Gargoyle

I've had about a half dozen partner segments this year (AZ, AF, KL), all booked on 006 stock and purchased while logged into Delta.com, so my Skymiles number is in the reservation from the beginning. Every time I've waited 10 or 12 days, but the segmentdoesn't post. I then file a request for credit and I'm quickly credited. Each time their template response says that "Additionally, at the time of your next reservation, you can expedite the posting of your mileage by providing your Sky Miles number to the airline representative." That sounds like an attempt to blame me for the miles/mqm's not posting. However, with every flight I've confirmed with the gate agent that my number is listed, and I've checked the boarding pass to ensure the number is shown there.

Am I the only one seeing this, or is it wide spread? Have you personally experienced it? I'm thinking this is a deliberate policy, to not credit the miles/MQM's unless the customer notices and asks. By so doing DL can save millions of miles, at no expense other than violating customer trust and not keeping their word.

There is a lot I love and respect about Delta, but that doesn't include how they manage Skymiles. It gives them a big black eye.

KDCAflyer

I connected to a KLM flight a few months ago, AMS-NWI. The outbound AMS-NWI portion did not credit, but the return NWI-AMS segment did.

Submitted a request along with a copy of the ticket and was credited the miles a few days later. I got the same snarky message about providing my SkyMiles number.

Funny, since the itinerary was indeed purchased through Delta, and all but the AMS-NWI-AMS segments were operated by DL.

I would tend to think that it's simply an IT issues, but I wouldn't put what you're suggesting past them.

jamesteroh

I flew AF earlier last week from TXL to CDG and never received the credit even though my Delta number was in the reservation but I booked through Air France not Delta (flight was a lot cheaper booking through AF than on Delta). I called the diamond desk yesterday and they asked for the ticket number and asked if I included my SM number when I booked and I said I was looking at the email confirm and it was on there and they also gave me the free checked bag and sky priority on my Boarding Pass so I knew they had the number. The miles were there when I checked this morning. I'm sure they would have never posted if I wouldn't have called

Bowgie

Yeah, my story is the same as the OP:

Plat wife and I flew LAX-JFK-AMS-BIO in May and returning BIO-CDG-LAX with a combination of DL and KL on the outbound and all AF on the return June 3.

The check-in agent at BIO on the return said our Skymiles number was "wrong", she could not correct it, and I'd have to file for missing miles with Delta. This is a Delta-purchased rt ticket with a 006 number.

Two weeks later, only the outbound LAX-JFK and AMS-BIO segment post.
Wife and I both write in on the missing miles link on the flight history detail page on Delta.com

She gets an e-mail in three days confirming all her missing miles are restored. I get a curt e-mail saying "Please wait two months for partner flights to post."

So I write in again using the same link just over a month past my return flight. Delta credits missing JFK-AMS segment flown on KL on the outbound, and I get the EXACT same "Give your Skymiles number to the check-in agent" as the OP. Which I did. E-mail gives no indication of whether my return will post. On BOTH e-mails, I included scans of my boarding passes, which have my Skymiles number on them.

I'll wait another month and file for missing miles again. I think this is more a case of stunning incompetence than evil intent. Skymiles aren't really worth enough to think of elaborate schemes to cheat us on them. I think.

Sabai

Hanlon's razor:

Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.

blaz

I just experienced a different version of this. Booked a return flight VIE-FCO through Delta (006 ticket stock) on Alitalia. I booked an economy flight, but it shows up as "F". I thought I got lucky and was somehow mysteriously upgraded to first class (although I doubt there is a first class on a 1 hour intra-Europe flight). The boarding pass shows "Y" class. A couple of days later the flight shows up on delta.com with zero miles and "non eligible" marker. I call Delta and they tell me that "F" class is not eligible for milage. Looking up the miles earning chart for Alitalia flights, indeed "F" is not listed. Cheap .......s, now I am 311 miles short on renewing my status for 2016.

ops55

I've had to email copies of my ticket stubs to Skymiles svcs a few times in order to get credit for flights. This has happened with several different skyteam partners. I think if you send in that boarding pass with Y on it, you will probably get your credit.

3Cforme

OP is accusing DL of fraud. If he has balls (and thinks he has a case) he can be Lead Plaintiff in a class-action suit. There are plenty of class-action attorneys in the U.S. suing for less. If one of them thinks he has a case they'll be happy to work on a contingency-fee basis.

Mowcheeba

I've done a lot of AF/KLM flights over the years and never had any issues with getting the miles credited to my SM Account. It takes a bit longer yes but what's the hurry?

irfan23

Flew two legs on AF just last week (ATL-CDG and CDG-BOM) and both credited immediately. In fact, the return leg on DL metal (DXB-ATL-DCA) took longer to credit.

blaz

I looked at the entire flight history again and realized what was happening. My VIE-FCO flight was booked on Alitalia in Y. Delta's trainwreck of IT system saw a full fare economy flight for a medallion PAX and "upgraded" it to F - which would be first class, except first class doesn't exist on that flight at all (only business, J). "F" class isn't eligible for mileage accrual on Alitalia because it simply does not exist.

Another call to the Skymiles line and they saw their mistake and apologized for the "glitch" (as they called it) and confirmed they were able to see that the flight was booked and flown in Y and that Y is eligible for milage accrual.

dinodino

The same thing for me a week ago. No credit for the AF segment on an itinerary booked, as usual, while logged into delta.com. If I didn't call, I wouldn't have gotten credit.

Gargoyle

I doubt I could be a plaintiff, since I monitor my miles and make sure they get credited. The people adversely effected are the vast majority of SkyMiles members who are not like Flyertalkers and do not carefully track their earnings and MQM's.

Miles count as an accounting liability; if they can reduce miles awarded by a few (or a lot of) millions, that can help balance the accounts.

A few years ago they would post DL miles as soon as the door closed, and partner miles in 36 to 48 hours. Now DL miles take 36 to 48 hours or more, partner miles are either not posting, or if they are, they are regularly taking over two weeks. It's either gross incompetence or malice; given the nature of constantly improving computer systems and networks, I think it likely that gross incompetence would require a deliberate management decision to neglect and undermine that aspect of their systems.

Note that they post an entry slot in our Skymiles accounting for flights flown put not posted yet; (this often appears a day or so prior to posting mileage accrual). however, I'm seeing that they don't create that placeholder for partner flights, even though booked on Delta.com on 006 stock. No way they can claim not to know about those segments.

bennos

My experience is that it's all over the place. I recently took a VS/AF trip (006 ticketed, DL flight numbers) that didn't post at all. But I also took a VA operated trip (006 ticketed, VA flight numbers) where everything posted quickly. Historically, I've had pretty much every combination of segments posting or not.

I suspect IT incompetence rather than something intentional.

yohanson

The CDG-OSL-CDG portion of my 006 ticketed trip flown on AF last week posted normally.