There are some interesting items offered in the Kids First Auctions on FlyerTalk and ebay this month. Round 1 of 3 auctions has ended and the second round ends next Monday on May 25. Auctions on eBay show 7pm California time, 4pm Eastern for end of bids. FlyerTalk bids show 2pm Pacific time Monday, May 25 as best I can tell from their 6 day, 4 hour clock when it is 15 minutes past the hour. The Monday Memorial Day holiday for Americans might be a competitive edge in these international auctions.
Items I like and their price at 10am California time Tuesday, May 19.
You must register on each auction site separately to bid on EBAY auctions and FlyerTalk auctions.
EBAY Auctions
There are a number of one-day car rental vouchers and several Southwest Airlines flights that have mostly been overbid already. One of three Southwest round trip flight vouchers is already $498 with six days left in auction. That is a great charity value, not a consumer value. Lowest price is $326. I checked and they are not valid for international travel, so no Costa Rica trips. Validity for use June 1, 2015 to June 1, 2016.
W Minneapolis Foshay $70. Rates fall to $70s on many dates of the year. Lovely hotel to experience. The historic building was the tallest skyscraper in Minneapolis in the 1930s. The top floor library bar is definitely a unique space to check out when you have the chance.
Private Plane Trip New York to Niagara Falls $135.50
Kennedy Space Center Dine with an Astronaut $48
2 night stay Embassy Suites Phoenix $132.50
2 night stay at Tune Hotel King’s Cross London, UK $5.50
1 night stay Virginia Beach Resort Hotel and Conference Center Chesapeake Bay $5.50
$250 Towards a Hotel Stay through a Rocketmiles Hotel Accommodations Booking $71.00
FlyerTalk Auctions
More Avis and Budget one day car rental vouchers.
100,000 Air Berlin TopBonus miles $830.00 I’d buy at this price. Expect this to go much higher in six days.
50,000 Air Berlin TopBonus miles $655
30,000 Delta Skymiles (item 35) $451
30,000 Delta Skymiles (item 36) $500
25,000 Free Spirit Miles (4 items) $53.00
2 night stay at Tune Hotel Canary Wharf, London, UK $1.00
2 night stay at Tune Hotel Liverpool Street, London, UK $1.00
2 night stay at Tune Hotel Kings Cross, London, UK $1.00
32,000 Choice Privileges points $161 (FlyerTalk needs to spell check Priviledges. There is a $19 shipping fee making this $180 already.
Remember, you can simply buy 32,000 points through Choice Privileges PointsPlusCash awards for $240.00.
I be staying in Tune this summer in London and cancel my 210,000 points in Club Carlson nights at The May Fair if those Tune bids stay under $5.00.
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There is the risk that you can win an auction and find it unavailable for the dates you need. Keep in mind that some flexibility in dates might be needed for a hotel stay.
I purchased three hotel nights in a Marriott Omaha Children’s Hospital auction fundraiser in December 2014. I booked my three nights in the past two weeks for Marriott Boston Copley Place and Marriott Anaheim with breakfast included at both hotels. I paid $210 for three nights worth of certificates with breakfast. Published room rates are about $800 for those three nights with breakfast.
I’ll be in Disneyland in June to use my discount auction nights in Anaheim and Boston in July. The hotel stay certificates were not usable on my first dates, but I got my second choice of dates by reserving two days later than my first choices.
There might ultimately still be some good deals with the KidsFirst Auctions this month on eBay and FlyerTalk.
