Frequent Flyer Miles when booking air through Cruise Line

I'm curious whether or not folks who have booked flights through cruise line have been able to get miles for their flights. I was very nervous and had a hard time getting an answer that I was confident in the answer, so I just booked directly (I needed the miles for status). What has been your experience?

I've experienced both scenarios. Back when I was young, dumb, and had all the answers to life.

Then I found Cruise Air and learned that "it all depends" when going with these type tickets.

Ever since then,,,,, I've never purchased flights without going directly thru the airline.

(Caveat: Corporate travel requires me to go thru their TA. Something screws up,, I'm still getting paid by the hour. In that case 12 - 14 hours delays work out very favorable to my wallet.)

Expect not to earn anything. You never know what kind of bizarre ticketing creation you're going to get saddled with.

Some tickets are fully endorsable over to other carriers and earn full miles and status but you could end up with one that's the complete opposite end of the scale.

If you need a ticket that guarantees miles/status earning then book from your airline.

I've experienced both scenarios. Back when I was young, dumb, and had all the answers to life.

Then I found Cruise Air and learned that "it all depends" when going with these type tickets.

Ever since then,,,,, I've never purchased flights without going directly thru the airline.

(Caveat: Corporate travel requires me to go thru their TA. Something screws up,, I'm still getting paid by the hour. In that case 12 - 14 hours delays work out very favorable to my wallet.)

This pretty much sums up our experience, and for us, is one of the reasons we don't use Cruise Line airfares. Adding in fbgd's comment:

You never know what kind of bizarre ticketing creation you're going to get saddled with.

definitely covers all the bases.

What adds a new wrinkle to this, which wasn't the case last year....Delta and United giving miles based on price paid. If you even get miles, how many miles do get on an air-inclusive cruise fare now????

Last year I took an air inclusive cruise, with a deviation. We flew in well before the cruise to make sure the risks were mitigated to the point I felt comfortable. I did get miles - based on the miles flown. But, if I do it again in the future....haven't a clue what will be given (not that under the new rules it gets all that many miles.)

On the new United plan, for non-status members such as myself, I'd get 5 times the base fare plus carrier imposed surcharges such as the fuel charge. Nothing for the various government charges. For example, a DEN-SYD round trip under the old system might net me around 17,000 miles. That ticket costs me $1,492.50 of which $169.50 is fees, so $1,323.00. 1,323 * 5 = 6615 miles under the new system. Quite a difference.

As far as getting miles, United excludes "Unpublished or opaque fares, including but not limited to those booked through priceline.com and Hotwire". Good luck finding out if you bought an "Unpublished or opaque" fare before hand if you don't get the ticket from the United site.

As far as getting miles, United excludes "Unpublished or opaque fares, including but not limited to those booked through priceline.com and Hotwire". Good luck finding out if you bought an "Unpublished or opaque" fare before hand if you don't get the ticket from the United site.

Thanks - that answers it - probably no miles. When it comes time to book air for next cruise, I'll have to throw all the variables in a hat (air compensation offered if booking own, risks of cruise air, and cost of flights for self booking) and make a decision.

On the new United plan, for non-status members such as myself, I'd get 5 times the base fare plus carrier imposed surcharges such as the fuel charge. Nothing for the various government charges. For example, a DEN-SYD round trip under the old system might net me around 17,000 miles. That ticket costs me $1,492.50 of which $169.50 is fees, so $1,323.00. 1,323 * 5 = 6615 miles under the new system. Quite a difference.

 

As far as getting miles, United excludes "Unpublished or opaque fares, including but not limited to those booked through priceline.com and Hotwire". Good luck finding out if you bought an "Unpublished or opaque" fare before hand if you don't get the ticket from the United site.

To add one point...you would still get 17k elite qualification miles towards elite status. The new system is great if you do a lot of shorter flights...but you take a bath on the longer ones. (unless you are paying to sit up front of course)

I'm curious whether or not folks who have booked flights through cruise line have been able to get miles for their flights. I was very nervous and had a hard time getting an answer that I was confident in the answer, so I just booked directly (I needed the miles for status). What has been your experience?

It might help if you said what cruise line... With Oceania/Regent the last time we were booked on Delta and American with V/W fares and yes we did get miles.

It might help if you said what cruise line... With Oceania/Regent the last time we were booked on Delta and American with V/W fares and yes we did get miles.

Paul, that's exactly the cruise air I'm wondering about....haven't a clue how they'll handle it with the new mileage programs. We also received miles before. It's not a deal breaker - just another factor to consider.

Thanks for the responses, my last couple of cruises have been with princess but I was also curious about other lines. I will stick with booking directly with airline. For me it's more about the status qualifying miles than actual miles. I've already not earned a lot of miles in January. Couple of longer trips on cheaper tickets.

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It might help if you said what cruise line... With Oceania/Regent the last time we were booked on Delta and American with V/W fares and yes we did get miles.

Sorry to burst a bubble, but just having the single letter does NOT indicate the kind of ticket you have. That is merely the first letter of the complete fare code, which may be six or more characters. That first letter indicates the inventory bucket, or booking class, from which the ticket came, but does NOT delve into the actual "fare" and "fare rules" which govern the ticket.

For example, between SEA and DFW, AA has these published fares:

SA21ZNL3   AA   S    One-Way   189.00(USD)
GA21ZNL1   AA   G    One-Way   219.00(USD)
GA14ZNL1   AA   G    One-Way   228.00(USD)
VA14ZNL1   AA   V    One-Way   259.00(USD)
ND21ZNL3   AA   N    Round-Trip   292.00(USD)
WA14ZNL1   AA   W    One-Way   300.00(USD)
SD21ZNL3   AA   S    Round-Trip   320.00(USD)
VA07ZNL1   AA   V    One-Way   354.00(USD)
SA21ZNL3/WAUP   AA   S    One-Way   388.00(USD)
WA07ZNL1   AA   W    One-Way   404.00(USD)
GA21ZNL1/WAUP   AA   G    One-Way   418.00(USD)
GA14ZNL1/WAUP   AA   G    One-Way   427.00(USD)
VA14ZNL1/WAUP   AA   V    One-Way   458.00(USD)
WA03ZNL1   AA   W    One-Way   474.00(USD)
WA14ZNL1/WAUP   AA   W    One-Way   499.00(USD)
LA00ZRL1   AA   L    One-Way   546.00(USD)
VA07ZNL1/WAUP   AA   V    One-Way   553.00(USD)
WA07ZNL1/WAUP   AA   W    One-Way   603.00(USD)
MA00ZRW1   AA   M    One-Way   646.00(USD)
KA07PNUP   AA       One-Way   665.00(USD)
WA03ZNL1/WAUP   AA   W    One-Way   673.00(USD)
SD21ZNL3/WAUP   AA   S    Round-Trip   718.00(USD)
KA00ZRW1   AA   K    One-Way   726.00(USD)
LA00ZRL1/WAUP   AA   L    One-Way   745.00(USD)
MA00ZRW1/WAUP   AA   M    One-Way   845.00(USD)
KA00ZRW1/WAUP   AA   K    One-Way   925.00(USD)
HA00ZRW1   AA       One-Way   946.00(USD)
KA00PRUP   AA       One-Way   1044.00(USD)
BA00ZRH1   AA   B    One-Way   1046.00(USD)
HA00ZRW1/WAUP   AA   H    One-Way   1145.00(USD)
YA2AA   AA   Y    One-Way   1176.00(USD)
YA00ARUP   AA       One-Way   1244.00(USD)
F6U   AA   F    One-Way   1579.00(USD)
FA2AA   AA   F    One-Way   1609.00(USD)
Y   AA   Y    One-Way   6106.00(USD)
J   AA   J    One-Way   8141.00(USD)
F   AA   F    One-Way   8345.00(USD)

Note that there are a lot of fares with the same first letter. But that doesn't mean they are the same. Each is different in its own way. Now toss in that these are the published fares. There are also unpublished that have similar lettering/numbering but are still yet different. But they may use the same first letter -- which merely indicates the booking class.

So, getting a "W" with AA merely means you are in the "W" booking class and in that inventory bucket. Says absolutely nothing about the actual fare rules. And it's those rules that determine FF miles -- and so so much more.

I'm curious whether or not folks who have booked flights through cruise line have been able to get miles for their flights. I was very nervous and had a hard time getting an answer that I was confident in the answer, so I just booked directly (I needed the miles for status). What has been your experience?

In a recent booking using Princess EZair they used wholesale ticketing (class L in this case) that are NOT eligible for frequent flyer rewards. My issue with this is the confirmation from princess only stated ECONOMY class and even the tickets claimed class Y (which does get rewards). Princess took no responsibility nor would even include a disclaimer on your confirmation that flights MAY not be eligible for frequent flyer rewards.

It is only after the fact that you can even find out... after you are denied miles.

Sorry to hear you were not eligible for the miles. Since I couldn't get a straight answer from anyone, I booked directly with airline, it costs me a few more dollars but totally worth the miles and status I earned.

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Sorry to hear you were not eligible for the miles. Since I couldn't get a straight answer from anyone, I booked directly with airline, it costs me a few more dollars but totally worth the miles and status I earned.

 

 

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Another thing I recently learned on a recent overseas flight via Lufthansa (they are part of the Star Alliance and miles can be credited to United). They do NOT credit miles based on travel distance, but based on the cost and class of the ticket. For example, the r/t journey was about 25,000 miles, yet all my credit to United was 3,600 miles. A value of only $36, so booking direct with the airlines gaining miles may cost you more overall then the minor benefit the miles gives you. What's worse, it is very hard upfront to find out this information until it's too late. No transparency in this industry at all.

Another thing I recently learned on a recent overseas flight via Lufthansa (they are part of the Star Alliance and miles can be credited to United). They do NOT credit miles based on travel distance, but based on the cost and class of the ticket. For example, the r/t journey was about 25,000 miles, yet all my credit to United was 3,600 miles. A value of only $36, so booking direct with the airlines gaining miles may cost you more overall then the minor benefit the miles gives you. What's worse, it is very hard upfront to find out this information until it's too late. No transparency in this industry at all.

It's been this way for a while, and it's right on UA's webpage. When you choose your flights, if you are using UA's webpage, you may click a box that says, "show mileage earnings in search results". It doesn't get much easier than that.

I don't like it either, but it's the way it is with almost all carriers now. Some fare classes earn no miles at all (I,K,O,R,X)

For example, the r/t journey was about 25,000 miles, yet all my credit to United was 3,600 miles. A value of only $36

A bit OT, but if you are only getting a penny a mile, you're not even getting the value you should. Forget about the FF considerations in this case.

We just used Air2Sea for the first time. We booked a one way business fare DTW-BCN for our WB T-A in October. When I was doing the on-line booking, I was asked for our Delta frequent flyer numbers. I do not know if we will earn "miles", but the very significant savings over booking this particular flight directly with the airline is far more valuable to me than any miles that I may never get the chance to use.

I normally book direct with Delta so that I might have more "control" over the flight if changes should occur. However, after this flight was booked, and I found it in Delta's system to select the seats, I noticed a difference in the way they had listed our names. I called Delta, explained the problem, and they quickly changed it to the way I preferred the names to be listed.

As always, I will monitor this flight every so often in case they change the aircraft type in order to ensure I have the seats I desire. Hopefully, it will all be okay.

Thanks for the responses, my last couple of cruises have been with princess but I was also curious about other lines. I will stick with booking directly with airline. For me it's more about the status qualifying miles than actual miles. I've already not earned a lot of miles in January. Couple of longer trips on cheaper tickets.

American Airlines has a "special fares" earning program, and consolidators such as Air2Sea (Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Azamara) fall into that category. Redeemable miles (RDMs) earned are based on distance flown and class of service, not the price of the ticket. Elite Qualifying Dollars are also calculated based on distance, not price paid, and vary from 10% for the lowest category of economy to 30% for first class.

The program changed on January 1, but not radically - they just changed the EQDs to break out more discounted fares and award them less.

We earned miles on our August 2016 trip as set forth above, and I imagine that we would also earn miles under the 2017 plan. But we don't have anything booked on Air2Sea so I won't be able to tell you.

https://www.aa.com/i18n/aadvantage-program/miles/earn/special-fares.jsp

What adds a new wrinkle to this, which wasn't the case last year....Delta and United giving miles based on price paid. If you even get miles, how many miles do get on an air-inclusive cruise fare now????

The OP said the reason he wanted miles was for status, and on Delta, medallion qualifying miles ( or MQM's- the ones that earn status) are calculated differently from redeemable sky miles (i.e. the ones use to book award tickets and the only ones that matter to non-frequent flyers). The redeemable miles are indeed based on a combination of the base price paid for the ticket and one's status, if any, so are likely pretty low if booked through the cruise line AND on a fare that earns miles. However MQM's are still based solely on distance flown, so as long as the OP's cruise-booked fare earns miles credit for the flight, he'd still get the full MQM's needed for status, just not as many redeemable miles (assuming the ticket has a cheapo base price through the cruise line.)

The catch is that one usually doesn't find out until after the fact whether the cruise-negotiated ticket rules allow the earning of miles or not.

What adds a new wrinkle to this, which wasn't the case last year....Delta and United giving miles based on price paid. If you even get miles, how many miles do get on an air-inclusive cruise fare now????

It comes down to how it is ticketed, but it's best to assume that CruiseAir (and other travel agencies for that matter) will be treated as "Bulk", "Consolidator", or "Exception" fares. Delta, AA, and UA all have pages to specify how it works, but it is usually a percentage of the distance flown based on the actual booking fare once it's ticketed, and not always full face value for "Qualifying Dollars" portion of elite benefits.

Fun fact - if you buy a vacation package from AAVacations, it is treated as "bulk". Even though AA is in the name, it's a separate travel agency with respect to the fares and miles earned.

Booking air through Holland America, my travel agent always includes my Skymiles (or whatever) number in my reservation. I have received my FF miles without any issues, so far, at least.

Another thing I recently learned on a recent overseas flight via Lufthansa (they are part of the Star Alliance and miles can be credited to United). They do NOT credit miles based on travel distance, but based on the cost and class of the ticket. For example, the r/t journey was about 25,000 miles, yet all my credit to United was 3,600 miles. A value of only $36, so booking direct with the airlines gaining miles may cost you more overall then the minor benefit the miles gives you. What's worse, it is very hard upfront to find out this information until it's too late. No transparency in this industry at all.

I do my research and see if it is wise to credit my flights to a partner airline. For example, on a recent trip with United from the USA to Vietnam, I credited my miles to Singapore Airlines. Got a lot more miles that way than if I had credited to United. Takes a small amount of work to check partner mileage accrual based on airline and class of service being flown.

Booking air through Holland America, my travel agent always includes my Skymiles (or whatever) number in my reservation. I have received my FF miles without any issues, so far, at least.

That's wonderful, but it doesn't change the fact that a cruiseline may at times sell someone an airline ticket that does NOT earn miles, or earns a reduced number of miles.

You never know what will happen when you book through the cruise line. I recently got an unbelievable OW business class fare from Lax to CPH on Air France through celebrity choice air. Even though choice air said the fare was nonrefundable, when I logged on to my account on Air France, it showed that the fare was fully refundable and in fact, earned me almost 10,000 Flying Blue miles. I called Air France just to make sure and they also confirmed this information. So far I have always received mileage on my cruiseline air reservations, however, that does not mean I always will, so I do not take anything for granted until it actually happens!