Can the flight booking API save my customer's frequent flyer number so they still earn their miles?

Yes, in most cases you can pass a customer's frequent flyer number through the flight booking API and it is sent on to the airline with the booking. The number goes in with the rest of the passenger details, next to the name and the date of birth, so you enter the airline code and the membership number at the moment you make the booking. If the airline accepts it, the number stays on the booking and the miles are credited to the customer after they have flown.

There are a few things worth knowing before you promise anything. The airline has to recognise the programme you are entering, so a card from one airline will normally only earn on flights operated by that airline or by a partner airline in the same group. The name on the booking should match the name on the loyalty account, because most airlines will quietly drop a number that does not match. And a number sent this way is a request rather than a guarantee, so the airline can ignore it without telling you why.

Whether the field is there at all depends on the supplier your portal is connected to. Some suppliers accept the number in the booking request itself, some only let you add it to the booking afterwards, and some low cost airlines do not carry loyalty numbers through the API at all. The suppliers switched on for your account, and the plan you are on, decide what you can send.

If this matters to your customers, ask us which of your suppliers accept a frequent flyer number at booking, and get into the habit of checking the name on the loyalty card against the passport before you confirm.