Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan - No miles credited for PHX-FRA on AA

I fly Phx - DFW- FRA-DFW-PHX at least once a year sometimes twice on American Airlines because they are partners with Alaska. this is the first time it didn't post and I called and Alaska rep said its a new rule with American and American won't post my miles to Alaska because I was in O Class??
So now I have missed out on MVP Gold this year because of American airlines.My friend flying with me was also in O class but she got the miles because she is American Platinum. So I lost about 15,000 miles including bonus miles. Never again to Europe on American Airlines for me--or is it really Alaska that is denying my mileage???????????Also when I purchased my flight last May or so , there was no mention of which class I was to be in! Anyway, it was a disappointment not to get those miles-Has anyone else had this happen and should I be careful booking my April flight to Frankfurt with Delta airlines?

To be fair, what the agent said is exactly in line with the published policy for American Airlines credit (http://www.alaskaair.com/as/mileageplan/MileagePartners_Airline.asp#american):

Mileage Earned: 500 miles, or actual flight miles, whichever is greater*; 25% bonus for purchased Business Class; 50% bonus for purchased First Class.

To ensure flight credit, the two letter airline code must precede the flight number on your ticket receipt or boarding pass.
For example, AA XXXX, operated by American Eagle.
Flights must also be within the eligible flight number range.

American Airlines
Eligible Flight Numbers

0001 - 5599
6750 - 7258
7454 - 7607
8050 - 8099

* 500 mile minimum applies where actual flight miles plus class of service bonus is less than 500 miles; Mileage is not earned for international tickets flown in O class of service.

You should always be careful to review the rules regarding mileage credit before booking if you expect to receive benefits.

Here is the page with the Alaska Mileage Plan Partners (http://www.alaskaair.com/as/mileageplan/MileagePartners_Airline.asp#american).

Unfortunately it doesn't look like "O" class gets mileage on AA internationally. Delta should be fine, as long as you are within the eligible flight range (most cases, Delta operated flights work.)

One thing you could try to do, not sure if it will work, but get AA miles for that flight under a AA account.

It's probably too late to help you now for this flight, but in the future, if a flight you've booked on AA books into O, put the reservation on hold and call AA Web Services to upfare to Q. O is the deepest of the deep discount fares, and I think the difference between O and Q is usually of order tens of dollars, not hundreds. AA won't charge a change fee to upfare. At the very least, it's worth a call to see how much it will cost.

Search the AA forum for "upfare" for details on the procedure, as it was very common on AA to get to a fare eligible for systemwide upgrades until a policy change a couple weeks ago. You'd do it for a different reason, but the procedure should be the same.

This is one of the games the airlines play, unfortunately. To your average passenger they don't read the fine print of the terms and conditions and nor should they. To me, its a scam. Although technically the airlines are within their own published rules I would still complain to all above and probably register a complaint with the Better Business Bureau to both sides. To buy an airline ticket on most reservation systems one has no idea of the fare class.

This is one of the games the airlines play, unfortunately. To your average passenger they don't read the fine print of the terms and conditions and nor should they. To me, its a scam. Although technically the airlines are within their own published rules I would still complain to all above and probably register a complaint with the Better Business Bureau to both sides. To buy an airline ticket on most reservation systems one has no idea of the fare class.

At most airlines, you can call Web Services and they will help you see the fare class. If you want miles, you need to be sure that the fare is eligible. I think this is pretty clear.

Thanks for all the info. I will definitely call the airline I plan to fly on next time. My real beef however is this: they know you want the miles because you enter your mileage # when you purchase online- if fare does not qualify you should be directed to a fare that will qualify. Then you can quit looking at their site if the fare is too high. But wait , they won't do that because then you possibly will not purchase and better to get your $ first and deny your mileage credit later!! I have purchased online with AA for the past 8 years and this is the first time I did not receive my mileage. Oh well

Thanks for all the info. I will definitely call the airline I plan to fly on next time. My real beef however is this: they know you want the miles because you enter your mileage # when you purchase online- if fare does not qualify you should be directed to a fare that will qualify. Then you can quit looking at their site if the fare is too high. But wait , they won't do that because then you possibly will not purchase and better to get your $ first and deny your mileage credit later!! I have purchased online with AA for the past 8 years and this is the first time I did not receive my mileage. Oh well

If you bought your ticket on aa.com you would see a message that says:


Adding your frequent flyer number from another airline is not a guarantee you will earn miles. Each program has certain terms and conditions that apply to earning miles. For details, contact the frequent flyer program of the airline selected.


That said, if you kept your receipt and boarding passes, it's worth mailing/faxing them over to Alaska and requesting credit. I've found the folks manning the mail/fax requests to be more forgiving than those answering the phones.

Thanks for all the info. I will definitely call the airline I plan to fly on next time. My real beef however is this: they know you want the miles because you enter your mileage # when you purchase online- if fare does not qualify you should be directed to a fare that will qualify. Then you can quit looking at their site if the fare is too high. But wait , they won't do that because then you possibly will not purchase and better to get your $ first and deny your mileage credit later!! I have purchased online with AA for the past 8 years and this is the first time I did not receive my mileage. Oh well

If you can't find an AS agent, I guess you can start an AA account but then again you'll have a bunch of miles sitting there.

It's probably too late to help you now for this flight, but in the future, if a flight you've booked on AA books into O, put the reservation on hold and call AA Web Services to upfare to Q. O is the deepest of the deep discount fares, and I think the difference between O and Q is usually of order tens of dollars, not hundreds. AA won't charge a change fee to upfare. At the very least, it's worth a call to see how much it will cost.

Search the AA forum for "upfare" for details on the procedure, as it was very common on AA to get to a fare eligible for systemwide upgrades until a policy change a couple weeks ago. You'd do it for a different reason, but the procedure should be the same.


Ashill is right however, putting the reservation on hold then calling reservations or web services is usually the best approach. The last time I had to upfare from O to Q SEA-STLfor my parents because they use the CX program costed only 8 bucks, 8 bucks more for 1709 miles.

So now I have missed out on MVP Gold this year because of American airlines.

Actually, you may miss out on MVP Gold because you didn't read your program's mileage accrual rules before purchasing the ticket. O class is usually the cheapest of the cheap. You didn't do your homework; how is that AA's fault? :confused: