In the past year I've flown two Delta partners (SAA and Virgin) and have given both my Delta FF number. For the SAA flights I got credit in only one direction, and now, more than a month after the Virgin flights, I still don't have credit on Delta.

This got me wondering if others have trouble when flying one airline and seeking FF credit on another (partner) airline.

I write for the travel section of the Washington Post and other newspapers as a freelance contributor and years ago authored the books NetTravel (1997) and Internet Travel Planner (Globe 2000 and 2002). I'm planning to write about this issue for the Post. You can see some of my stories at my site: www.nettravel.com

So, my questions are:

-- have you had this problem and how did you resolve it? Was it difficult or time-consuming to get credit and how long did it take?

-- do you think this is intentional or just airlines losing info?

-- do you have any advice on how to prevent this problem and get the airlines to deposit the proper mileage credits in your FF accounts?

Thanks for any and all comments.