It’s been a while since I’ve visited United’s MileagePlus auction website, but yesterday I went there for research on an article I’m writing. And to my amazement, one of the auction items is for a pre-merger United red carpet.

I love airline collectibles and memorabilia, but when I saw that people have actually bid 20,000 miles for it, I nearly fell off my chair. Bidding started at 5,000 miles, which if United simply priced it that way in their United Shop store (or for cash), I’d actually strongly consider buying one. But burning 20k+ miles for it? Oy.

And even more intriguing is that it’s apparently a “used†carpet. From their description (bolding mine):

Here’s a unique opportunity to own an official United red carpet. It measures 58″ x 32″, features the original pre-merger United logo, and was actually used in an airport.

I can’t seem to find the thread on Flyertalk, but I do recall reports of people emailing United back when the carpets were being swapped out for Continental’s blue version and being successful in getting one shipped to them for free.

I certainly hope you wouldn’t burn 20k+ miles on one, but if you’re interested, the auction runs through June 7, 2013.

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The New United Shop is Open for Business… Get Your Swag On!

– Follow Darren Booth on Twitter, @FrequentlyFlyin, for more airline, hotel and travel industry news, reviews and opinions.