Do I Have to Book at the Airline to Earn Miles?

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Earning miles can be very lucrative and it would be a shame to not get any, just because one chose the wrong booking channel. That’s why we’re often asked: Do I have to book directly on the airline’s website to earn miles?

In the last years, most hotel chains have implemented that you only get points for stays, which were booked directly on the hotel’s website, or in the hotel itself.

Luckily, it’s different for flights: Here, the booking channel has no relevance for the miles! That means that you can book at every travel agent, booking platform (e.g. Expedia, Opodo, etc.) or at one of the many OTAs that search engines such as Momondo, Skyscanner, Kayak, etc. will redirect you to. In any case, you’ll get the same amount of miles.

Which factors have a direct influence on the earnt mileage, and how you can calculate the number of miles that you’ll get, is explained in our Beginner’s Guide to Airline Miles – Earning and Collecting.

Entering Your Frequent Flyer Number

You do, however, have to enter your frequent flyer number in your booking. Not all booking portals have a field for the frequent flyer number, but you can still always add the number after having made the booking.

Another option is to show your frequent flyer card at the check-in counter at the airport. As a last option, most frequent flyer programs will also let you retroactively add the miles to your account.

Downsides

Even if you can save some money by buying your flights over a flight search engine and OTA (online travel agency), there still are some downsides which can lead to additional costs and grievances:

  1. Unknown booking class: Most OTAs don’t show the booking class during the booking process. This, however, is crucial for the miles, especially as there are some booking classes that won’t get you any miles at all. Many airlines (e.g. Lufthansa or Delta), on the other hand, even show the exact number of miles that their own frequent flyer program would credit.
    Hint: If you don’t want to risk getting the wrong booking class, but also don’t want to book directly at the airline, you should book on Expedia. There, the booking class is shown before completing your booking. More on this here: Booking Class
  2. Hidden costs and surcharges: OTAs usually don’t get a commission from the airline for selling their flights. At the same time, they sell the cheaps at lower prices, so that they’re shown right at the top in the search results. That price difference has to be earnt back somewhere else.
    That’s why they tend to offer all kinds of (more or less) useless insurance and extra packages. They also often do things like charging more for luggage than the airline does.
    Finally, only one payment option tends to be free. All other payments will add a surcharge to the booking.
  3. Fees after booking: If you booked your flight over a travel agency, the travel agency will be one to contact in case of flight changes, cancellations, or rebookings. Most portals set their own fees in their terms and conditions, which are higher than the airlines’ fees.
    Even if it is the airline that has made changes to the flights, you have to rely on the booking portal. While they can’t charge you in this case, their hotlines tend to cost, and their employees are not always very competent or helpful.

Because of these points, you should really think about whether it might be worth paying a bit more directly at the airline.

Conclusion

For now, where you book your flight is irrelevant for the miles. That could, of course, change in the future. You should always be careful, however, that your frequent flyer number has been correctly added to the booking.

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