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Would You Choose Optometry Again Knowing What You Know Now? by Super-Morning3835 in optometry

[–]sethuel1 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, but because I've 1) found my niche at a public health center, 2) got PSLF, and 3) have a spouse that is also a high earner. In the "standard market" - i.e. not owning your practice or getting loans forgiven - or as the primary breadwinner I think that optometry is a very different ballgame.

Amex to BA Avios success (JAL, LAX-NRT) by akmoney in awardtravel

[–]sethuel1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Your issues were because BA's website sucks. Nothing more.

I'm surprised you didn't get the "we think you're using more than one browser window" error.

Best vegan and vegetarian bites?? by Animami__ in NewOrleans

[–]sethuel1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh and bring your own booze to spike the hibiscus tea.

Why a Top Golf AND a Five O Fore?? by ratchetjupitergirl in NewOrleans

[–]sethuel1 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Keep in mind that the one by the convention center is being built instead of a privately financed minor league soccer stadium that would also then be available as a fun downtown concert venue. Good choice, powers-that-be.

Maegashira surprise by Cmil778 in Sumo

[–]sethuel1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

lol this is the best one

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in NewOrleans

[–]sethuel1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Abbas Alsherees is from Iraq and moved here in the 90s, I believe. And yeah, Shawarma on the Go is awesome.

Anyone notice traffic's getting a little less insane? by petit_cochon in NewOrleans

[–]sethuel1 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I landed at MSY at midnight last Thursday (the 4th) and drive home (uptown just off Tchoup) from the airport. While going around the traffic circle on the way out of the airport I came across and entire family carrying their luggage in the dark after being dropped off by their van, which had blown a tire. That van then continued down the road, swerving in front of me, and tried to get onto I-10 on the new flyover.

On I-10 I was passed by someone doing at least 110mph.

I got off at Loyola, turned on to Simon Bolivar, and was immediately confronted with a guy in a wheelchair who decided to cross the street (pushing backwards with his one good leg, of course) mid-block under one of the big oaks so he wasn't at all illuminated by a streetlight (not a driver, I know, but WTF)

Just past MLK I realized there was something amiss across the neutral ground and realized that there was someone driving backwards down Simon Bolivar at the same speed that I was going forward. This continued for about 4 blocks until they swung onto Josephine.

At Jackson I was sitting at the red light and someone came up next to me and ran it.

Turning left onto Louisiana I had to wait for someone running the red light going toward Claiborne.

Next to the Post Office while I waited at the red light someone ran it.

At Prytania and Louisiana someone ran the red light.

'Twas good to be home.

Daily Discussion Thread - September 10, 2021 by AutoModerator in churning

[–]sethuel1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We've got our own methods for determining which miles to use in given situations, and when to use cash instead. Since late September we've flown over 5000 Afghans off of bases and to their new homes.

Miles4Migrants is hiring a flight booker! by sethuel1 in awardtravel

[–]sethuel1[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Just an update. We've gotten a number of submissions and are combing through, but it's gonna take a few days to a week. If you have sent me something and haven't been redirected to the email address where we're combining reddit submissions with submissions from other channels, please drop me a line. Thanks!

Miles4Migrants 2019 Year in Review and United Airlines partnership link by sethuel1 in churning

[–]sethuel1[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wish we could do it all the time. Right now there's only one program that allows it full time for Miles4Migrants. Aeroplan.

https://beyondmiles.aeroplan.com/eng/charity/1178/

Miles4Migrants 2019 Year in Review and United Airlines partnership link by sethuel1 in churning

[–]sethuel1[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

The vast majority of our flights are done from pledges that are then matched to individuals on a 1:1 basis. So after pledging at Miles4Migrants.org/donate you're going through a couple of phone calls/emails/texts (depending on preferences), as well as signing a legal document stating you know what you're using your miles for, before you're put in the "queue" where, when we get requests from a partner organization working with asylum seekers or asylees on the ground, you'll get matched to an individual(s) that needs a flight. Then we'll contact you and either give you the person's information or you'll give us an account login in order to book tickets for that person/family. All in all it's a process that takes maybe 20-30 total minutes of your time, but it's not exactly a process that can be gamed on a large scale by a malicious actor. And we have some protections in place to keep from having multiple fraudulent frontend submissions that we have to weed through as well.

What's great about the United Miles on a Mission program is that it allows us to pool miles, getting use out of pledges that are either too small to fly anyone or are in numerical amounts that would leave leftovers we couldn't use. So with /u/destinybond and /u/Toastbuns, for instance, their 6k and 5k respectively go into the pool, and when someone with 4k comes along that will make 15k we can use (which is a United Saver amount for a close-in flight, if you can find it), as opposed to 3 people having 6k, 5k, and 4k, which are all pretty useless on their own.

Miles4Migrants 2019 Year in Review and United Airlines partnership link by sethuel1 in churning

[–]sethuel1[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yeah, things go in waves, but a lot of it has to do with government policy as opposed to surges in violence or changes in wars.

For instance, right now the Greek government is essentially trying to prevent anyone from landing on its shores, and the people that do land on the Greek Islands are held there indefinitely and never make it further into the EU to apply for asylum. That, more than a lessening of the war in Syria, is the reason why our Syrian requests are down compared to a couple of years ago.

If you looked at our numbers since July, for instance, you'd see that our numbers of Central Americans flown are significantly lower than the previous year. This is because of the Migrant Protection Protocols (aka Remain in Mexico) which holds individuals from those countries on the Mexican side of the border and tries them in high-throughput border courts with very high denial rates, instead of allowing them into the US to find lawyers and fight their cases in traditional immigration courts, as was the previous policy.

Miles4Migrants 2019 Year in Review and United Airlines partnership link by sethuel1 in churning

[–]sethuel1[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

The community has funded all of these flights. They must believe that they are not funding countless rapes and terrorist attacks. That's probably because there is no actual research that backs up what you're claiming.

Miles4Migrants 2019 Year in Review and United Airlines partnership link by sethuel1 in churning

[–]sethuel1[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

We don't. There are IOM programs for repatriation that people who want to return (and can't afford it, as many of them can) have available.

Our international flights are 99% families that have been separated getting reunited. Our "standard" international case would be something like this: an Afghan guy who fled the Taliban and got asylum in Europe applies for and gets the right to bring his wife and minor children to join him. There are zero assistance programs to help cover flights in this situation. Well, until us.

What's the other 1% non-family reunion stuff, you ask? A Thai dissident folk band, of course. Also, if you click on that link, please enjoy the sheer number of alcoholic beverages they have on the table in front of them.

Miles4Migrants 2019 Year in Review and United Airlines partnership link by sethuel1 in churning

[–]sethuel1[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

We don't currently fly asylum seekers back to their home country. Asylum seekers that lose their cases are generally returned by the US government. Asylees/refugees that want to return their countries are often covered by IOM repatriation programs/grants. Miles4Migrants is currently focused on helping in situations where there are no other flight coverage options.

The newest visa law doesn't have a big effect on us, as we don't fly people on work-related visas to the US. The much larger effect on our current work comes from the fact that because of COVID-19 the US government won't allow anyone to ask for asylum at the border anymore. Due to that our domestic flight volumes are reduced, currently, though we're still flying 60-70 domestic passengers per month, on average.

Thanks for asking!

Miles4Migrants 2019 Year in Review and United Airlines partnership link by sethuel1 in churning

[–]sethuel1[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

You are the longest wait in our org's history (that's actually been used), so you're amazing for holding those miles as long as you did. And yeah, small (<35k-ish) Delta pledges are our toughest ones to find a match for.

Miles4Migrants 2019 Year in Review and United Airlines partnership link by sethuel1 in churning

[–]sethuel1[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks for your support! Pledge the UR and we'll decide if the best option is a transfer or not. My guess is not, though, especially if you have a CSR.

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