Points earn on EY/AB code share
 

I flew Air Berlin from TXL to AUH in business (Z fare), as part of a mostly-Etihad itinerary. My itinerary listed it as "Etihad Airways 1752 Operated by AIR BERLIN" so I was assuming it would be eligible for Velocity points by virtue of being an Air Berlin flight.

I just heard back from Velocity after putting in a retro points claim (along with a bunch of other sectors that didn't post) and they say it's ineligible because it's in the category "Codeshare flights - any flight with an EY flight number that is operated by an airline other than Virgin Australia".

However since it's an AB operated flight, and AB is itself a Velocity partner, I would have thought it would have earned on the basis of that. On the other hand, I checked the Velocity page on Air Berlin, and Z isn't listed as a points-earning class at all. But perhaps an EY Z fare translates to a different kind of AB fare?

Is Velocity correct here, or are they missing some clause in their own rules? It's certainly surprising that you can fly in business on a Velocity partner and not get any points or SCs for it.

If I am out of luck, would it be possible to credit that one flight out of my itinerary to a different airline?

As strange as it may seem, the website looks to be fairly clear on this point:

Velocity Points and Status Credits cannot be earned on:
...
Codeshare flights - any flight with an EY flight number that is operated by an airline other than Virgin Australia

https://www.velocityfrequentflyer.co...tsEarn/#etihad

Probably worth seeing if you can credit the flight to AB or EY.