Here is a common question I get:

“Can I earn Delta miles on flights I purchase for my family?”

In other words do you get the airline miles or frequent flyer miles for the flights you purchase for your family… No.

I know it sucks since you are the one putting out the cash to purchase the tickets for your family and it would be nice if all of the airline miles dropped into a family account. Having an account like that would be nice, just imagine how fast you could earn a free airline ticket.

If your frequent flyers account is set up as a personal account, then any airline tickets you buy for other people or your family, you don’t get those miles. The only way you can earn miles is by flying yourself.

Frequent flyer programs are constantly changing and over the years their value has diminished some. With the merger of airlines, cut backs and increasing cost to fly, many airline rewards programs are being looked at and changed almost every year.

Some corporate accounts or business accounts may have other ‘bonuses’ involved such as American Airlines business account. The person who is doing the flying will earn the airline miles, but the business itself will earn rewards points. You can view their terms here.

Other than having a business account, there is no way for you to earn the airline miles for flying your family on a vacation or business trip. Each member of the family would need to register with the airlines frequent miles program in order to capture the miles for the flight(s).