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For an upcoming trip, it's looking like the cheapest and simplest way to travel will be a train from Lille to Paris CDG, then a flight onwards from there. Playing round with various options, it looks like it'll be cheaper to book a the Air France ticket starting from Lille, rather than buying the train and flight separately.

When I look at the flight details, it shows the flight onwards from Paris as normal, but the details of the Lille to Paris "flight" leg are:

05:57 departure 56m
Lille (XDB) Air France 7216 Economy / Coach (T) NOTE: THIS IS TRAIN SERVICE
Air France 7216 operated by S.N.C.F. French Rail
06:53 arrival

Since this'll be a seat on the regular TGV service, I'm wondering about frequent traveller program credit for it. Can I credit that leg to the Air France / KLM Flying Blue program? Can I credit it to the SNCF Voyageur program? Do I have a choice which?

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Yes as long as your train leg has a AF/KL flight number it will be registered to your Flying Blue account. I have done that multiple times. There is even an unexpected benefit, the trip in the train counts as a flight and as such might help in getting to the elite level in Flying Blue. An additional benefit is that a delay of the train to CDG will entitle you to take a next flight on a nonrev flight. On the contrary would you take the conventional TGV ticket, you simply missed your flight.

However, to get your mileage recorded you would always need to interact with the Flying Blue help desk. Usually the train "flights" are not automatically added to your flying blue account. However a twitter dm to the KLM/AF account is usually sufficient to get your trip registered.

Also, be aware that if for some reason you decide not to take the train, but simply to drive to CDG, you will not be allowed boarding, since you missed your first "flight".

Also there might be a financial benefit, at least at Schiphol the taxes for transfer passengers are different then for arriving/departing passengers. With this train ticket you might end up paying less, since train stations don't charge airport taxes (yet).

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  • Do you know if it's possible to credit the train leg to your SNCF Voyageur program if you'd rather? Or does it have to go to Flying Blue if anywhere?
    – Gagravarr
    Jun 24, 2014 at 12:25
  • Technically you are flying AF, so I don't expect you could register it to SNCF voyager, but this is guessing
    – user141
    Jun 24, 2014 at 12:26
  • (+1) Train operators pay to use the stations alright (through the fees they have to pay to use the train network), it's just that railway companies don't itemize their costs to artificially lower the published price or do funny things with rewards programs the way airlines do (see surcharge, fuel).
    – Relaxed
    Jun 24, 2014 at 12:29
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    according to the SNCF, it is not possible to get Voyageur points from this trip: aide.voyages-sncf.com/toute-laide-vol/je-reserve-mon-voyage/…
    – Vince
    Jun 24, 2014 at 16:03
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I've found the answer in the SNCF FAQ page on TGVAir:

Je suis adhérent(e) aux programmes de fidélité de la compagnie aérienne et de TGV, lequel s’applique ?

Votre billet est assimilé à un billet aérien, c'est donc le programme de fidélité de la compagnie aérienne qui s'applique.

Which roughly translates as your ticket is considered to be an air ticket, so it's the loyalty program of the airline that applies

Thus, it should be possible to credit it to Flying Blue for an Air France flight (notes from Andra's answer on this not often being automatic withstanding), but it isn't possible to credit the TGV legs to the SNCF Voyageur program.

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