As the holiday season approaches, Abercrombie & Kent Philanthropy is remindng everyone that donations make fantastic gifts for friends and family who have everything.

“This year the focus is on what money cannot buy—shared experiences and treasured memories,” says Abercrombie & Kent Vice Chairman Jorie Butler Kent, who guides Abercrombie & Kent Philanthropy. “Our guests are looking for more meaningful ways to celebrate with their families and asked us to create a Gift Program that makes it easy to donate to projects making a difference in places they have visited.”

With the help of A&K’s 62 worldwide offices, Abercrombie & Kent Philanthropy has identified grassroots organizations, spearheaded by dedicated local experts in conservation, education, community development, and public health.

These are inspiring gifts designed to honor a friend or family member.  Donations range from $10 for a simple HIV test to help prevent the transmission of AIDS to an unborn child to $500 for a field trip for Maasai children who have never been on safari.

Here are three programs being offered right now. Visit Abercrombie & Kent Philanthropy to read about all donation programs throughout the world.

HIV Testing in Uganda
Uganda Bwindi Community Hospital
—$10 helps assess the HIV status of a local resident with a simple field test.

Restore a Natural Landmark 
in Morocco
Morocco—Protection of the Palmeraie—
$50 plants a tree to help restore the delicate ecosystem in this thousand-year-old date palm grove, a Marrakech landmark.

A Safari Field Trip
Kenya — Friends of Conservation—
$500 gives 20 Maasai children the chance to discover their natural heritage and learn the value of protecting wildlife with a field trip to the Masai Mara National Reserve.

Donations can be made online through Abercrombie & Kent Philanthropy’s secure website www.akphilanthropy.org with 100 percent of all donations going directly to the project selected.  Gift certificates will be delivered to the recipient(s) electronically or printed and mailed.

To make a donation as a family—or in honor of a loved one—go to www.akphilanthropy.org. One hundred percent of your charitable gift to Abercrombie & Kent Philanthropy goes directly to support local projects worldwide. Abercrombie & Kent Philanthropy is established in the United States as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Your charitable gift is tax deductible as provided by law.

—Andrea M. Rotondo for LuxurySafariExperts.com

Okay, British Airways won’t take you to Africa for free, but with a new promotion they’ve announced with partner credit card Chase Visa, they will give you 100,000 bonus miles that can be used to travel to many amazing African  gateways, including:

Egypt (Cairo, Hurghada, and Sharm el Sheikh)
Kenya (Nairobi)
Mauritius
Morocco (Marrakech)
Namibia (Windhoek)
South Africa (Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth)
Tanzania (Dar Es Salaam)
Uganda (Entebbe)
Zambia (Livingstone, Lusaka)
Zimbabwe (Harare)

So how do you get this practically free trip to Africa? By signing up for an unprecedented bonus mile deal: earn 100,000 miles with a new British Airways Visa Signature Card from Chase.

Card Benefits

• receive 50,000 miles after your first purchase
• spend $2,000 within three months of opening your card and receive an additional 50,000 miles
• earn 1.25 miles for each $1 spent
• earn 2.5 miles for money spent on BA purchases
• spend $30,000 in a calendar year and you’ll receive a 2-for-1 companion award certificate
• $50 off a British Airways flight if booked before December 31, 2009 (for travel before the end of 2010)

This promo is especially enticing since British Airways offers what they call “Household Accounts.” This means you can combine miles with anyone living at the same address. That makes managing miles SO much easier! You’ll retain your own Executive Club membership but your mileage balances will be combined.

You may use British Airways miles on any OneWorld airline, including:

American Airlines
Cathay Pacific
Finnair
Iberia
Japan Airlines
LAN
Malev
Quantas
Royal Jordanian

Other British Airways partners also include:

Aer Lingus
Alaskan Airlines
Brussels Airlines
Caribbean Airlines
Mexicana

This British Airways/Chase Visa promo is definitely something to look into, especially if you’ll be traveling to Africa in the coming years. I know that’s how I’ll spend my miles! Apply for the card now.

—Andrea M. Rotondo for LuxurySafariExperts.com

There is one silver lining to our current economic crisis: Cruise lines are starting to think more creatively and are offering deep discounts (Oceania Cruises), complimentary shore excursions (Regent Seven Seas), and new itineraries to entice all of us to book another vacation…soon.

Windstar Cruises just announced two new seven-night Canary Islands voyages that are sure to pique some interest with fans of the line who were getting bored with the repeating itineraries in the Caribbean, Costa Rica, and the Mediterranean.

Ten years ago, Windstar offered a similar adventure in this region. On November 14, 2009, and again on November 21,2009, Windstar’s 148-passenger Wind Spirit motor-sail-yacht will call upon the following ports:

• Lisbon, Portugal
• At Sea
• Casablanca, Morocco
• At Sea
• Agadir, Morocco
• Lanzarote, Spain
• Las Palmas, Spain
• Santa Cruz De Tenerife, Spain

Double occupancy per person cruise fares start at $1,999.These two voyages are expected to sell out so call your travel agent or Windstar Cruises (1-800-258-7245) for more information or to book a cruise.

—Andrea M. Rotondo for LuxurySafariExperts.com