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I am being flown out by a company for an on-site visit. Will I earn miles for this trip, or will the company?

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  • Which airline is operating? Which airline was it booked with? Which FF program are you in? Alas it's not a simple question...
    – Gagravarr
    Jun 14, 2012 at 21:08
  • @Gagravarr: In my particular case, the flight would be operated by and booked with American Airlines, and I am in AA's frequent flyer program. But to not be selfish, I should point out that the more cases you can cover in your answer, them more likely it'll be voted up ;)
    – SuperElectric
    Jun 14, 2012 at 22:10
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    For your particular case, I'd say there's a very good chance you can get the miles + status points, if you give your FF number at checkin / attach it with Manage My Booking beforehand. See the existing answers for details on why it's not always so simple...
    – Gagravarr
    Jun 14, 2012 at 22:21

3 Answers 3

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By default, yes. There are a few cases where you might not:

  • the company has some sort of flight pass. Some of those passes accrue miles only by being bought, not by being used
  • the company got you a ticket by redeeming miles or the like - reward tickets don't earn miles
  • the company booked and bought a super cheap fare that doesn't earn miles

If the fare earns miles, you'll be the one who earns them. Make sure your number is recorded (when you check in, ask the person to make sure it's there and add it if it's not) and you'll be all set. Most Frequent Flyers earned their status with tickets their employers and clients paid for.

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  • Thanks! One more thing: do I have to give the company my FF number before they make the ticket purchase, or can I record my number with that flight afterwards?
    – SuperElectric
    Jun 14, 2012 at 19:45
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    @SuperElectric you show yourself FF card at checkin
    – user141
    Jun 15, 2012 at 6:20
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    @SuperElectric give your FF number to the airline beforehand. You could ring up, add it on their website, or worst-case at checkin. Most airlines let you claim flights afterwards but this is not the "default" process and will be more complicated (for example, you might have to mail in your boarding pass).
    – Andrew Ferrier
    Jun 17, 2012 at 20:16
  • Reward tickets do sometimes earn miles. I've earned BA miles on a BA ticket bought partly with BA miles, and I think it applies if wholly bought with BA miles too.
    – abligh
    Aug 21, 2016 at 14:04
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Depends on the company, the airline, and the agreement between them. I flew a lot for my employers, and I have hundreds of thousands of miles on my frequent flier accounts for these flights. Obviously I didn't pay for any of those trips.

Usually the person whose name is on the ticket and whose membership number is on the boarding pass will be the one to get the miles, regardless of who paid. But I've heard of cases where the employers had specific agreements with airlines that would make it otherwise.

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    Some airlines even have two kinds of FF programs, where both the company and the traveller get miles! (eg BA On Business & BA Executive Club)
    – Gagravarr
    Jun 14, 2012 at 21:09
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American Airlines has two separate mileage programs: one for individuals (AAdvantage) and one for businesses (BusinessExtraa).

When purchasing a ticket through aa.com, you have the option to enter both your individual AAdvantage number and the business' BusinessExtraa number. So both the company and the traveler get credit for the flight.

If the company did not provide your AAdvantage number when they bought your ticket, you can still get credit for it.

  1. Save your boarding passes! Each has a ticket number on it that you will need to request a credit.
  2. Log into your AAdvantage account.
  3. Click on the link all the way at the bottom of your account summary that says "Request Credit". Or just use this link.
  4. Fill out the form completely:
    • AAdvantage account information (should be pre-filled).
    • Flight information, including the ticket number from the boarding pass for each segment.
  5. It can take up to 30 days for the miles to appear in your account.
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    If the company has given you the confirmation number for your ticket (which they probably should, since you may need it in case of problems), you can often use the "View Itinerary" option on the airline's web site, and find a place to enter your frequent flier number. Then the miles will automatically be credited to you. This is probably much easier than trying to get the credit after the flight.
    – Nate Eldredge
    Jun 16, 2012 at 0:03

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