When Do Flight Miles "Register" to your FF Account?
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: Santa Cruz, CA USA
Programs: AA, UA, WN, HH, Marriott
Posts: 7,290
When Do Flight Miles "Register" to your FF Account?
A number of years ago, before etickets, I checked in for a flight at the ticket counter but then had an emergency and skipped the flight. Several days later I found that the miles for that flight had posted to my account.
That meant that the miles were sent to my FF account as a result of the check-in process. Is that still true? Or do the miles get transferred when your boarding pass goes through the boarding machine now? If it is still the check-in that registers the miles, it would have obvious implications for mileage runs.
That meant that the miles were sent to my FF account as a result of the check-in process. Is that still true? Or do the miles get transferred when your boarding pass goes through the boarding machine now? If it is still the check-in that registers the miles, it would have obvious implications for mileage runs.
#2
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Posts: 5,076
Miles are usually credited when the flight coupons are lifted. With paper tickets, I am guessing they lifted your flight coupons at check-in, so when tabulated all the flight coupons after the flight pushed back, your coupon was there, so you got the miles.
With e-tickets, "flight coupons" are lifted/processed after pushback by the computer.
Even with paper tickets, you would only have the flight coupon of your first segment lifted - so you'd only get miles for your first segment.
With e-tickets, "flight coupons" are lifted/processed after pushback by the computer.
Even with paper tickets, you would only have the flight coupon of your first segment lifted - so you'd only get miles for your first segment.
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: Santa Cruz, CA USA
Programs: AA, UA, WN, HH, Marriott
Posts: 7,290
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by keithguy:
Even with paper tickets, you would only have the flight coupon of your first segment lifted - so you'd only get miles for your first segment.</font>
Even with paper tickets, you would only have the flight coupon of your first segment lifted - so you'd only get miles for your first segment.</font>
So I'm afraid that still leaves it open as to what happens with e-tickets.
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: Santa Cruz, CA USA
Programs: AA, UA, WN, HH, Marriott
Posts: 7,290
It's quite a few years ago, but as best I remember this was when the flight coupons had a boarding pass stub attached. They tore out the two flight coupons, with the boarding pass stub still attached, checked me in for the two flights, and gave the two coupons back to me. I was then to turn in one flight coupon at the gate upon boarding the first flight and the second coupon upon boarding the second flight. But I left the airport and never turned in either one.
I guess it's long enough ago that I could safely say, without fear of recrimination, that it was UA. That was the airline I flew the most, but I think I also remember that AA had a different procedure - If you checked in at the counter, I think they kept the flight coupon and just gave you back your boarding pass, but I'm not sure.
I guess it's long enough ago that I could safely say, without fear of recrimination, that it was UA. That was the airline I flew the most, but I think I also remember that AA had a different procedure - If you checked in at the counter, I think they kept the flight coupon and just gave you back your boarding pass, but I'm not sure.