Using Airline Gift Cards

I am hoping to fly somewhere for a session within the next year. If I do this I do not want to leave a paper trail meaning I cannot use a credit card to purchase the airline tickets. I am thinking I can accumulate airline gift cards from various super markets and drug stores over a few months to use for the purchase of the flight. I wish I didnt have to use my real name but I see no way around this and as long as I use my bdsm session email address I think it will be fine.

I have a few questions for anyone here.

Is it easy to use these airline gift cards on the airlines website?

I am nervous about doing this but will have a few days window in which to schedule the session and think this will work out as far as me being able to sneak this trip in but does anyone here see something I am missing that will cause me a problem?

Thanks for any replies.

Hmmm. Interesting question. Most airlines don’t accept cash anymore from what I can tell. Though it’s possible someone does. I travel pretty often and while I’ve not tried your scenario, my thoughts based on what I know of airlines:

On the gift cards, if you can do it with one or two gift cards versus many it may be easier. Some airlines (Southwest as example) limit the number of payment forms. Southwest only allows 3 forms of payment, so they may not accept more than 3 gift cards.

You may want to call whichever airline you are flying and ask something like “ I don’t have a credit/debit card, what are my options for purchasing a ticket”. They have almost certainly dealt with this before. If all else fails, you can also try going to the ticket counter at the airport versus phone/web. Sometimes easier in person when it’s out of the box.

I've never used a travel gift card. But, as most airlines sell visa based gift cards, seems like they would have to accept them. Maybe call your preferred airline and ask what their policy is for multiple cards?

I have purchased US airplane tickets with OneVanilla Gift cards in the past.
(Not to confuse with Vanilla Gift Cards !!!)
They can be bought with cash in many grocery stores, they are completely anonymous and can be used the same way as Credit/Debit Cards.
The problem is that they only work in the US and that airlines also have refused them in the past (for no other reason than that the airline didn't like it).

You should have no problem doing this. I have used both airline gift card and visa/MC branded gift card on airline websites with no issue.

Depending on how much you travel if you want to stay anonymous as possible you may consider booking on an airline you never use or creating a separate profile I travel a lot and have my flight information auto populate on mobile calendars and personal devices. Things like text reminders etc could create a paper trail

Going to the ticket counter at the airport may actually be a good idea. I think the customer service counter would be best rather then a regular ticket counter with people trying to check in with baggage.

I thought about calling but I hate calling the airlines. I guess if I am going to do this I have to research flights, schedule the session and then buy the ticket. I definitely want non stop flights. No connections.

Thanks. That’s a good idea but when you say airlines have refused them it puts me off from using those.

Thank you very much. I have to use whatever airline gives me the best flight options at a price I want to pay. The auto populating to a calendar makes me nervous because you never know where it will pop up. Something I’ve got to consider. Maybe booking the flight from incognito mode would prevent this.

Well, the money isn't lost, you can still use it for other purchases if the airline doesn't accept it.

Honestly, I feel sorry for anyone who has to go to these kind of lengths to hide themselves.

Ms Tissa
Many of us on the board have found ourselves in similar situations to the OP. Probably many of your clients as well.

Instead of the response you gave, I wish you would offer some kind of advice or something helpful......for all I know, he may be flying to see you.

Life just isn't as black and white as your response implies, at least not for me. I have grey areas that I struggle with daily. And a leg up from someone who understands is always welcome.

Best Regards
The Driver

I was trying to decide whether to reply to her comment but your response is on the money and a lot more eloquent then anything I could say.

In addition to being a Dominatrix, I offer coaching and counseling, as I've had training to be a psychotherapist. So my response comes from a place of caring about people's mental health and overall wellbeing.

I have spoken with men who are in relationships with people, sometimes for 30 or 40 or more years, who do not know they are kinky, and they have gone to great lengths to hide this. I am allowed to feel sorry for these people. I know the kind of pain it can cause. I have tried to help them find ways to discuss this with their partners, who they often haven't given a chance to listen, understand, and help them with their needs and desires.

I never implied anything was black or white, and am quite aware of how clients, including some of my own, have tried to navigate these scenarios, whether like the one I described above or something else, and have offered simple advice to work around them, even though it some of these scenarios make me uncomfortable on a personal level.

So, my advice is if you are hiding something from someone, try to talk to them about it.

I guess it's a matter of interpretation. I read your initial post and it came across to me negatively.....
So I asked my wife to read your post and she said what you said.....then she looked at me and said Im just a grumpy old bastard.
Needless to say, I found that to be negative as well...

Did it remind you that you are hiding something from someone and you feel defensive or ashamed about it? Because that is likely why you felt it was negative.

I was expressing sympathy and empathy. I feel sorry for this kind of complicated situation, whatever the reason, because it doesn't or shouldn't have to be this way.

Actually when she called me a grumpy old bastard, it made me laugh and realize she is probably right......again. I had hoped sharing her comment might lighten the mood and allow you and others to have a laugh on me as well......not at Buffalo's situation, but at my misinterpretation and admission that my wife understood you completely and I apparently did not.

The problem with that scenario i would still have to accumulate a bunch of gift cards to pay for the flight. I do think that a benefit of these vanilla gift cards is theoretically they can be used on any airline. They are not airline specific.

One thing i just thought of. You might confirm you can enter multiple gift cards on a single transaction. I know the websites will take one gift card. But if you buy 5 100 dollar gift cards i dont know if you can enter multiple. You can probably mock up a transaction to find out.

I think every airline is different when it comes to card use on their website. That’s a good idea to do a mock-up transaction.

I realize that some might read my comment as judgmental because they assume that I don't feel sympathy for them but scorn. You seemed to be one of those people, and your response read as your trying to be diplomatic about what you thought I meant, which, along with your sharing your wife's thoughts, I appreciate.

I use airline gift cards all the time. Costco has southwest on sale and they regularly also have Alaska. Target has Delta and Southwest, probably United too.

I believe you can also get a visa gift card, and edit the billing address directly through Visa so you can process it through the airlines website. I haven't done this.

I have purchased flights using my Cash app card, which does not have my legal name associated to it but my address. You can deposit cash onto it, or just have subs pay for it.

I don't think it's smart collecting numerous cards over the course of a couple of months. Just get the $500 card(s) when it's time to book?

This is interesting, Mistress Zaida. Thanks for sharing.



I agree. It seems like something they might regard with suspicion.

Thank you that is helpful information.

As for buying $500 worth of cards at once I would not want a big charge like that on a charge card. It’s easier or better for me to buy $25 or $50 cards mixed in with other purchases over time and hide the cards. My wife is not going near my hockey gear or similar stuff.

Everyone's situation is different, but I don't understand why you wouldn't do the same with squirreling away cash with your hockey stuff then either paying that to the airline at an airport or buying a single card with that saved cash when you are ready to book (if you can find a place that sells variable denomination airline cards, then you can buy one for the exact amount of the flight when you are ready to book... This is something I do with Amazon cards to buy a gift for someone on my Asp account).

Is it that your method is buying the $25 airline card when you are already buying stuff at Target (for example) so the $83.43 credit card charge your wife sees looks "normal" & the only risk is if she actually sees the itemized receipt (or finds the stash of 15 physical airline cards)?

If you are buying airline gift cards then that locks you in to using a specific airline (which may be totally ok in your situation.. but not what you want according to other parts in this thread). But, if you go this way then why keep them at all since they have no value outside of that airline and the physical cards are a risk even if they are in a place she generally doesn't look? Why not buy them and immediately deposit them with the airline when you get them (unless you plan on booking without using an airline account)?

If anyone sees and questions this (including the airline), then you can say it's your own personal savings/travel account and that "this is how I do it to insure I will travel instead of that money being used for other stuff". It seems to me that this is a better and less suspicious way of doing it than storing a bunch of $25 cards and trying to apply and use them against a single flight when you book it.

Here is a decent reference for you for working around things: https://wallethub.com/edu/cc/book-flight-without-credit-card/25851

I’ll try to answer your questions.

It’s difficult for me to squirrel away cash and I need the cash for the session

I throw the itemised receipts away and the way our house is setup I’m not too worried about her finding hidden gift cards or cash. There’s just stuff we each have that we don’t go near the others. Not that it’s private but zero reason to go there and even reasons to avoid.

I am planning to book without using an airline account. I have an idea of which airline I am going to use but the date is months off so I’m going to wait to buy the cards.

Thanks for the link. Good article