Some partners are good with credits, others are not.

Some partners post quickly, others do not.

I credit Thrifty car rentals to America West (which always goes smoothly). Otherwise, car rentals to go AA. Also smooth.

Hotels all go into their respective programs. I've never had double dip problems with Hilton - whenever my HHonors points post, I also get my airline miles. If one is missing, so is the other, and I follow up appropriately. That's generally an issue with the specific hotel property's transmission of data rather than the fault of the program.

Where things really get hard is with partners that don't do alot of business with airlines...or partners that aren't in such solid financial shape.

In the first category, partners that use miles only occasionally, they'll often wait and gather up all the miles from a promotion and transfer them in a lump after every conceivable transaction has been accounted for. It took MONTHS, for instance, to get miles from H&R Block after doing my taxes online.

In the second category, partners that aren't as well established... those generally aren't 'live' with the FF programs. They may wait awhile to post points because they have to pay for the points when they make the transfer... they want to hold off as long as they can.. or their status means they aren't in a position with the airline to go live.

In either category, I suspect that most companies don't realize just how negative an effect failing to post miles in a timely manner can have.

Some folks 'get it' others do not. I sure tend to do more business with those that get it... and I avoid repeat business with folks I have to constantly chase down for miles and points. It's just too much of a hassle nad life is too short. There's always another merchant out there to choose from!

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View from the Wing: A blog about Free Miles and Free Markets