ULPT Request: Using airlines rewards miles to get cash (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 month ago by PR3CiSiON@lemmy.world to c/unethicallifeprotips@lemmy.world

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I travel for work, and have accrued about $12k worth of airlines points. I don't really want to use them for personal travel, as I travel too much as is.

Would it be possible to:

Book a flight.
Get a receipt for the booking.
Cancel the flight within 24 hours for a full refund back to my card.
Book the same flight using points.
Use the receipt in my expenses to get reimbursed for cash.

Or is there something I'm missing? Do they have any contact with the airline to confirm the receipt is legit?

I almost don't even consider this unethical, as the company is paying the same as they would if I didn't use my points.

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[-] jbrains@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 month ago

It depends.

Sometimes bigger companies have more room to hide. They don't care.

Sometimes bigger companies can afford to hire people to be inquisitive.

A big company that seems not to laying people off is probably not paying attention. Then you could consider trying. I wouldn't try until I was prepared to be caught and fired.

this post was submitted on 19 Mar 2026

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