Originally Posted by
DJMeatBall
This should probably be a FAQ or something in a forum sticky.
I picked up a Thrifty car last week and asked the agent if I would be receiving miles for my rental. He said "if you want miles, put in your frequent flyer miles and not your Blue Chip number", and he did the switch before sending me on my way.
So what's the point of including FF program numbers on a BlueChip profile if one doesn't actually use BlueChip to earn the miles when doing the rental?
And #2, I supposedly added a triple mile promo code to my rental (original reservation made by office manager, I modified my record to add the code via the 1-800 reservation line) but the agent had no way to see if the promo code actually ended up on the rental record ("frequent flyer miles are something between you and your airline" -- well, DUH!). Anyways, the fact he didn't see a promo code seems a little suspicious. I assume I won't get the triple miles if the front desk agent didn't see anything anywhere on my record. How can I verify if the code is in place (for subsequent rentals)
I'm not entirely sure what you're asking about in question #1. First of all, do you want to collect Blue Chip credits or frequent flyer miles? Second, which rewards option is listed in your Blue Chip profile--Blue Chip Rewards or a frequent flyer program?
It's possible your Blue Chip profile has Blue Chip rewards configured as your default rewards option. This may be what the agent was referring to. If so, you'll need to go in and change your Blue Chip profile, after which all of your reservations made with your Blue Chip number will collect frequent flyer miles instead of Blue Chip rewards credits. (Note that existing reservations made after you change your profile will not be changed, and you'll need to either change them one at a time by calling the reservations line or at the counter when picking up your car.)
If your Blue Chip profile indeed has a frequent flyer program listed as your primary rewards option, then I'm not entirely sure what the agent meant. Your reservation should have been transmitted to the location with your frequent flyer program number.
When you make your reservations, before you click the "Book It" button, you can click the plus sign next to the "Loyalty Programs (Optional)" section and see what rewards program that reservation will be made with.
As for question #2, I would assume the agent should be able to see a promo code booked with the reservation, but it may be dependent on the software program that location uses. (From the agent's standpoint, he was right--how many airline miles you get is between you and the airline; all the agent can do is enter your frequent flyer number in the proper field.) When you book a reservation with a promo code, though, the promo code will show at the top of the page during the booking process. I'd save that, and if you don't get your triple miles posted, you can call customer care after the fact and use that page with the promo code as proof that you entered it. (Strangely, it won't show the promo code on the actual reservation confirmation page or in the confirmation email itself, though, so you need to save this screen right before clicking the "Book It" button.)
As to your note that this should be something in a forum sticky, I'd be happy to add a FAQ section [for anything not already addressed] in my [very lengthy] existing sticky, but again, I'm not entirely sure what your question is. It sounds to me like there was just a mix-up on Thrifty's end or in your Blue Chip profile. I do already address frequent flyer miles, Blue Chip rewards credits, and the Blue Chip program in the sticky, but let me know what else needs to be added and I'll do so. (The deals section of the sticky is WAY overdue for an update--I'll be in a much better position to do that here by the middle of May.)