 service fee to transfer miles between accounts.
The Web site is similar to LoyaltyMatch.com, where members can buy or trade award merchandise with members of other loyalty programs, and Points.com GPX, which allows members to exchange miles and points. The difference is that Mile High Swap takes the idea one step further and allows members to exchange miles or points for anything someone else wants to sell.
