It’s a question frequently asked by our readers who want to optimize their loyalty programs: can a single purchase earn points on several loyalty programs at the same time?
Double dipping is not permitted…. within the same sector
This may seem obvious, but let’s start by reminding ourselves: it is not possible to credit points to two loyalty programs at the same time for the same service (flight, hotel night…).
For example, if I’m a member of two airline loyalty programs on which I can potentially credit my flight, then I have to choose.
If I fly on a Skyteam member airline, I can credit my points to any program offered by an airline in the alliance, provided the fare is eligible and does not credit 0%. But only one at a time. If I’m a member of Flying Blue (Air France-KLM) and SkyMiles (Delta), I have to choose which one to credit my flight to.
Double dipping is possible between partner brands in different sectors
On the other hand, Double Dip is possible between partner brands that are not in the same business sector. For example, between a hotel brand and an airline.
It’s possible, and increasingly so, through partnerships between different brands.
One example is the agreement between Emirates and Marriott.
Or between Air France and Accor.
This is not “natural”, of course, and requires a joint initiative on the part of both partners.
Double dipping is possible with OTA loyalty programs (except for hotels).
Online travel agencies (OTAs) sometimes have their own loyalty programs. If you join, you’ll be able to earn points in both the OTA’s loyalty program and that of the airline you’re flying with.
But this only works for air travel. In the hotel industry, booking through an OTA such as Booking will usually make you ineligible for the loyalty program for that stay. One of the reasons, but not the only one, why we recommend always booking hotels directly.
Consider premium credit cards
There’s another way to win on both sides that people don’t often think about in France, where the advantages offered by credit cards are light years behind of those in the USA, for example: using certain premium credit cards.
Here, unlike Visa, American Express allows you to earn points for every purchase you make with your card, which you can then use to buy various items and even pay online at merchants.
The Air France Amex cardholder earns Flying Blue miles for every purchase made at Air France and at any store that accepts the card!
The holder of a “normal” American Express card (not co-branded with Air France or other brands) earns points that can be used to purchase a wide range of products.
The difference between the two? With Amex points, you can buy lots of things, including flights on any airline, whereas flying blue miles are limited to Air France and its partners.
By paying with your Amex, you not only earn Amex points, but also points towards your airline and hotel loyalty program when you buy a ticket or a hotel night.
Whether it’s better to have a “normal” or co-branded card is another debate that will be the subject of a later article.
The exception: double dip possible in case of IRROPS!
What is an IRROPS? IRROPS stands for “irregular operations”, which in the airline industry means flight delays, cancellations and so on.
In this case, if certain conditions are met, you can credit your flight twice on two different programs!
Example: a few years ago, my Singapore-Paris flight on Air France was cancelled at the last minute, the plane having suffered a shock on the tarmac while loading baggage.
Air France finds me a seat on a Singapore Airlines flight departing that evening.
Following this flight, I credited my points to a Star Alliance frequent flyer program, but that’s not all. Passengers are not responsible for cancellations, nor for the fact that they have flown with an airline that does not allow them to credit their miles to their usual frequent flyer program. A small complaint to customer service and my Flying Blue account was credited the day after the flight I should have taken but had taken on a competitor airline through no fault of my own!
It is therefore possible to credit miles for a trip to two different airline loyalty programs if the following conditions are met:
- The passenger flies on an airline that is not a partner of the one on which he or she was originally scheduled to fly.
- This change is not of his making, but is the result of a decision by the airline.
In this case, he is entitled to credit both the flight he made and the one he should have made.
Image : Double Dip by ullrich via Shutterstock
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