I have my main milage account with United, where I've accumulated quite a few miles through actual travel. I am planning a trip abroad where it looks like the most affordable airline is Turkish, which is also part of Star Alliance. However I have heard that sometimes the partner airlines don't award miles to another program if it is for an "ultra-low fare" ticket. Now I don't think that > $1000 is "ultra-low fare" but an airline might. How is it possible to know in advance if an itinerary purchased on a Star Alliance partner airline will actually transfer to your main program, e.g. United?