Why We Save Our Boarding Passes

My father is a big nerd. It's not enough we fly around every chance we get, but he also scans, saves and logs each boarding pass we get on every flight segment. Why? "Just in case," he says.

Well, this time, it came in handy.

On June 27, 2015, we boarded our first flight on Brussels Airlines, departing Tel Aviv for Brussels. As a Star Alliance partner airline for United, we were able to add our United MileagePlus frequent flyer numbers and earn credit for the flight. However, as my father overlooked the fare class, we would only receive 50% credit for the 2,022 miles flown between TLV-BRU.

Usually, mileage credit for partner airlines will post within a few days after you arrive. However, after 2 weeks (July 13), we didn't see anything post, so my father went onto United's website to request partner mileage credit.

He input all the information requested, including the Airline, Ticket Number, Passenger Name, Flight Number, Fare Class, Departure/Arrival Airports, Date and Seat Assignment. United emailed a confirmation and said they would revert back 2 weeks later.

July 27 came and went and still no United credit. So my father called this time to the United MileagePlus Service Center. Apparently, Brussels Airlines rejected our request for mileage credit.

The United representative confirmed she saw the same booking info that my father did as well as the United.com webpage confirming the 50% mileage credit for Brussels Airlines flights booked in Fare Class T.

The United phone agent requested my father submit another form the MileagePlus Contact page. So he did, plus he printed a PDF of United's mileage earning page so he had a record (in case it changed) and submitted that PDF as well as copies of the boarding passes and the receipt.

Submitted: 7/29/2015 12:43:59 PM
Remote Host: XX.XXX.XX.236
User Agent: AppleMAC-Safari
Signed In: Yes

Message:
I have flown on a flight on Brussels Airlines on 27 June 2015 and did not receive credit (either RDM or PQM).

I should receive 50% credit for both the redeemable miles and 50% credit for United premier qualifying miles.

I have attached copies of (a) my boarding passes, (b) my confirmation receipt and (c) a copy of the Brussels Airlines page from United.com
[ Attachment 1 Type: application/pdf Name: Fly with Brussels Airlines _ United Airlines.pdf]
[ Attachment 2 Type: application/pdf Name: 150627 - TLV-BRU.pdf]
[ Attachment 3 Type: application/pdf Name: eTicket Itinerary and Receipt for Confirmation CNNH66.pdf]

Then on August 3, we received an email from United (bolding mine).

We’re always glad to hear from Premier Gold members like you. Thanks for writing. Your request for flight credit was rejected by the Star Alliance member carrier.  We have sent a request to them for verification and authorization.  It may take up to 14 business days for this discrepancy to be corrected so that we can credit your and your family's MileagePlus accounts.  Please monitor your accounts during this time and if you do not see the posting after that time, please contact the MileagePlus Service Center or reply to this e-mail and we will investigate further.Thank you for your patience during this processing delay.
We appreciate you taking the time to contact us.
Regards, [name redacted]
MileagePlus 

So my father called United again to inquire what was going on. United assured him that this time, they were submitting a dispute (vs. a request), and that it would be resolved in our favor in due time. We just had to be patient. We'll see what happens in the next 3 weeks.

But this annoying experience just turned us off on Brussels Airlines. While Belgium is indeed beautiful, we're going to fly through Zurich (Swiss Air) or Munich (Lufthansa) next time we transit through Europe on our way to Israel.

[UPDATE 8/6/2015 - The missing miles posted today.]