Americans are using Frequent Flyer Miles to Support Our Injured Service Members and their Families

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions

General Program Questions

• What is Operation Hero Miles?
• Who's program is this?
• Who is administering this effort?
• Who sponsors this website?
• Who do I contact if I have questions?
• Why is this program important?
• Why isn't the government paying for these flights?

Getting Tickets

• Who is eligible for these tickets?
• Are there enough tickets for everyone?
• What happens if the program runs out of miles?
• How do service men and women get tickets and how does the program work?
• Are tickets one way or round trip?
• Can family travel on these free tickets?
• How long will this program be available?
• Can the program run out of miles?
• Are the airlines going to honor reciprocity agreements?

Donating Miles

• How do I donate my frequent flyer miles?
• Are donated miles tax deductible?
• Is this website secure? Can my miles be stolen?
• Why do some of the participating airlines have minimum donations?
• I earn free miles for any airline with my credit card. How can I donate these miles/tickets?
• I do not have miles to donate. How can I donate cash?

Congressman Ruppersberger and soldiers waiting for flights at BWI airport.

General Program Questions

Q: What is Operation Hero Miles?

A: Operation Hero Miles is an information website created in September 2003 to help soldiers granted R & R leave from Iraq and nearby countries with free travel to their home towns. Now that the Pentagon is paying for these trips through an Act of Congress, donated miles help soldiers on Emergency Leave reach home, and unite family members with wounded soldiers recuperating at U.S. military hospitals.

Q: Who's program is this?

A: Congressman Ruppersberger first heard of the problem troops were having getting fair priced tickets home and contacted the airlines with the idea of a program that would allow individuals to donate miles for free tickets. Each airline is creating it's own program and each program will work differently. This website is aimed at getting as many miles donated as possible. Once donated, the Congressman's office does not control who gets the tickets, how they receive them or how many are available.

Q: Who is administering this effort?

A: Each airline is administering its own version of the program in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense. Operation Hero Miles was launched to provide a communication link and one-stop link to the airlines, the Department of Defense, and press coverage of the effort. It informs which airlines are participating and encourages other airlines to join the program. Once an airline joins, it will administer its own program in cooperation with the Department of Defense and those details will be provided on the website as soon as they are available.

Q: Who sponsors this website?

A: This site is owned and operated by Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger who represents suburban Baltimore and the Baltimore Washington International Airport (BWI), which is the commercial airport that has the highest number of military flights for troop transport in the entire United States. It is not an official site of the U.S. House of Representatives. BWI airport is home to the U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command, (AMC) and moves 99% of all Department of Defense travelers to and from European, Mediterranean and South West Asian theaters of operation.

Q: Who do I contact if I have questions?

A: If you have questions about donating miles, please contact the airlines. If a soldier has a question about a free ticket, they should contact their command, or the travel office at Camp Champion in Iraq prior to departure to the U.S.

Q: Why is this program important?

A: Soldiers traveling home on Emergency Leave are not covered by the new law Congress approved. They must still pay the cost of their domestic travel once the military returns them to the United States. Pentagon officials estimate that 50 to 100 soldiers each month return to the U.S. for a family emergency from the Iraq theatre of operation.

Seriously wounded soldiers who are being treated at U.S. military hospitals as a result of an injury while in the Iraqi theater need the love and attention of their family. The military pays for one or two trips for a close family member such as a wife, parent or sibling depending on the seriousness of the soldier's injuries. The families of those soldiers with long recuperation periods, for instance from multiple wounds, amputees, or head and neck injuries, frequently must make many trips over months or even a year as the solider goes through physical therapy, has repeated surgeries, or is fitted for a prosthesis. The military does not pay for these additional trips or for the extended stays of the loved one to be at the soldier's bedside.

Q: Why isn't the government paying for these flights?

A: Congress approved funding only for R & R travel. Current law does not authorize payment to the soldier for domestic travel while on Emergency Leave or for more than two visits to a wounded soldier by a family member. Congressman Ruppersberger is working with the Department of Defense to consider enabling legislation that would make it easier to provide Hero Miles tickets in both instances.

Getting Tickets

Q: Who is eligible for these tickets?

A: Those service men and women granted R & R or emergency leave by their command are currently eligible for Hero Miles tickets. Availability of the tickets is determined through the Combined Forces Land Component Commander (CFLCC) at Camp Champion in Kuwait, which is the pre-departure location for troops returning home on R&R and arriving at BWI and other airports.

Q: Are there enough tickets for everyone?

A: It's not clear. The generosity of the American public has impressed and overwhelmed the Department of Defense. At this time, plenty of Hero Miles tickets are available for Emergency Leave purposes as long as the airlines continue to participate and allow donations. It is difficult to predict the demand for tickets by family members of wounded soldiers since we can not predict the course of the conflict in Iraq. However, our men and women in uniform are defending us across the world, and there will always be some need to help those soldiers in difficult circumstances.

Q: What happens if the program runs out of miles?

A: Tickets can only be awarded for the miles donated. If the miles run out, so will the tickets. This is why we need to get the word out and have as many miles donated as possible to help our troops.

Q: How do service men and women get tickets and how does the program work?

A: Commanders who approve Emergency Leave for a soldier, airman, marine or navy personnel will coordinate with the family support center of each branch of the military to determine the availability and need for Hero Miles tickets. Family members seeking assistance to be with a wounded soldier are encouraged to contact the Fisher House to formally request tickets or housing. The Fisher House has been working closely with the U.S. Department of Defense for 12 years and has 31 locations at 24 U.S. military installations around the world. They work with medical and social support staff at the hospitals to arrange housing and transportation on a priority basis for each wounded soldier.

Q: Are tickets one way or round trip?

A: All tickets awarded through Operation Hero Miles will be round trip tickets.

Q: Can family travel on these free tickets?

A: If approved by military commanders, a soldier on Emergency Leave might receive free travel assistance for family members as well. Hero Miles tickets to help wounded soldiers are intended to be used solely by the family of the soldier.

Q: How long will this program be available?

A: We hope the airlines will continue their support as long as our men in women in uniform are serving overseas and in harms way.

Q: Can the program run out of miles?

A: Unfortunately YES, it can. This is why we need your help. We must continue to promote the Operation Hero Miles program and we must continue to encourage everyone to donate their miles.

Q: Are the airlines going to honor reciprocity agreements?

A: That is still being worked out by the airlines.

Donating Miles

Q: How do I donate my frequent flyer miles?

A: Please see our donation page for details on how to donate your miles to Operation Hero Miles.

If information for an airline is not listed, please contact your frequent flier program directly on the phone or the web and ask for information regarding their program to provide mileage for our troops. If they have not yet started a program and joined "Operation Hero Miles", please encourage them to do so.

Q: Are donated miles tax deductible?

A: No, donated miles are not tax deductible for the frequent flier or for the airlines.

Q: Is this website secure? Can my miles be stolen?

A: Information entered on the donation forms is sent directly to the airlines via email. The online forms make it easier to provide the required information to the airlines and help to reduce mistakes and omitted information, but they are no more secure than if you send the information yourself via email. For your protection, the forms only ask for the minimum information needed to process your donation, and do not ask for items such as your street address, phone number, date of birth or other sensitive information. However, if you are more comfortable sending your request via the mail or telephone, please do so.

All donated miles and free tickets are processed by your airline. At this point all participating airlines provide free tickets only to the Combined Forces Land Component Commander at Camp Champion in Kuwait, or the Fisher House. It is not possible for free tickets to be used by anyone other than an eligible soldier on R & R, Emergency Leave, or the families of wounded soldiers.

Q: Why do some of the participating airlines have minimum donations?

A: Each participating airline has volunteered to do so and has set up its own process. Some airlines require minimums for processing purposes. Please contact your airline is you have any questions about minimums.

Q: I earn free miles for any airline with my credit card. How can I donate these miles/tickets?

A: The travel award rules for credit cards that are not part of a single airline's frequent flyer program vary widely. We recommend you call the 800 number on your travel awards statement from your card holder to determine if the "miles" you have earned can be transferred to the frequent flyer program of one of the airlines that are participating in Operation Hero Miles. If you already have a frequent flyer account with a participating airline, you may be able to transfer the miles. If not, you may be required to open a frequent flyer account first. With so many credit card companies in the market, it is not possible for us to assess how many might permit miles to be donated to Operation Hero Miles.

Q: I do not have miles to donate. How can I donate cash?

A: Our program does not accept any cash contributions. Each branch of the military has a non-profit, charitable branch that does accept cash contributions to support the troops and their families. To learn more about these organizations you please visit the Armed Forces Relief Trust, a combined effort on behalf of all branches of the U.S. military. The Fisher House also accepts cash donations that are used to help our wounded soldiers and their families.