Originally Posted by
andersonCooper
Which is not true from an operational standpoint and hence why OP asked.
I think direct flight means there are no change in flight number, while non-stop flight means the flight doesn’t stop anywhere.
For example, AA138 used to be a direct flight from LGA(or DCA?) to HKG via DFW. If you fly all the way on AA138 from start to finish and credit the miles to say, CX, you would get less miles than flying on DFW-HKG. Very counterintuitive, but it is what it is.