No match, no miles

My wife and I took a Singapore Airlines flight, in business class, from Delhi, India, to Singapore on April 5, 2007. Although Singapore Airlines is a partner of United Airlines, United refused to give me mileage credit (3,229 miles) for the flight because my name on the electronic ticket and boarding pass was truncated: “Alan Don” instead of “Alan Don Rubendall.”

It is interesting that 1) my Mileage Plus number was on the e-ticket, 2) my wife was given mileage credit for the same flight and 3) Singapore Airlines allowed me on the flight in spite of the truncated name.

I did not notice the truncated name at the time of the flight, and Singapore Airlines and Immigration authorities did not notice either or did not care.

The most frustrating thing about the incident is that United Airlines has not answered my letters, even though I have been a life member of the United Airlines Red Carpet Club since the 1960s and a member of the Mileage Plus program since its inception.

I would caution ITN readers each to double-check that their name is not truncated on their tickets (electronic or hard copy), especially if they expect to receive frequent-flyer mileage. In my case, it was not possible to check the tickets, since they were purchased by my travel agent in Delhi and handed directly to the Singapore agent at check-in by the travel agent.

ALAN RUBENDALL
San Marcos, CA

ITN sent a copy of the above letter to United Airlines (Box 66100, Chicago, IL 60666) but received no reply.