My sympathies. I think this promotion will demonstrate all that is not working with the oneworld alliance. We may all have to deluge the presidents of all the member airlines with letters attesting to how badly their computer systems have handled the simple task of registering the correct FF account with the appropriate flight segment.

I have two issues with oneworld:

1. The problem with codeshares. Having booked and been ticketed on AA's JFK-BCN codeshare on IB, I am told AA's computers will only print out the codeshare partner's number on my boarding pass -- which it does -- but I am assured that AAdvantage will record it under the AA code and flight number. A call to AA today confirms that the flight was indeed put onto my AAdvantage account as an IB flight, not an AA one. This means that I have two IB flights: the BCN-PMI segment intended to be my IB flight, and this codeshare.

This means I must write AA and send them the usual boarding pass and ticket photocopy. (I must do this to Cdn as well, since the outbound was to be posted to my Cdn+ account.)

How can this be when I check in with AA at JFK, AAdvantage runs a double mile promo on this flight in AA... What gives American?

(As well, I need this to be an AA flight since I am on the Gold Challenge and require at least one AA flight in the 8K I fly this quarter. And, since I wanted to cash the 100K promotion points in on a SAA J-class or F-class ticket to South Africa, it is unlikely I can do this since such tickets must now be issued before SAA leaves the program at year's end!)

2. Interpretation of eligible flights for the 100K bonus. It is a requirement that the flight used be booked on a oneworld airline and flown on a oneworld aircraft, on a fare marketed by that oneworld airline. This means it does not necessarily have to be on a FF program accumulation-eligible fare.

However, flying CX between YVR and JFK, I am told by both AA and CX that they cannot put my AA number on the file because this is not an AAdvantage eligible fare. I try to explain the rules, but they say this is not possible and the computer won't track it or "take" the number.

My boarding pass ends up with my Cdn+ number on it (this is an accumulation-eligible fare on Cdn), and I now have 2 CX flights on that account, and none in my AA account.

So welcome to the wonderful world of oneworld!

Oh well, I will soon move into the mid-level ranks of STAR when my Cdn+ Gold becomes Aeroplan Elite. Let's see if they've got their act any more together than AA and oneworld!