Military rate ticket - does it qualify for miles
 

Not sure if this is the proper place to post, but here goes....I will be doing some work for the military over the next few weeks and they will be covering my travel expenses as well as booking my flates. I understand that they get a special rate, probably because of the amount of tickets they purchase. I'm wondering if these tickets would still qualify for FF miles. I'll most likely be flying UA or AA. Any assitance appreciated

I have had over 20 years experience flying on tickets purchased by the military. FF miles do count!

In principle you earn miles, just as with any corporate discount program. However, keep in mind that being able to earn miles in general depends on the fare class that a given ticket is booked in. Some airlines have deep-discount fare classes that don't earn miles* - whether they're booked by the military, a corporation with a discount contract, or an individual. You have to be aware of this possibility and check out each ticket on a case-by-case basis, or at least check out the program in question for this sort of rule.

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*Examples from one of the programs you mentioned: AA Q fares on trans-Atlantic routes, O fares on most overseas routes

I agree with Efrem, but can tell you that govt/military fares on AA are either booked in "Y" (although it is not exactly full-fare economy like the fare code implies -- you don't get free upgrades with this type of fare), or discount economy -- I've seen "K" and "G" before. Regardless, all fares that I've ever had with the military accrue mileage on AA at the full rate. You don't get as many points towards elite status with a lot of the discount economy fares -- see the AA forum or AA.com for more info about this if you are unaware of AA's miles/points/segments rules for elite status qualification.

Someone else will have to comment regarding UA.

-z

Even better...I think with AA since it's a "Y" fare, you might get 1.5 EQP per mile.

Yyz-san
 

So...if I get 1.5 eq miles, maybe a status challenge on AA is warranted? Could get over the 5000 needed....anyone's thoughts?

If you're going to keep flying AA and earn 25K EQMs or EQPs in the next ten months, which by FT standards is not that much flying, go for it. If you're not going to fly AA much or at all, the practical value of a shiny gold card is small. (The flights that get you to the Challenge threshold also count toward requalification.)

You will always earn miles for these tickets but without a little more information any of the other posts this thread could fit your situation. Particulars like can you upgrade the ticket with $$ or miles depends upon many factors, but your basic question is, "Yes, you earn miles on official US travel." As a contractor you have no restrictions on how you eventually use the miles. You may want to check with the contracting officer monitoring your program and see if it is possible for you to book your own travel and then to submit a travel voucher to be reimbursed. That way you can maximize earning with things like which airline to use, miles for credit card purchases, etc. Otherwise, they will book your travel using a fund citation and pay the bill through a blanket purchase order when the bill comes in. It also depends upon whether your travel is being paid from appropriated or non-appropriated funds (another question to ask the contracting officer).

If they are using SATO then your best bet is to sit down with the person that will be booking your travel and work with them on your travel. Otherwise, you will get whatever that person feels like booking and will usually be what is easier. They can use just about any US flag carrier and all of the airlines basically have similar prices in the official travel bucket, with some exceptions depending upon the markets flown.

In any case, you have to make sure that your FF account numbers get loaded into the record because SATO will not do that for you on official travel. And, in any case, ABSOLUTELY NEVER allow them to put you on a charter or MAC flight. You get no miles and they pack you in like cattle to slaughter. Active duty members have no say in that, but contractors and civilian employees DO NOT have to fly charter unless you are on a group tour, such as the music acts that do USO shows.

Thanks
 

Thanks to all for the advice. In the end, I was booked on UA, which is fine because I'm an Aeroplan member. Even with full economy (military) couldn't get Economy Plus seat on an A320. Not looking forward to IAD-SAN tomorrow. Maybe I'll get bumped and upgraded :)

Or perhaps you'll be able to "buy up" to E+ for a nominal fee at check-in.