In the miles and points world, putting your frequent flyer number on your flight reservations is probably second-nature for the most part. In fact, my frequent flyer number is generally listed on all of my airline accounts, so a lot of the time it shows up automatically when I am flying. However, because I often fly with a family of 8 AND we have several different people with different accounts. So depending on whose account we’re using, everyone’s frequent flyer numbers may or may not be on the account. And I will admit that sometimes, especially when it’s an award booking where I know we won’t EARN miles, I don’t always bother putting everyone’s number in.
Our Recent Delta Flight From Paris
But that nearly came back to bite me on a recent flight from Paris. Thankfully it all worked out in the end, but I was definitely annoyed with myself at first. We had booked our flights from Paris to Cincinnati on Delta but using Virgin Atlantic miles. Because my wife already had some Virgin Atlantic miles in her account from a previous trip, we transferred Chase Ultimate Rewards points to her Virgin account. For some reason my Delta frequent flyer number along with the numbers for my 2 kids were added to the reservation, but hers was not (maybe it had to stay as her Virgin Atlantic number?).
This wouldn’t have even mattered, except that our flight was cancelled! Thankfully Delta rebooked us all (on an Air France business class flight) but the 3 of us who had our account numbers all got automated emails from the infamous Rose O. Dougherty from Delta granting us 20,000 Sky Miles “for the inconvenience)
My wife (whose Delta frequent flyer number was NOT on the reservation), did NOT get an email with 20,000 bonus miles.
How It Ended
I would have been pretty bummed if that had kept us from getting 20,000 miles (though that was in addition to the Delta EU261 compensation that we also got). But thankfully, a quick email to Delta Customer Care got her the 20,000 miles as well. So I am glad that worked out for us, but it would have been easier if we had just put everyone’s frequent flyer number on the reservation. Plus, I feel like including your frequent flyer number on the reservation helps to make sure that you are more easily contacted if there are any kind of irregular operations or flight delays.
- We're Going to Europe
- Our first "first class" flight
- New York JFK Greenwich Room / AA Flagship Business Lounge
- American Airlines Boeing 777-200 Review JFK-LHR
- American Airlines London Heathrow / LHR Arrivals Lounge
- When Riding the Subway IS The Vacation
- Holiday Inn Express London Hammersmith Review
- Laundryheap Review – laundry and dry cleaning pickup service
- How To Get London Warner Brothers Harry Potter Studio Tickets At The Last Minute
- Eurostar Train Review from London to Paris
- I'd Love To Book the Hyatt Regency Paris Etoille but...
- Marriott Courtyard Paris Gare de Lyon Hotel Review
- 7 things to see in Paris with the Paris Go City Pass
- How To Take Bus 351 From Paris to CDG Airport (But Maybe You Don’t Want To)
- Holiday Inn Express Paris CDG Airport Review
- A Hotel Gave Me Connecting Rooms... Then I Walked In On Someone Else In Their Room
- Air France Paris CDG Terminal E Gate M Lounge Review
- Why Do My Business Class Flights Keep Getting Cancelled?
- Why You Should Always Put Your Frequent Flyer Number On Your Reservation
- Air France Paris CDG Terminal E Gate L Lounge Review
- Air France Airbus A350-900 Review Paris - Newark (CDG-EWR)
- Why I Keep NOT Buying Wifi On Flights (Do You?)
- Who Is "Rose O. Dougherty" From Delta Customer Care?
- How To Get a Delta EU261 Claim (It Was Easier Than I Thought!)
- Delta Sky Club EWR Lounge Review
- The Mental Load That “Planners” Carry While Traveling
- How My 7 Day European Trip Was Free (With Some Careful Accounting)
- Trip Report - 9 Days In Europe With a Family Of 4
The Bottom Line – Always Put Your Frequent Flyer Number On Your Reservation
While this may be a minor thing, and it all worked out for us in the end, I thought it was worth a quick PSA to encourage you to always put your frequent flyer number on your reservation. It may be able to help you in case of irregular operations and it lets you be more easily contacted in case the airline needs to get a hold of you.
Ever run into a time where putting your frequent flyer number on your reservation helped you out? Leave your experience in the comments below
This site is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as thepointsguy.com. This may impact how and where links appear on this site. Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers and that compensation may impact on how and where card products appear on the site. Any opinions expressed in this post are my own, and have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by my advertising partners and I do not include all card companies, or all available card offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers and other offers and benefits listed on this page. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more. Other links on this page may also pay me a commission - as always, thanks for your support if you use them
User Generated Content Disclosure: Points With a Crew encourages constructive discussions, comments, and questions. Responses are not provided by or commissioned by any bank advertisers. These responses have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the responsibility of the bank advertiser to respond to comments.
Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
Only time I don’t use my number is when I skip a leg
Be sure to add a FFN on award bookings too. I’ve gotten full flight credit at least three times, the most recent occurring in January of this year.