After my trip to Austin, I outlined why you should always check that your points have been credited after a flight.
It’s quite common to take flights and for some reason, the airline’s systems do not credit your points.
So, can you retroactively claim points?
Yes, you can.
For Virgin Atlantic, you will need your e-ticket number and your flying club membership number.
For British Airways, you will need your e-ticket number and BA Executive Club membership number.
Tips
General
- I try and keep my boarding passes after each flight until I know the points have credited my account correctly. That allows me to easily find the booking reference and e-ticket number without routing through my emails. It also shows the cabin flown and fare bucket, which can be important for tier points specifically.
- It’s not uncommon for the airline’s own staff to get their rules mixed up, so make sure you push for solid explanations if you try and claim but get denied.
- For basic scenarios, most airlines have an online form you can fill out that will automatically credit the points you are missing.
Virgin Atlantic
- Virgin does not specify how long back you can claim points. However, within 6 months is the industry norm. Realistically you should be claiming for missing points within a matter of weeks, rather than months.
- Remember that if you have upgraded a ticket from Economy or Premium with points, you will be owed points for the underlying fare.
- Every airline in the world has a unique e-ticket number. You can identify the airline ticket by the first three digits in the e-ticket. Virgin e-ticket numbers start with 932.
British Airways
- BA let you claim for up to 6 months following a flight.
- They will also let you retroactively claim points for any BA flight you took up to 3 months before becoming an Executive Club member.
- BA e-ticket numbers start with 125.
Bottom line
Always check your points after your flight!
If they have not been credited within a reasonable time then start the process to retroactively claim them.
