Buried in a New York Times article about celebrity chefs and how they actually earn their money is this item about Michelle Bernstein, the chef at Michy’s in Miami and a consultant to various restaurants, television shows, etc.:

She is also the consulting chef for Delta Airlines (she, like most chefs consulting for airlines, is paid in air miles).

She is paid in miles???! In a non-interest bearing currency that increasingly expires?

As much as I am a sucker for frequent flyer miles, even I have my limits. I have a hard time imagining that I would ever accept miles as a form of payment for business services rendered. Even if the number of miles was really high (and I can imagine a LOT of miles), I’d still strongly prefer cash, thank you.

I wonder how she values those miles on her tax return.

Related:
- The value of frequent flyer miles
- Reader mail: Whose miles are worth the most?
- Whose miles are they anyway?