When do you get frequent flier miles - when you buy, or when you fly?
When are you awarded your frequent flier miles and the corresponding benefits? For example, if I have 5 miles left before I get to "gold" status and I'm about to depart on a round trip, will I get that status on the outgoing flight, or on the return flight, or not until the next trip I book?
Does this differ between the major airlines? I'm particularly interested in United, American, and Delta.
Best Answer
In general, miles are only credited to your account after you have actually flown on the flight. This is the case for all the airlines I know of, and I have personally experienced this on United, American and Delta.
If it were otherwise, there would be an obvious loophole: you book a massive itinerary of (refundable) flights for six months from now, collect 100,000 miles or whatever, use those miles to book a simple flight next week, fly it, and then cancel your massive itinerary and get your money back, thus having gotten your simple flight for free.
This is why you hear of people doing "mileage runs": taking a cheap flight near the end of a year that just goes to some destination and straight back, in order to get the miles and pass some threshold for elite status. But they actually have to be on board the flight for this to work.
In the case of a round trip, I think that you usually get the miles for each segment within a few days of flying that segment, without having to wait for the end of the whole itinerary, but this is something that would be wise to double-check with the particular airline.
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Do you earn miles when you book or fly?
In general, if you're buying your ticket with your credit card from the airline or booking using points through your bank's travel portal, you should receive credit. Conversely, when you redeem your miles for an award flight, you will not earn miles for that trip.How long does it take for airline miles to show up?
For airline travel: Travel on American is credited to your account 1\u20133 days from your date of travel. Allow 15 days for credit from other AAdvantage\xae partner airlines. For other partner transactions: Miles earned from other AAdvantage\xae partners are generally credited within 30 days.How do you earn frequent flyer miles?
You can earn airline miles in many ways, including booking flights or spending money with a travel credit card that offers rewards in the form of miles.How often is considered frequent flyer?
It all depends on the frequent flyer program of your choice, its rules and flights, that you take, but the rule of thumb is, that with just 3-4 flights a year you can think about yourself as a frequent flyer, who's entitled to certain perks.‘Points Guy’ Explains How To Get The Most Value On Airline Tickets, Flyer Miles | Megyn Kelly TODAY
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