Aeroflot Bonus Problems

Old Feb 23, 2008, 9:58 pm
  #1  
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Aeroflot Bonus Problems

I use Aeroflot as my primary carrier because I fly quite often back and forth to Russia from JFK. I was wondering if anyone has any experience attempting to get air miles flown on other Sky Team members transferred to Aeroflot. In November, for example, I sent the boarding passes, etc for a Delta flight I had taken to Chicago to their Bonus Center in NYC and have yet to see the miles credited to my account or any explanation from them. I have sent them multiple e-mails in both Russian and English asking them to address this situation, but have gotten no reply.

I'm a bit of a newbie to this whole frequent flyer game, so perhaps I am doing something wrong? Has anyone else had similar experiences with Aeroflot?
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Old Feb 23, 2008, 11:29 pm
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You should try to make sure that your Bonus number is in your PNR and shows up on your Boarding Pass (not all bp's are formatted to show them, but in many cases they are)

Having the miles automatically post is of course the way to go - manually sending them in is an uphill battle, as you found out.

Their level of organization leaves a lot to be desired. A lot. Having said that try posting a question on their forum (http://www.aeroflotbonus.ru/board.as...BoardId=271365) but be prepared that you may get a variation of "we never got em', please resend, please re-fax, etc etc"
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Old Feb 24, 2008, 4:26 am
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Being AeroflotBonus member I agree with the previous post. It's difficult enough to deal with them.

From my experience I would say that posting a question on their forum is the most effective way. I you have not received an answered message from their employee (her nickname is "Аэрофлот Бонус" in red color), post it again. It seems to me she is the only one person in Aeroflot, who is responsible for answering all the inquiries...
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Old Feb 24, 2008, 9:31 am
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Originally Posted by Ricksha
I you have not received an answered message from their employee (her nickname is "???????? ?????" in red color), post it again. It seems to me she is the only one person in Aeroflot, who is responsible for answering all the inquiries...
I believe there's a whole team of SU agents who use that handle on their forum.

That said, I concur with the posters above that you should call DL (or whatever SkyTeam airline you're flying) before the flght and ask them to add your SU number to the PNR. Doing so at check-in is hit and miss - how many DL agents on the ground in the US will have heard of SU?
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Old Feb 24, 2008, 12:50 pm
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Originally Posted by apoivre
That said, I concur with the posters above that you should call DL (or whatever SkyTeam airline you're flying) before the flght and ask them to add your SU number to the PNR.
You'd better just to show the bonus card at the time of check-in, and make sure that the card number has been printed on boarding pass coupon.

I did it many times when was flying with DL, and the miles were always credited to my AeroflotBonus account.

Originally Posted by apoivre
how many DL agents on the ground in the US will have heard of SU?
They do know SkyTeam logo printed on the card
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Old Feb 24, 2008, 4:29 pm
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Lightbulb As a side note

I should point out that IMHO Aeroflot Bonus is an odd choice of a Sky Team FFP for a US-based traveler.

They do have "tasty" short-haul European awards (15K for Y, 20K for J) but the rest of their award chart is pretty much in line with the rest.

FFPs of all US Sky Team carriers knock the socks off AB in terms of mileage-earning opportunities.

If I were you I'd top off my AB account to the nearest desirable award level and then concentrate on a US-based FFP. I'd keep the AB account alive with a flight every 3 years as they require though, because their birthday, Christmas and an occasional surprise anniversary bonus will eventually get you a free ticket without much flying.
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Old Feb 24, 2008, 7:09 pm
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Originally Posted by impaler
I should point out that IMHO Aeroflot Bonus is an odd choice of a Sky Team FFP for a US-based traveler.
It would be, assuming that I fly anywhere else but Russia from New York on a regular basis.

As to the rest of your advice, my major problems were that 1) Delta DID put my number on the ticket, it just didn't go through for whatever reason and 2) Aeroflot has never gotten around to sending me my Bonus card.

Thanks for your advice, all. I posted on the Aeroflot Forum, so we'll see how that goes.
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Old Feb 24, 2008, 9:03 pm
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Originally Posted by davewill
It would be, assuming that I fly anywhere else but Russia from New York on a regular basis.
It doesn't really matter that much where or if you fly - there are TONS of miles to be earned in US FFP's without flying at all. Your opportunities with AB are much more limited.
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Old Feb 25, 2008, 1:57 am
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In my opinion there is only one reason for US based travelers to participate in AeroflotBonus FFP. Theyll need just 50,000 to reach SkyTeam Elite Plus Level, while American FFPs require at least 75,000 miles for that. If somebody flies more than 50,000 but less than 75,000 miles a year, it makes a sense.
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Old Feb 25, 2008, 3:56 pm
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Originally Posted by impaler
It doesn't really matter that much where or if you fly - there are TONS of miles to be earned in US FFP's without flying at all. Your opportunities with AB are much more limited.
Like I said, I'm new at this. I assume you're talking about credit cards, renting cars and the like?

Thanks to Ricksha for attempting to make me look smart. But getting 50,000 miles a year would be way out of my league. I'll be lucky to get 25,000 this year from a couple trips to Russia, though they do add up fast when you go 5,000 miles there and 5,000 back.
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Old Feb 27, 2008, 1:45 am
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Why not collect with Delta SkyMiles? I also fly US to Russia a few times a year and use DL's program.. no complaints at all.
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Old Feb 27, 2008, 12:11 pm
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davewill,

I keep my eye on your thread on AeroflotBonus's forum.

As far as I understand your two flights DL6464, and DL6468 were not qualified for earning miles because you flew Delta Connection rather than Delta.

I often heard that you may not receive miles if the flight was operated by a partner, and the partner wasnt a SkyTeam member. E.g. flights operated by Aeroflot partners (Rossiya, Aeroflot Don, and Aeroflot North) aren't qualified for earning miles in spite of the fact that you buy Aeroflot tickets at Aeroflot office, and flight number begins with SUxxx. Just because the partners aren't SkyTeam members.

But the previous year I flew DL5487 (operated by Comair), and DL6244 (operated by Chautauqua Airlines); and I received the miles for those two flights.

Nobody understands such practice. When book a ticket you never know for sure if the flight is eligible for earning miles. That why I had to choose another FFP instead of AeroflotBonus
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Old Mar 1, 2008, 6:54 am
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Originally Posted by JBLUA320
Why not collect with Delta SkyMiles? I also fly US to Russia a few times a year and use DL's program.. no complaints at all.
The stupid answer: I know Russian and enjoy the challenge of fighting with Aeroflot in Russian for such things. It's good, free Russian practice for me.

Ricksha, thanks for your help.
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Old Mar 3, 2008, 9:12 am
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Originally Posted by davewill
The stupid answer: I know Russian and enjoy the challenge of fighting with Aeroflot in Russian for such things. It's good, free Russian practice for me.
So I'm not alone! I too enjoy the art of negotiating in Russian.

I've watched this thread and the one in the Bonus forum. What I'd like for us all to find is an effective way to get these past credits posted when issues like this come up. I have had tremendous success by faxing SU boarding passes alone with my SM number to Delta and getting retro Sky Miles credit for SU flights taken. They normally post within 24 hours even. Faxing to this number has even gotten miles from flights taken 9 months ago for some of my colleagues. If I have a copy of my SU ticket then using the Bonus site has been very effective to get retro credits for flights actually taken on SU. The hole in the retro collection game for me is how to get retro credit to my SU account (AB account...whatever) when I fly on a partner airline. I'm 324 miles from my next upgrade mark with SU but don't have another flight with them until May but have a FRA to SVO to OVB flight I want to upgrade now. I've got gobs of Delta flights though that I could gladly attempt to get SU credit for if I only knew how. So...

Please, if any of us, find a fax number or email address (I assume faxes will be more successful given the way things work in Russia) or "Aunt Masha" that will help us to get retro credit to the SU account from partner flights let's share it with each other in the good, wholesome spirit that is FT.

As for collecting miles on SU, I fly 7-8 times a year between ATL and OVB (normally ATL to FRA on DL and FRA to OVB via SVO on SU for reasons we can discuss later if you wish) and I always seek to get my PM status first with Delta and then top off my Bonus account so that I can upgrade the FRA to SVO to OVB flights. Status with SU means nothing to me but upgrades mean a whole lot as the back of a TU is nowhere I want to be. Same for an Airbus and Boeing for that matter.

If you just fly to SVO from outside Russia, I can see the question of why. If you fly through SVO "to the provinces" or "outstations" then the upgrades are reason a plenty to collect in your Bonus account.

Good thread. I've learned a lot. Please do report how the process continues to unfold.

BTW, PM me if you want that magic fax number to Delta though it is already listed on their site and I've mentioned it many times in the Delta Forum. What the heck...here it is again: +1 404 715 9220. Gotta love the FT spirit!

Last edited by woody125; Mar 11, 2008 at 6:41 am
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Old Jul 31, 2008, 11:44 pm
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Originally Posted by davewill
The stupid answer: I know Russian and enjoy the challenge of fighting with Aeroflot in Russian for such things. It's good, free Russian practice for me.

Ricksha, thanks for your help.
How did this turn out davewill? I'm very curious as am PM with DL and will go for Gold with SU. The added baggage weigh perk will help me and some co-workers who carry a ton of stuff back and forth on SU.

Hope you got them and I hope I get them!
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