I'm returning from lurking to pose a question to the FT community since i can't find the answer in my searches.

If I am flying in a group, and members of the group do not have FF numbers or do not want FF numbers (gasp), am I able to put my own FF number on their ticket? Will i actually get credit for the second (third, etc.) pax on the number?

Thanks, and if this has in fact been discussed before, please direct me to the thread.

You can just read the T&C of any program to find that your answer is obviously no.
A Frequent Flyer account is for the flyer - only.

I wish I would have reached KL PE in my first year (when i flew with my entire team)

Hmm.. kinda like sharing your SSN across several folks -- hoping the IRS will send all their refunds to you ?!?!

The frequent flier programs don't allow this and their computers are sophisticated to notice. Unfortunately, there isn't a way for you to get miles for their tickets. If you put your FF number on another person's ticket, the miles for that ticket just won't post.

I think it is your duty as an FTER to explain to the importance of the FF programs to the members of your group.

You can also sign up on their behalf and "control" the FF accounts they don't want. If they only fly once or twice you can maybe redeem some magazines or something. If they fly more, I am sure they will come asking you "for their account back".

There are a handful of programs-- I can think of Etihad and Korean Air, maybe Qatar Airways-- which allow miles to be pooled into a family account or the "head of family"'s account. JAL's program lets family members pool miles for redemption for a fee. Miles can be transferred from member to member in some U.S. programs, but the fee is predictably dear.

The computers will otherwise check the name on the account against the name on the ticket and prevent credits to any mismatched FF number.

I had one interesting case last year with Alitalia. Had made two bookings where FF was not incl. Then at checkin, I was together with my collegue, who is just basic member and I am ST E+. She gave the boarding cards and I saw that I was having just FQTV while she had Elite Plus written on the BP. I asked, checkin, why is that so, did you mix up something? No, was the answer... so, I went to lounge.. (PS. Alitalia has actually very helpful and understanding lounge staff, at least in Milano, both MXP and LIN) and asked to recheck.. and voila' the checkin assistant had mixed up us - put my card # on her PNR and vice versa... so, the lounge lady had to fix it back.. (as I wanted to get the miles for my trip, as my collegue was booked in non-earning class..)

And I remember also actually now that once one of my friends told that he had earned multiple on a group with AerLingus for his AA account, I guess, like for 8 pax or something... but that was quite some years ago.

Not exactly FF miles, but close: many airlines have small business programs where a business gets credit when its employees fly, over and above the miles those employees earn in their individual accounts (if any). Awards in these programs overlap the kinds of awards you can earn with miles: flights, lounge access, sometimes giving a designated employee elite status. If it's not too late, you might be able to sign up your "business," with yourself as its program coordinator (who gets to give out awards), and have group members fly as "employees." AA, at least, doesn't check company IDs.

many of my relatives who fly do not care about miles (gasp indeed!) so what I do is this:

1) I try to buy their tickets on my mileage earning CC and have them give me cash for them.

2) When they earn miles--and I basically just sign them up for them and tell them to provide the number at check in--I make sure this gets done with a promo or in conjunction with some offer if possible. For example, refer a friend with UAL or some email sign up thing or something...

3) I manage all their accounts and if they ever really DO need something, I gladly give it to them, noting that it is THEIR account not mine. Sure maybe this does them a favor on my time and effort but hey, that's what friends and family are for! It all comes around.

4) I keep the accounts up to date like making sure they do not expire, etc. I can even do mall purchases to make this be so. I keep a file that tracks everything for me and hey, one day one of them DOES come callin and asks about miles (One relative bought tix to Australia and suddenly they were interested and since they had the 8k miles I saved for them earlier on in life, this added up to a free ticket to anywhere in the US at 25k! She went skiing in Colorado because of this and guess who got the case of fine wine at the next reunion?!)

5) If their accounts reach level--or in the case of some airlines, reach some amount that can be transferred for a fee, then everyone kinda wins.

6) I have even used the UA miles some relatives have received to get restaurant.com gift certs and then donate those to our church and get tax write offs!

Again in every case, I am telling these relatives what I am doing so no one gets pissed off. It's amazing how once something is worth something, that people do change.

DO NOT, however, let people NOT get miles.

Them's just my tips for the day. GO RED SOX!
they won their opening day game in Japan!

MM

I agree, but do know one trult devious and workable exception.....

One of my old friends and his son have the same name, first, middle and last, and have shared the same FF# on a US domestic "legacy" (un-nmamed to protect the malefactors from possible discovery) upon which they both fly with some frequency (simply never simultateously). I'm not sure how they've managed to continue the flim-flam over a couple of decades, but both seem to be able to exercise the rewards. I suspect that living in the same toiwn helps, but obviously they can use only a single address and e-mailbox.

I can't remember just how definitive and personally descriptive FF information held by the airline's really is....

Marathon Man,

I do the same thing for my friends and family, namely my in-laws, who always travel premium cabins on BA, VS, EK or KQ, but historically never collected or redeemed miles.

Since I got married last summer, I have been able to use my in-laws miles for my wife (their daughter) for BA J from LHR-NBO return, and VS UC from LHR-NRT return.

Oh, and I also got an EK Y award from LHR-DXB-NBO return for my brother in-law, which made my in-laws very happy.

Finally, I have a lot of friends who have been flying VS to Nairobi, and have been referring all of them from my / my wife's / my parents' / my in-law's accounts, accumulating thousands of miles in referrals. Many of these people may never fly VS again, or even collect miles, but I have gotten tons of referral miles out of it.

Anyway, I do it all because I enjoy it, and like the OP, don't like to see miles go to waste. Ah, if only VS had a household account...

I remember that "back in the day" (pre 2000) my dad would collect everyone's miles when we would go on a family trip apparently. This was good since all the miles were in one place, but I didn't earn them myself .

Granted I was under 12 at the time, but kinda sad, with incomplete records now...

The joys of traveling from ANC - lots of miles!