Why didn’t I get the points on my loyalty program?

It’s rare but it happens: an airline or hotel does not credit your points/miles after a trip. Is it normal? Normally not, but sometimes yes.

What could have happened?

1Ā°) Nothing, you are just in a hurry to see your counter increase

Between the moment you leave the hotel / get off the plane and the moment your points are credited there is an “administrative” delay to take into account. Depending on the case, the airline, the chain, this delay can be from less than 24 hours to several days.

This is especially true in the airline industry when you fly on an airline that is not your frequent flyer program and it can take some time for data to be transmitted and accounted for from one airline to another.

But if after 8 days nothing happens you can indeed worry and make a claim.

But if after 8 days nothing happens you can indeed worry and make a claim.

2Ā°) You did a “no show

Sometimes in situations of extreme confusion miracles happen but don’t count on it. If you have made a flight or hotel reservation and don’t honor it, don’t expect to receive the points that go with it.

A position often criticized by customers insofar as they paid their flight (this is systematic) or their hotel (as part of a pre-paid fare) but that’s how it is.

On the other hand, if you check in at the hotel, leave immediately without occupying your room and make a “mobile check out” remotely the day of your departure you will have your points. But honestly we don’t see why you would do so. Ah yes…we have a little idea though.

In the context of air travel, there may also be subtleties in the application of the no-show rule

  • If you have a connecting flight and do a no show on the first flight the entire ticket is cancelled so no points on any segment even if you are able to otherwise join your second flight or make the return trip.
  • Ditto for a single round trip. No show on the outbound trip, return trip cancelled. So no points.
  • More vicious, if you play with the “hidden cities”. If you steal all your segments and decide to “skip” the last one you may see your ticket price recalculated (and it will be up) and be sanctioned in the loyalty program with the refusal to credit all or part of the segments, even if flown, or even outright exclusion.

3Ā°) You have booked at a “non-eligible” rate or one that does not credit

Not all fares are eligible for miles/points credit.

A distinction must be made between two cases: the rate credits 0% points and the rate is not eligible for credit.

Depending on the airline, certain booking classes result in the crediting of a certain percentage of a base amount (often the price paid or the distance). For example 300% of the distance in first and, at the extreme, 0% for the cheapest classes in economy. So you may be eligible for the points credit but with a 0% rate…

And then there are rates that do not allow (or not always) to credit. We think about employee rates, group rates (be careful when you travel with a tour operator as part of a package holiday) ….

4Ā°) You have booked via an online travel agency

No chance of getting your nights credited by a hotel if you book through an OTA (online travel agency) like Booking.com. Worse yet, you won’t get any benefit from your loyalty program. Eligible for upgrade? Late departure? Free breakfast ? Free access to the lounge, spa or gym ? Know that you can forget not only your nights/points credit but all the benefits associated with your loyalty program. We can never repeat it enough, Booking is not cheaper and it is better to book your hotels directly.

On the other hand, you won’t have any problem if you book a flight via an OTA.

5Ā°) You have your loyalty program with an airline other than the one you fly on

You fly on an airline xxx which normally credits x% of the distance flown in your booking class. And yet nothing is credited to you. Well, this can be quite normal if your loyalty program is with another airline partner.

For example, you fly in K class (discounted economy) on Lufthansa. Lufthansa will credit 125 miles, 25% of the distance or 4 miles per euro depending on the type of flight.

Most Star Alliance member airlines where you can be a member and where you want to credit this flight made on Lufthansa will not credit anything. If, for example, you are a member of the Turkish Airlines or United frequent flyer program and fly K class on Lufthansa, then you get nothing.

However, SAS credits this fare more generously at 25% of the distance traveled and ANA at 30%. This also applies to Lufthansa’s P-class (discounted business). When choosing a loyalty program, always consider how it credits partner airline flights in the booking classes you use most often.

6Ā°) You have flown on a partner airline but not from the same alliance

This is a slightly more twisted case but not so rare.

You bought a ticket on airline A but it is operated by airline B. Nothing unusual, it’s a codeshare and it happens every day. But where things get complicated is when that airline is not a member of the same alliance as the airline that sold you the ticket.

When you are a member of an airline’s loyalty program :

  • Points/miles are credited on all eligible flights of this airline.
  • Points/miles are credited on all eligible flights of its alliance member airlines.
  • Points are earned on all codeshare flights of an alliance member airline if the airline operating the flight is a member of the alliance.
  • BUT you can only get credit for codeshare flights on a non-alliance airline if you are a member of the program of the airline that marketed the flight!

It’s not obvious so let’s take some examples.

I am a member of the Air France loyalty program, Flying Blue.

  • I will credit points on my Air France flights.
  • I will credit points on flights operated by, for example, Delta and sold by Air France under the Air France flight number.
  • For example, I will credit points on all Delta flights.

The same is true for Delta SkyMiles members who fly on Air France.

If I want to go, for example, to Helsinki, I will fly on a Finnair flight marketed by Air France, under the Air France flight number.

But Finnair is not a member of Skyteam, the alliance of Air France and Delta. So:

  • If I take this Finnair flight under the Air France flight number and I am a Flying Blue member, I will credit my points.
  • If I take this Finnair flight under the Air France flight number and I am a Delta SkyMiles member, I will not be able to credit the points for this flight.

There is another example that I am frequently confronted with. Swiss does not operate the Paris-Geneva route itself but codeshares with Air France. I am a member of the Flying Blue program (Air France) and the SAS Eurobonus program (Star Alliance member airline like Swiss).

  • If I book a Paris-Geneva flight on Air France, I credit it to my Flying Blue account.
  • If I book a Paris-Geneva flight with Swiss, I fly on Air France but if I am a member of the Miles&More program of Swiss I can credit this flight (which is not my case)
  • If I book a Paris-Geneva flight with Swiss, I fly on Air France but if I am a member of the SAS Eurobonus program (which I am) or of any other Star Alliance member airline’s program, I can’t credit that flight.

7Ā°) You use an award ticket

An award ticket is a ticket that you purchase with your points/miles. Well, if you use your miles to buy a ticket to go on vacation, you should know that you will not be able to credit it, since you can only credit “paid” flights.

It’s a questionable practice, but that’s the way it is. From our point of view, it should not be possible to credit “award miles” on such flights sincethey do not correspond to any revenue for the airline but it should be possible to credit “status miles” (or XP or whatever the airline calls it) which reward loyalty.

In the hotel industry, this will depend on the programs, but in general, the functionning is the same as the one we recommend for air travel. For example, when I pay for a hotel night at Marriott with my Marriott Bonvoy points, this night counts towards my status (qualifying night), I don’t earn “points” on the amount of the night (since it didn’t cost me anything) but I do earn points on my expenses at the hotel (restaurant etc. ….)

Image : ployalty program points by Siberian Art via Shutterstock

Bertrand Duperrin
Bertrand Duperrinhttp://www.duperrin.com
Compulsive traveler, present in the French #avgeek community since the late 2000s and passionate about (long) travel since his youth, Bertrand Duperrin co-founded Travel Guys with Olivier Delestre in March 2015.
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