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Can my friend use my AAdvantage # to give me miles?

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Can my friend use my AAdvantage # to give me miles?

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Old Feb 10, 2016, 12:28 pm
  #1  
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Can my friend use my AAdvantage # to give me miles?
I tried googling but hasn't come up with a solid answer yet. I paying for a flight for a friend to visit me, can I use my own AA# even though I am not flying with him? If so, does my free 1st baggege perk (From Citi CC) apply to his flight too?
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Old Feb 10, 2016, 12:31 pm
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Nope. The account holder must be the one traveling.
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Old Feb 10, 2016, 12:35 pm
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Originally Posted by rinipiyan
I tried googling but hasn't come up with a solid answer yet. I paying for a flight for a friend to visit me, can I use my own AA# even though I am not flying with him? If so, does my free 1st baggege perk (From Citi CC) apply to his flight too?
Your number, status and perks are yours alone, though some benefits (domestic free checked bag from credit card) might apply to a traveling companion (with you).

AA views "lending" your FFN to allow another your benefits or to earn miles for you if you're not flying as fraudulent and may act accordingly.
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Old Feb 10, 2016, 12:37 pm
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Depending on the situation, you could add your friend as an authorized user on an AA points-collecting card of yours, but that's pretty epically unusual, short of a significant other/family you REALLY trust. Or a work subordinate on a business card.
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Old Feb 10, 2016, 12:43 pm
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Can't you transfer miles from one frequent flyer to another? In other words, can the OP's friend earn miles on her own account then gift them back?
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Old Feb 10, 2016, 12:49 pm
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Originally Posted by eclare
Can't you transfer miles from one frequent flyer to another? In other words, can the OP's friend earn miles on her own account then gift them back?
Yes, but the required fees make that a poor option. However, if the friend acquires enough miles to redeem for even a one-way award, the friend can redeem that award in the name of the OP -- or anyone else.
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Old Feb 10, 2016, 1:30 pm
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Originally Posted by guv1976
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Yes, but the required fees make that a poor option. However, if the friend acquires enough miles to redeem for even a one-way award, the friend can redeem that award in the name of the OP -- or anyone else.
Yikes. I just looked up the transfer fees and they are ridiculous!
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Old Feb 10, 2016, 1:34 pm
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Originally Posted by TheTakeOffRush
Depending on the situation, you could add your friend as an authorized user on an AA points-collecting card of yours, but that's pretty epically unusual, short of a significant other/family you REALLY trust. Or a work subordinate on a business card.
Just to clarify, the poster above is talking about a credit card, not the FreqFlyer card. If I give my brother or friend a secondary credit card that earns miles, they would go into my account.

All flight credit and miles go ONLY the person on the ticket.
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Old Feb 10, 2016, 1:35 pm
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Originally Posted by TheTakeOffRush
Depending on the situation, you could add your friend as an authorized user on an AA points-collecting card of yours, but that's pretty epically unusual, short of a significant other/family you REALLY trust. Or a work subordinate on a business card.
Only the primary cardholder gets the benefits of having the Citi AA card. Authorized users don't get benefits unless traveling with the primary cardholder.

For the OP: if you purchase the flight on your Citi AA card, you will earn the double bonus miles on the purchase.
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Old Feb 10, 2016, 1:44 pm
  #10  
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Good to know! For future reference, if I want to travel with a companion and we bought 2 adults tickets in one booking, does that mean I can earn 2x the miles if my companion agrees to use my FFN?
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Old Feb 10, 2016, 1:45 pm
  #11  
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Originally Posted by eclare
Yikes. I just looked up the transfer fees and they are ridiculous!
Far better to gift award tickets than to pay to "gift" or "share" miles. And quite "legal" as well, as long as it forms no basis for an exchange of any kind.
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Old Feb 10, 2016, 1:46 pm
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Originally Posted by rinipiyan
Good to know! For future reference, if I want to travel with a companion and we bought 2 adults tickets in one booking, does that mean I can earn 2x the miles if my companion agrees to use my FFN?
If you pay for both tickets with your credit card, it shouldn't matter what FFN your companion uses. Anything that you purchase with your AA card should get 2x miles per $1 spent.

This should help with your original situation as well. If you want to earn on your friend's flight, then pay for it with your card. You won't get the amount of miles that you would earn from flying, but you'll make 2x for the price of the flight.
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Old Feb 10, 2016, 1:48 pm
  #13  
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Originally Posted by rinipiyan
Good to know! For future reference, if I want to travel with a companion and we bought 2 adults tickets in one booking, does that mean I can earn 2x the miles if my companion agrees to use my FFN?
As I stated above, no; that constitutes fraudulent activity (and could result in various penalties up to and including losing miles, account closure, etc. in some circumstances).

You can earn credit card award miles purchasing your companion's tickets; that's OK. S/he could reimburse you for that purchase; that's still OK.
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Old Feb 10, 2016, 1:51 pm
  #14  
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Originally Posted by ebuck
Only the primary cardholder gets the benefits of having the Citi AA card. Authorized users don't get benefits unless traveling with the primary cardholder.

For the OP: if you purchase the flight on your Citi AA card, you will earn the double bonus miles on the purchase.
Not entirely, though certainly true in most instances. For example, Citi Executive authorized users now have Admirals Club use on their own. But domestic checked baggage benefits are indeed only for those traveling companions on the same PNR as the primary cardholder.
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Old Feb 10, 2016, 1:53 pm
  #15  
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Originally Posted by NoStressHere
Just to clarify, the poster above is talking about a credit card, not the FreqFlyer card. If I give my brother or friend a secondary credit card that earns miles, they would go into my account.

All flight credit and miles go ONLY the person on the ticket.
The thread title is "Can my friend use my AAdvantage # to give me miles?", so it's easy to see why some might opt for cautious answers.
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