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Earn miles through someone with the same name
My friend is named "John Edward Smith" and his brother is "John Matthew Smith". On his frequent flyer accounts he uses "John Smith". He has previously had his brother fly under the name "John Smith" and use his frequent flyer #, and miles were earned without problems. He realizes that this is ethically questionable and won't do it again, but is wondering out of pure interest if this is something the airlines are likely to detect and punish him for. I am thinking it would be easy for the airline to detect a mismatch in date of birth for example, but I don't know. Also, what if he flies one airline and credits the miles to another, would they still be able to match that up?
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Ya pays your money, ya takes your chances.
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Originally Posted by uszkanni
(Post 20137060)
Ya pays your money, ya takes your chances.
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And the answer is, no one really knows. Those who don't get caught don't pay the price of those who do--it's an all or nothing situation. So, it really is YMMV.
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I was wondering why I had AA Gold Status and more miles than my wife. It turns out my mother mixed my FF account with my father's who I also share the same name with. He flew to HKG and ZRH last year and 0 miles in his account. I booked 3 RT tickets in Bus/F HNL-JFK//JFK-GRU before we figured it out. :rolleyes:
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Originally Posted by mx2
(Post 20136927)
My friend is named "John Edward Smith" and his brother is "John Matthew Smith". On his frequent flyer accounts he uses "John Smith". He has previously had his brother fly under the name "John Smith" and use his frequent flyer #, and miles were earned without problems. He realizes that this is ethically questionable and won't do it again, but is wondering out of pure interest if this is something the airlines are likely to detect and punish him for. I am thinking it would be easy for the airline to detect a mismatch in date of birth for example, but I don't know. Also, what if he flies one airline and credits the miles to another, would they still be able to match that up?
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I think it's unethical for parents to give their kids the same name! That's just asking for a childhood filled with chaos.
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Originally Posted by mx2
(Post 20136927)
My friend is named "John Edward Smith" and his brother is "John Matthew Smith". On his frequent flyer accounts he uses "John Smith". He has previously had his brother fly under the name "John Smith" and use his frequent flyer #, and miles were earned without problems. He realizes that this is ethically questionable and won't do it again, but is wondering out of pure interest if this is something the airlines are likely to detect and punish him for. I am thinking it would be easy for the airline to detect a mismatch in date of birth for example, but I don't know. Also, what if he flies one airline and credits the miles to another, would they still be able to match that up?
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Most of the IT systems won't detect birth date mismatch. My guess is flight operations and checkin is fairly detached from FF programs (marketing). Infact, I'm not quite sure it means anything. I noticed the other day mine has said Jan 1st, 1900 or something similar in my profile for likely years.
Reports of being busted generally occur when a flight operations occurs that is impossible or extremely unlikely -- IE: two people flying at once. It is more behavioral analysis than anything. Two people, especially living in the same city and never flying at once will probably go unnoticed. I don't recommend it though. |
Good idea. I'm going to name my future kids my name so I can get FF miles added to me. The more kids I get, the more... #ChurningKids
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Originally Posted by kevinwangjk
(Post 20142018)
Good idea. I'm going to name my future kids my name so I can get FF miles added to me. The more kids I get, the more... #ChurningKids
Kevin Jr Kevin the 3rd Kevin the 4th Kevin the 5th Kevin the 6th Lots of miles for Kevin all the sudden :D |
cool i will remember this post when i name my kid(s)
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OK, how many miles will someone give me for naming my kids after them?
Oops, forgot, can't post for trades except in Coupon Connection! ;) |
Originally Posted by mx2
(Post 20136927)
My friend is named "John Edward Smith" and his brother is "John Matthew Smith". On his frequent flyer accounts he uses "John Smith". He has previously had his brother fly under the name "John Smith" and use his frequent flyer #, and miles were earned without problems. He realizes that this is ethically questionable and won't do it again, but is wondering out of pure interest if this is something the airlines are likely to detect and punish him for. I am thinking it would be easy for the airline to detect a mismatch in date of birth for example, but I don't know. Also, what if he flies one airline and credits the miles to another, would they still be able to match that up?
So, the brother doesn't care about accumulating frequent flyer miles? |
Ah ha!
Now I finally understand why George Foreman named all his kids George.
Anita PS - I agree with the person upthread who said it is unethical to give two kids the same name. ESPECIALLY if the name happens to be John Smith. Talk about not feeling special... |
Originally Posted by SlackerSS23
(Post 20141733)
I think it's unethical for parents to give their kids the same name! That's just asking for a childhood filled with chaos.
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Originally Posted by johndoe123
(Post 20141975)
Most of the IT systems won't detect birth date mismatch. My guess is flight operations and checkin is fairly detached from FF programs (marketing). Infact, I'm not quite sure it means anything. I noticed the other day mine has said Jan 1st, 1900 or something similar in my profile for likely years.
Reports of being busted generally occur when a flight operations occurs that is impossible or extremely unlikely -- IE: two people flying at once. It is more behavioral analysis than anything. Two people, especially living in the same city and never flying at once will probably go unnoticed. I don't recommend it though. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...formation.html |
But back to the Smith's at the beginning of this thread. If one was to begin naming each of their kiddos "Agent Smith," would they be able to dominate the matrix of the the miles game?:D
Originally Posted by 84fiero
(Post 20144502)
Actually, UA (also DL, potentially more to follow) are now forcing the FFP profile name to match your Secure Flight info. So situations like the OP's, with different middle names, will be harder to continue successfully
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...formation.html |
Originally Posted by mikelat
(Post 20142778)
I can see it now
Kevin Jr Kevin the 3rd Kevin the 4th Kevin the 5th Kevin the 6th Lots of miles for Kevin all the sudden :D And then there are the princes of Reuss in Germany. Since the Middle Ages, all male children of the princely house have been named Heinrich. |
I strongly suspect that such an activity is fraud and violates MP terms and conditions...which would put those miles in jeopardy of course.
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I am a "Jr" and have had both positive experiences with it and negative... When I was traveling with my dad in NZ we had a major issue trying to leave because my ticket said "Jr" but my passport did not. It was the same as my dads... after about 4 hours we got it all sorted out but it was NOT fun...
Positive aspect though... when my dad was traveling in Europe he was able to use my Hilton HHonors number to get free internet and breakfast. While it wasn't an amazing perk it was better than nothing... plus I got the points for the stay :D |
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