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Help us out: your experiences of using two frequent flyer numbers with the same booking

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We have had a LOT of emails, article comments and forum posts in recent weeks from readers who are trying to juggle two frequent flyer accounts on the same booking.

It’s not easy, and to add to the complexity there are two totally opposite reasons why you may want to do it.

We’d like your input if you have been in this situation recently.

using two frequent flyer numbers with the same booking

Here are the two scenarios you could be in:

Scenario 1

You want to earn Avios in British Airways Executive Club whilst using another oneworld frequent flyer programme where you have status for lounge access, free seat selection etc.

Most likely to apply to: people who got Royal Jordanian elite status via the ongoing hotel status match and want free seat selection etc whilst still earning Avios.

Your problem: you need to have your non-BA frequent flyer number in your booking to get free seat selection, but need to change it over at some point to your BA number in order to earn Avios – whilst still trying to get lounge access, fast track security, use of business class check-in desks etc from your non-BA status card.

Scenario 2

You want to earn status tier points in another oneworld frequent flyer programme whilst using your existing British Airways Executive Club elite card for lounge access, free seat selection etc.

Most likely to apply to: current BA status holders who cannot retain their status from 1st April in British Airways Club and are moving to another oneworld frequent flyer scheme where it is easier to earn status (probably Iberia, Royal Jordanian, Malaysia)

Your problem: you need to have your BA frequent flyer number in your booking to get free seat selection via your current status but need to change it over to your non-BA number to earn status credit with your replacement programme – whilst still trying to get lounge access, fast track security, use of business class check-in desks etc on the back of your BA status.

using two frequent flyer numbers with the same booking

In theory this shouldn’t be a problem, but it is

When Amadeus (the back-end ticketing system used by most airlines) was designed, they DID think that this could be an issue.

Your BA flight ticket data contains two fields, which by default are filled with the same number which you added when booking or via Manage My Booking:

  • FQTV: the frequent flyer number you want to use to earn miles
  • FQTS: the frequent flyer number you want to use for claiming status benefits

The problem is that your chance of finding a check-in or call centre agent who knows about FQTV and FQTS, yet alone knows how to amend your data correctly, is low.

I think that Singapore Airlines is the only carrier which allows you to enter two frequent flyer numbers for bookings.

How have you got around this?

Whilst Scenario 2 will be the most common after 1st April, as many readers start trying to earn status in a different oneworld frequent flyer programme, there are currently a lot of readers in Scenario 1 thanks to the Royal Jordanian status match.

If you’re in Scenario 1:

For people in Scenario 1, I have been saying that – at least for short haul flights – you should forget about earning Avios. Put your Royal Jordanian number in your BA booking from the start and keep it there. It will save you a lot of trouble trying to swap numbers over, and the relatively small number of Avios you will forfeit isn’t worth worrying about. You will be earning Royal Jordanian miles instead which can be redeemed on BA.

using two frequent flyer numbers with the same booking

Of course, if you are on a long haul flight then you might want your Avios. At what point do you swap your frequent flyer number for the BA one? After check in? Whilst in the lounge? Could you use fast track security or priority boarding by showing your Royal Jordanian card on your phone whilst having the BA number on your boarding pass?

Let us know in the comments.

If you’re in Scenario 2:

This is a bit trickier. You should be able to get into a BA lounge by showing your BA Gold or Silver membership card on your phone, even if your ‘no status’ Iberia / Royal Jordanian / Malaysia etc number is in your booking.

Can you get away with this at fast track security though? Or when trying to get priority boarding? Do you keep your BA number in your account until the last minute and call BA to swap it from the lounge?

Again, let us know in the comments.

How to change the frequent flyer number in your booking

This is as good a place as any to cover this. Most airlines, including BA, disable the Amadeus functionality which allows you to change your frequent flyer number via Manage My Booking. One that doesn’t is Royal Air Maroc.

You can go on the Royal Air Maroc website and pull up a BA flight booking using the 6-character booking reference. One of the options allows you to change the frequent flyer number.

Thank you for your contributions

We look forward to hearing about your experiences of swapping frequent flyer numbers in the comments. We will run a fresh article next week summarising your feedback.

Category

British Airways and Avios, oneworld alliance partners

Comments (136)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Bagoly says:
    15 Mar15 March 00:21

    As for trying to enter OB number ….

  • Dubious says:
    15 Mar15 March 01:20

    For some Vietnam Airlines flights and Garuda Indonesia flights I had put my ITA number in the booking in advance (when booked via a corporate travel agent but not when booked direct). I got seat selection benefits and in the case of ITA moved to a forward area by the check in staff.

    At the gate I would change the number to a different program, depending on the fare class (Delta, Virgin or Korean). I would get a new boarding pass at the gate (and done Grimbles from the staff), but I would still be able to join the priority boarding queue by showing my digital status card.

  • Nick says:
    15 Mar15 March 09:02

    I’m BA Gold and looking at crediting to Finnair from 1st April onwards.

    Changing FFs seems like a faff and stress.

    I understand you can’t status match from one Oneworld scheme to another. Are there any recommendations to match to a non-OW FF scheme then match to Finnair?

    • Rob says:
      15 Mar15 March 09:19

      Is Finnair running a status match?

      • Nick says:
        17 Mar17 March 14:28

        I’d seen on statusmatcher that its a 50/50 they’ll status match from SAS. My thinking was match by BAEC to SAS/Skyteam then get Finnair to match…

  • Dan Harrison says:
    15 Mar15 March 09:09

    Swapped RJ to BA after check-in on a BA Holiday late last year with no issues. Previously, I’d done before check in, and seats got moved. However, they did have to change aircraft, and from people I spoke to, they also had been moved (without cheating!)

  • Paul says:
    15 Mar15 March 14:33

    I’ve travelled through LHR on BA WT+ with BA Bronze status, but show my AA Platinum Pro card (OW Emerald) at BA First wing and been allowed to check-in there and use fast track security and the First lounge. I’ve also booked redemption flights on BA with Avios and then called customer service to change the FFN to AA so I can get free seat booking. It’s never a problem.

  • Rob says:
    15 Mar15 March 16:25

    I am looking at scenraio 2, however i want to take extra luggage for free as part of my BA Gold status. If i switch to the Qatar number (which has no status but i am looking to build up after the April 1 changes) after check in, in the lounge, how do i keep the benefits for the return leg of the booking?

  • James says:
    15 Mar15 March 21:53

    I want to share my experience in Scenario 1: recently, I flew from Heathrow with BA in economy, using an Avios ticket issued by BA. I thought showing my RJ Gold Sparrow card in the app (equivalent to OW Sapphire) would suffice. However, problems started right from the fast track: the automatic gates wouldn’t let me in because my BA Blue boarding pass didn’t show any privileges. The security staff had no idea about Royal Jordanian and told me “That promotion doesn’t apply here”. To make matters worse, the RJ status card in their app has a very small OW Sapphire icon, and Apple Wallet card doesn’t mention OW status at all. I then went to the nearby BA Executive Club desk and asked them to swap FFP numbers. They did it quickly (although with a bit of input from a more knowledgeable colleague), and I was able to walk through Fast Track and into the BA lounge without any issues. If it had been a cash ticket, I probably would have swapped my FFP back to BA at the lounge. But for a smoother experience, I recommend anyone to put their status FFP to their ticket before getting to the airport.

  • Peter D says:
    16 Mar16 March 19:17

    I’ve had no problems using my RJ Gold Sparrow status to book seats. Firstly I used RAM to change FF on an existing BA 241flight, tick! Next I booked a BA 241 flight using the RJFF, tick! Lastly I had to ring BA to book 12 cash seats, I quoted my RJFF and got 9 free seats, tick! Probably the big difference here is that I don’t have BA status and don’t want it so I don’t bother to try to change back to BAFF.
    The problem i did have was when I wanted to claim compensation for a delayed flight. I logged in to my BAEC account and filled out the forms. Firstly it could not find my booking from the 6 character booking code, I had to enter the flight details manually. It seemed to work but when I tried to submit it repeatedly told me there was an error and that I should check the details and try again. I did, repeatedly for a couple of days. So I rang BA but he wasn’t very helpful saying he couldn’t do anything unless I could give him a case number. I told him he had to help me as I had a justified complaint. He told me to try again but use another booking ref for some other flight that I had booked in the past and then explain the issue in the text. I was NOT hopeful with this approach.
    I don’t know why I did this but I tried again by going to BA via a browser as a guest and not from my account. It recognised my booking ref (!) straight away and when my name came up it contained my RJFF number. I changed it to my BAFF number and it all worked! It seems that while I was logged on to my account, the system could not reconcile my BAFF number with that on the booking, just my guess. Crazy situation and maddening that the BA rep couldn’t fix it.
    On a lighter note, I got my £520 within 10 days of submitting my claim so happier now!

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