Will Work For Free Tickets?

Despite its somewhat lascivious name and presentation, the concept behind the Web site MileHighSwap.com is actually rather G-rated... that's "G," as in 'good sense.'

According to a recent study by financial magazine The Economist, there are presently some 17 trillion unredeemed frequent flyer miles in circulation today, worth $500 billion. With airlines shortening expiration dates to cash miles in, that leaves the potential for hundreds of thousands of unredeemed miles... but MileHighSwap.com has another way for mile holders to cash in.

On MileHighSwap.com, consumers can post items or services that they would be willing to swap for airlines miles or straight-up tickets, free of charge. They can also post miles that they need on most major carriers... a solution to topping off a frequent flyer account that is close to having enough miles for that next trip.

A painter recently offered to paint an entire house for 2 tickets to Hawaii. Another member swapped several antique chairs for 2 tickets. A frequent traveler with a substantial miles balance swapped for accounting services, 12 massages and a ticket to the BCS Championship football game.

"The poor economic climate has been a blessing as we provide a service that costs nothing and creates value," site organizers say. "We're sort of like an eBay or Amazon where the currency is frequent flyer miles instead of cash. Everyone asks why no one thought of this before!"

"It's like shopping with play money," reads a testimonial from a user of the site.

FMI: www.milehighswap.com/