Missing miles - how do they authenticate them?
 

I recently sent in several *A boarding passes to the DC to get added to my account. A couple of these were booked using VS FF miles and the rest of them were normal paid tickets. I wasnt aware that you couldn't earn miles on tickets paid for by FF miles at the time. I gave them all to the nice lady at the BD lounge at LHR T1 who said she would send them off and I would get the miles in 2 weeks. I'm worred that as a couple of them were non mileage earning flights that the DC have discarded the rest as it has been over 3 weeks since I submitted them. Do the make a check on the Boarding passes to check for things like this. Tried phoneing DC but line was really busy and I didn't have time to wait.

What can I do as she took the originals and I didn't keep my ticket stubs?

There is a lesson here - never, but never let go of your original boarding passes or tickets. When they're gone they're gone, as I learned to my chagrin with KLM. They subsequently lost my business as they enforced the rules to the letter of the law, rather than thanking me for 50K worth of business.

That said, I imagine (hope) that DC would have checked each individual ticket for valid fare classes. Three weeks is a long time, but DC can be very slow sometime. I'd wait a week or two more before worrying unduly. If you have the details of the bmi flights, it shouldn't be too hard for them to find you on the system and allocate you the points. The *A partners might be a bit more difficult. If UA is among them, ask them for a receipt for the tickets, or get your TA to give you some documentation.

My understanding was that generally, you have to send in original BPs and ticket receipts. When I have to do it, I always keep a photocopy. I don't think they'd necessarily accept a photocopy if you sent it in.

I don't think they'll discard all your BPs just because one or two were invalid from being award flights. Trusting the vagaries of BD's internal mail, however, might be your mistake. That said, it can to 6-8 weeks for flights to credits. Partners can take an age.

I was once told that UA are the only *A airline who insist that every miscredit is referred back to them, suggesting that BD can credit other *A carriers if they're happy with the BP and receipt.

This is my understanding, too.

Might as well throw my two penneth in...I had some LH flights missing and they credited them to my account within an hour after phoning the DC club. No requirement to send in BP's etc. I was particularly pleased with that!

These were ANA boarding passes.

I was unaware of the procedure for claiming missing miles. The woman at the lounge assured me they would be credited within 2 weeks. She wrote my FF # on them and siad she would post them the following day.

Should I bother ringing the DC (and probably staying in a queue for a couple of hours) or should I give it another week and hope for the best?