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Is it permissible according to Halacha to buy and sell miles/points?
I heard that airlines do not allow it. Wouldn’t that make it assur? What about credit card companies?
Do you know of any stringent/lenient opinions?
discuss
The only question is whether the airlines/credit card companies allow it. As far as I know, they do. So it certainly isn’t a problem.
And even if they don’t, the only issue is you are violating the agreed to “terms of service”. Legally (both halachicly and secular) it is merely a “breach of contract”. That is a civil matter, not a criminal matter or theft. And the remedy the airline/CC company could seek is based what the ToS allow; which is usually cancellation or revocation.
So, in a nutshell, even in the latter case it merely gives the right to the provider to seek remedies (i.e. not honoring the points.) There is no halachic (or legal) violation by anyone.
I didn’t know there were halacha points.
Ohr Chodesh: There is no such thing as a civil (but not legal) breach of contract in Halachah. Such an action would be Assur unless agreed to by both parties.
Sam: That’s an interesting question.
Secular law generally views the moral obligation of a contract to either perform, or to pay the appropriate damages. That is, it is understood from the beginning that it would not be worth it for the parties to make a contract if they were bound to it no matter what.
It is a bit funny that halacha would have a sense of contract which doesn’t really make sense. And I wonder what it is.
I’m not totally clear where contracts are enforceable in halacha anyway, since some of them should be asmachta.
Sam: Not true. For example, if you sell me a car on the condition I never drive over 70 MPH with it. One day I drive at 75 MPH. You could demand a reversal of the transaction (you take the car back and give me my money back) due to my violation of the terms of sale. But I wasn’t a thief nor did I violate halacha. I simple breached our contract and you were entitled to seek the above remedy.
Ohr Chodesh: There’s some lack of Ne’emanus there. I might not be able to pinpoint an Issur on it. But it’s certainly not Muttar to do. It’s similar to Mi Shepara.
PBA: I think we assume a contract is to people being M’shabeid themselves. Which should remove Asmachta issues.
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