Man Donates 200,000 Miles to Strangers for Holiday Travel

Source: ABC/Good Morning America
One man is using his frequent flier miles to spread joy to those who can’t afford to fly home for the holidays.
Peter Shankman is a globe-trotting entrepreneur who has racked up quite a few frequent flier miles, so for the fifth year in a row, he is gifting them to strangers so they can be with their loved ones during the festive season.

I'll be live on @HLNTV at 8:45am ET talking about how I give my @united FF miles away every year to help people who can't afford to fly get home to their families for the holidays! Tune in! 🙂 pic.twitter.com/7PwkvPhnY0

— Peter Shankman (@petershankman) December 13, 2018

“I can’t think of a better way to use miles,” Shankman told the Washington Post, revealing he has been to Asia 11 times this year, among other places.
Shankman posts his ‘Home for the Holidays’ contest on the social media site Imgur and other Imgur users then vote for a winner. According to the Washington Post, other Imgur users also began donating their frequent flier miles to his contest, increasing the gift.
“It makes me happy to know that others who fly a lot also want to help,” Shankman said.
According to the Washington Post, one of the winner’s of Shankman’s ‘Home for the Holidays’ contest this year was Sarah Latham. With her grandfather dying from cancer 1,593 miles away from her home in Texas, she knew her family would go into debt to pay for a flight to New York. But if she skipped it she may never see him again.
“I’m happy I won because now I have the opportunity for one last memory,” Latham told the Washington Post. “After my dad died, the relationship I have with my grandfather became even more important than I have words to describe. This is my trip to say goodbye.”