How to retroactively credit flights to your frequent flyer account

Editor’s note: This is a periodic article, regularly updated with new information.

We’ve all been there: You arrive at the airport, take a flight, and realize you forgot to add your frequent flyer number to your booking upon landing. Maybe this is your first time flying a new airline, or perhaps someone has already booked a flight for you. Whatever the reason, you earned 0 miles on your flight.

Thankfully, you’re not completely out of luck. Many of the major US airlines’ loyalty programs allow you to claim return miles in advance. Even better, some let you do this even if you’re not a loyalty member when you fly.

That said, it is difficult to claim these miles. Many airlines hide retroactive credits deep in their websites. So, in this article, we will show you how to retroactively credit flights for major US carriers.

But first, we want to go over some of the best practices to follow as a point and mile traveler. These will ensure that you will always earn mileage on your paid flights and give you the leverage to claim credits after the fact.

Sign up for a frequent flyer account before you travel

We recommend that newcomers sign up for accounts with all major US airlines and hotels before traveling. Even if you don’t have plans to travel right away, this will make it easier to earn rewards while out of town.

Additionally, you can credit your alliance partners’ flights to these accounts. So if – for example – you find yourself booked on a Lufthansa flight, you can add your United MileagePlus number to your booking and earn United miles on flight.

On the airline side, you’ll want to sign up for an account with the Big 3 (American, Delta, and United) and some low-cost carriers. Here is the short list:

On the hotel side, we recommend you to register an account with Honorable Hilton, Hyatt’s World and Marriott Bonvoy. There are other major hotel groups, but these are the ones you’re likely to encounter while traveling in the US

Add these account numbers to the Notes app on your smartphone and refer to them whenever you book a flight or hotel room. This way, you’ll never miss out on valuable points and miles when traveling for business or pleasure.

Related: Loyalty program is giving free points to new members

Regularly conduct regular customer account checks

We recommend doing a monthly check on all of your frequent flyer accounts that have a balance – even if you don’t earn points in a given month. Doing this protects you from fraud, as you can see if the miles mysteriously disappeared from your account.

Performing a mileage assessment is simple. Just log in to each of your accounts and make sure the airline has posted the flights you’ve taken to your account. Also, check that all your credit card spending, shopping portal purchases, dining rewards, and other rewards you should have earned appear correct.

If you find that you have never earned miles for a flight, follow the instructions on how to claim return miles later in this article. On the other hand, if miles from credit card spending never show up, you may need to call your bank to make sure it has the correct frequent flyer number.

Don’t see the mileage in your account right away? Don’t worry – most airlines take at least 24 hours to post mileage earned from flights to your account some are much faster.

Also, it may take longer if you credit a partner flight from one airline to another (assuming crediting an Air France-operated flight to Delta). However, if you don’t see a flight notification on your account after a week or so, it’s time to ask the airline to credit it retroactively.

Related: What to do if you do not receive miles for a flight

Save your receipts and boarding passes

One last thing before we begin: Save all your boarding passes and airline ticket receipts until the flight is posted to your frequent flyer account. You will need information from these if you request a valid flight credit later.

Digital boarding passes are great for this – just save them to your phone’s wallet app so they don’t disappear after the flight. You’ll also want to save an email confirmation with the ticket number, as you’ll often need this information to calculate mileage after your flight.

Related: How to add miles to a partner airline program

Retroactive credit policy for each airline

Now let’s move on to actually claiming retroactive credit for your past flights. Each airline has a different policy in this regard. For example, some airlines require you to claim credit within a certain period of time after making the flight. Others require your account to be open for a specific amount of time before you fly, making our earlier point about creating an account ahead of time even more important.

Here are the specifics for the major US loyalty programs. We’ve included a link to the respective policy, how to claim credit, and important details to keep in mind.

Alaska Airlines

Alaska Airlines has one of the most limited retroactive flight credit policies. For example, you must be a member at the time of travel to claim the miles credit.

To claim flight credits, go to this page on the Alaska website, fill in your information and upload a copy of your boarding pass and ticket receipt. You can claim credit for both Alaska Airlines operated flights and partner flights.

Here’s what you need to know:

• When to submit: At least seven days after your Alaska flight or 14 days after your partner’s flight.
• The deadline for submission: Within 12 months of travel.
• Need to be a member at the time of travel?: Right.

American Airlines

American AAdvantage members are a little more lenient when it comes to claiming flight credits again. For flights to the US and most partners, you must enter your ticket number and AAdvantage number on American’s Websites that claim flight credits.

Review personal service provider page if you are missing mileage from your partner’s flight, as you may not be able to request some information online.

Here are the details:

• When to submit: At least three days after the date of travel for US-operated flights or 15 days for partner flights.
• The deadline for submission: Within 12 months of travel.
• Need to be a member at the time of travel?: No, but flights more than 30 days prior to your check-in date will not be eligible for the miles credit.

Related: How to claim American Airlines is missing A

Delta Airlines

Like American Airlines, Delta makes it easy to claim mileage credits for past flights using an online form. And Delta has one of the more lenient policies on flights taken before check-in.

To claim flight credits, log in to your Delta SkyMiles account, go to your account page (My Delta), click “View My SkyMiles”, then click “Request Miles Credits” fly”.

From here, you can enter your ticket number and submit a mileage credit claim as long as you follow these guidelines:

• When to submit: At least seven days after the date of flight.
• The deadline for submission: Within nine months from the date of flight.
• Need to be a member at the time of travel?: No, but the same nine-month submission period will apply.

If you don’t have your ticket number, fill out the “All Other Miles Claim” form on the same page where you claim the miles credit. You’ll need to provide more details regarding your flight, but the hassle is worth it, so you can claim the mileage credit later.

Related: How to confirm your missing Delta SkyMiles

JetBlue

JetBlue is another airline that has a looser policy on claiming credits for return miles first. To claim mileage credit, log in to your JetBlue account and fill in Form “Request Points”. This includes flights operated by JetBlue and partner airlines.

Here are the criteria for these requests:

• When to submit: At least 14 days after the flight.
• The deadline for submission: Within 12 months of travel.
• Need to be a member at the time of travel?: Not specified in the terms and conditions, so you can claim credit for all flights in the previous year even if you weren’t a member at the time of travel.

Southwest Airlines

Southwest also has an excellent retroactive flight credit policy. To claim credit, log into your Southwest Rapid Rewards account and go to the “My Account” screen. Click on “Quick Rewards” in the blue top bar and then look for the “Request Past Flight Points” box.

You will receive credit as long as your claim meets the following requirements:

• When to submit: At least 48 hours after the flight.
• The deadline for submission: Within 12 months of travel.
• Need to be a member at the time of travel?: No.

United Airlines

Finally, we have United. To claim a flight credit, find your ticket number and log into your United account. Then go to this page and enter your ticket number at the bottom of the screen. If all is accepted, mileage will be credited to your account once United confirm eligibility.

That said, the eligibility requirements are a bit complicated. Here is a look:

• When to submit: At least five days after the flight for United or United Express flights, seven days after the flight for most partner airlines and 14 days after the flight for Virgin Australia.
• The deadline for submission: Within 12 months of your travel date.
• Need to be a member at the time of travel?: New members can claim credit for US-operated flights up to 30 days prior to free check-in. You can also pay a $50 fee to claim credit for flights that are more than 30 days but less than six months before you sign up, although you’ll need to submit Separate request.