Qantas donates $100,000 to bush fire appeal

[nlagalle]

Maybe it needs to be spelled out for you in simple terms. I have spent $10K to obtain $100 worth of Qantas FF points, which Qantas has been paid $200 for so they are already in the black. Now they would much prefer that I take those points to the grave or at the very least get less than $100 out of Qantas for them, so the marketing department comes up with the scheme that those points can be redeemed for $50 cash which Qantas will give to charity. This increases their profit by another $50, but the bean-counters trump that by saying that Qantas obtains the tax benefit for the donation (even though they are using "our" money) so they squeeze another few bucks out of the deal.

By all means donate to any charity you want - but why do it in a way that gives most of it to Qantas?

And in case you never realised, other companies have been doing this for years. Amex MR have offered all sorts of donations for as long as i have been a member. And I'll bet if you dig a bit you'll find other companies get the tax deduction too. Mind you, you have to burn more points for the same $$$ value that Qantas offer.

Are you jumping up and down because Qantas have spelt out how the tax deduction works?

My point is that QF have offered a lower burn rate that the general rate for this donation. Do you really expect to get a tax receipt for using your FF points? because the minute that happens, we'll get taxed on them by the ATO.

 

[JohnK]

But they aren't hiding the fact that they are doing it are they? Go and take a look at other rewards schemes that offer points for donations? I'll bet you right now the same tax offsets happen with them too.

I think you are quite right. So far I have received correspondence from Qantas, Velocity and Priority Club to donate points and they all mention that points donations are not tax deductible. I may have also received something from Amex but I am not certain. I will not be donating any points to the Bushfire Appeal not because they are not tax deductible but because the conversion rate as always is very poor.

I have made my own personal donations to the Bushfire Appeal, definitely not tax deductible, through various fund raisers.

 

[Platy]

I have made my own personal donations to the Bushfire Appeal, definitely not tax deductible, through various fund raisers.

Did you mean were or were not tax deductible? (Good on you for donating, but why not make a tax deductible donation through say the Red Cross???).

 

[JohnK]

Did you mean were or were not tax deductible? (Good on you for donating, but why not make a tax deductible donation through say the Red Cross???).

All my donations to the Bushfire Appeal to date are not tax deductible. Tax deductibility does not concern me. I think the reasons why, where and how much we each donate are personal so let's not go into numbers but I feel a fundraiser ensures the full amount goes to the appeal rather than going through someone like Red Cross who have overheads.

I think I mentioned earlier on AFF that I went to a local Greek Community lunch last week with my father and mother. All the food, alcohol, heaps of prizes for the raffle were donated by local businesses. Many people donated their time to assist in organising and a lot of people made generous donations including one person who wrote a cheque for $2,000 that afternoon even though he donated a lot of the food for the barbeque as well.

I don't know the exact figure donated, as we left early, but my guess would be well over $10,000 as there 250+ people in attendance at $20 per head, the raffle would have generated $2,000+ and donations were well over $3,000 when we left. I know $10,000 may not sound like a lot of money but overall I think it was a fantastic effort for a small local community in one afternoon.

 

[straitman]

Seems to me that as is prone to occur around here this has gone a fair way OT.

My 2 bobs worth though.

I believe that a $100,000 donation from QF is admirable (with or without tax deductability) but in reality rather stingy.
I do consider tax deductability when making donations as I do a rough calculation of the tax amount and then add it to my original donation.

 

[Nigelinoz]

And in case you never realised, other companies have been doing this for years

Doesn't mean it's the right thing though,if Virgin Blue are happy to donate through green cross and not claim the tax deduction then why doesn't Qantas.?

 

[Platy]

All my donations to the Bushfire Appeal to date are not tax deductible. Tax deductibility does not concern me. I think the reasons why, where and how much we each donate are personal so let's not go into numbers but I feel a fundraiser ensures the full amount goes to the appeal rather than going through someone like Red Cross who have overheads.

I think I mentioned earlier on AFF that I went to a local Greek Community lunch last week with my father and mother. All the food, alcohol, heaps of prizes for the raffle were donated by local businesses. Many people donated their time to assist in organising and a lot of people made generous donations including one person who wrote a cheque for $2,000 that afternoon even though he donated a lot of the food for the barbeque as well.

I don't know the exact figure donated, as we left early, but my guess would be well over $10,000 as there 250+ people in attendance at $20 per head, the raffle would have generated $2,000+ and donations were well over $3,000 when we left. I know $10,000 may not sound like a lot of money but overall I think it was a fantastic effort for a small local community in one afternoon.

Wow, great effort! Thanks for sharing!

 

[nlagalle]

Doesn't mean it's the right thing though,if Virgin Blue are happy to donate through green cross and not claim the tax deduction then why doesn't Qantas.?

Who said it is right or wrong? depends on your standpoint. The point is doesn't matter who you donate your points through, you aren't going to be able to claim a tax deduction.

If Qantas have worked out a way to reduce their tax bill, all fine and well. you still get more value for your points doing it via QF than VB or MR.

Personally my donations are done via cash.. i keep my points for other things. Some people want to donate their points. That's their choice. Remember you don't have to donate.