As someone who is doing his best to make SP this year (it's tough being a poor grad student), I found a flight from SFO-GSO that would make a decent MR since I have to go for a wedding anyway. It's on UA, at $287 and 6900 EQM with no bonuses. I was wondering about the process for getting the miles credited to DM after I book with UA (a.k.a. what do I actually do?). Thanks a lot, and I've learned a ton by reading this forum over the weekend.

Either put your US DM number in your reservation when you make it (you can do this on UA.com or by phone), or have UA add your US number before you travel. Pretty painless normally.

Keep a duplicate copy of your ticket receipt and boarding passes, which the UA kiosks can print, when you check in, just in case the miles don't post and you have to send them all to US to get credit.

If you have status on US, it will print that on the UA BP, which is your indicator that you number is in the record.

Since you don't know have status, I don't know what you should expect on the BP. Will it indicate you're a base-level DM member? Don't know.

Maybe someone else here can answer that. (Or maybe you're the only base-level on FT! :D )

Regardless, check all BP's, not just for the originating flight.


P.S. Just having finished grad school, let me say: hang in there! I don't know yet if it's worth it but you will survive, in some form or another. (My form is a bit bigger in the mid-section four years later!)

If you have status on US, it will print that on the UA BP, which is your indicator that you number is in the record.

Since you don't know have status, I don't know what you should expect on the BP. Will it indicate you're a base-level DM member? Don't know.

Maybe someone else here can answer that. (Or maybe you're the only base-level on FT! :D )

Regardless, check all BP's, not just for the originating flight.


P.S. Just having finished grad school, let me say: hang in there! I don't know yet if it's worth it but you will survive, in some form or another. (My form is a bit bigger in the mid-section four years later!)

With lapsed US status I flew on a mixed US/UA itinerary in 2004 and my plain old US DM number appeared on the UA boarding passes. That said, I still had to fax one of them to the DMSC for credit.....I went standby on an earlier UA flight out of PHX due to a delay of my ticketed flight, so that probably caused the non-automatic credit. It was easy enough to get credit with the fax though....

Thanks for the info, everyone.

EnvoyBoy, I sure hope grad school is worth it, since I'm 3 1/2 years in already. Hopefully, I can finish by next summer. As for my form, well, it's really helped to have a spectacular gym next door to my lab.

Yes, keep track of your boarding passes, or keep copies. As one who trusted the phone folks to add my number as requested, I found out how much of a ...(pain) it is to try to recoup uncredited miles when the number isn't in the record. To compound, the FA took boarding pass to hang jacket, and didn't return, so I have no boarding pass to fax. US keeps replying, "unfortunately, we do need the boarding pass". No leeway, no suggestion, no accommodation. United can't/won't reissue a copy of the BP. Have mailed all I have (ticket receipt, baggage tags) to both, and neither has credited. (The return flight DID post quickly and accurately, however, since the agent noticed no number in the record and asked me.)

Good luck!