MilesBuzz! - Any experience with AwardPlanner or RewardPlanner?

I am currently in the diffiult position of trying to find two standard rewards for summertime travel to Europe with my OnePass miles. I wondered if a thread could be started on FF'ers experience with services that offer to do the booking for you for a few. I'm really fed up and have arrived at the point at which I am more than willing to pay $39.95 to save myself the time, the headache, and most especially the general dissonanace and infuriation that this process usually involves. The general consensus on the CO forum and elsewhere of course confirms that I'm not alone, but, you know, I still just want those darn seats! I figure the tickets I want run at about a thousand each, so what's forty bucks? I wonder if anyone has anything to report about these services; I did a search and got nothing. If I may be frank, I am especially curious about AwardPlanner and the possibility that the folks over there may have some "in's" that us common folk don't; I hope this is not an indiscreet question to put forward. Anyway, has anyone used them before?

As there is no designated forum for miles redemption, I thought this the best place to post my question. Any insight would be appreciated, as I don't think this has been covered before.

I just used Award Planner for 4 tickets to Greece, for the Olympics, using AA miles this last week. I needed to book 330 days out in both directions, and figured they'd have a better shot at seats than me, after my research wasn't turning up any seats. Mine were ticketed using AA miles, though, rather than CO. I would use them again for something this important.

You are aware Award Planner is owned by Randy Petersen, the same person that hosts this site?

And the HHonors RewardPlanner service is ALSO provided by Randy's company!

As you probably know, you pay for RewardPlanner with HHonors points (higher HHonors status makes the price in points less). I think the cash purchase option for AwardPlanner might be a better deal, though. I've seen FTers praise the RewardPlanner service over on the Hilton forum.


Kathy

i too am thinking of using them for award travel using my AA points to get to SYD.

i'd be quite keen to hear people's experiences

See:
AwardPlanner experiences? (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum1/HTML/006763.html)

AwardPlanner vs. RewardPlanner (http://www.flyertalk.com/pasttalk/ftpasttalk_forum/Forum1/HTML/008046.html)

Award Planner (http://www.flyertalk.com/pasttalk/ftpasttalk_forum/Forum1/HTML/004548.html)


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View from the Wing (http://www.webflyer.com/blog): A blog about Free Miles and Free Markets

I think what people are really asking here is if Award Planner has inside connections with the frequent flyer programs and can obtain seats that normally wouldn't be available.

I'd be interested to know people's results too. This would be well worth the $40.

Spend the $$$$.....I can personally vouch that the braintrust responsible for hunting down these award seats (Nikki, LeDonna, Yvonne) are as savvy and resourceful as they come.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Paul3456:
I think what people are really asking here is if Award Planner has inside connections with the frequent flyer programs and can obtain seats that normally wouldn't be available.

I'd be interested to know people's results too. This would be well worth the $40.</font>

I looked all over the awardplanner.com site, and not once did I find a claim by them to have access to seats/rooms not available to the members of the different programs. I'm just guessing, but if in fact they did, would they not use it to sell more memberships? That would be a very enticing perk and worth every penny of the one-time or yearly membership.

I did find this issue addressed in their FAQ section. Here is what they said:

Q: Can AwardPlanner find award seats even when I've been told there are none available?
A: Although we cannot guarantee exact flights and/or dates, we are experts when it comes to planning award travel and are very successful in achieving most itineraries.

I do believe their claim to fame is the fact that they have a vast knowledge of the programs and could squeeze out the most for your miles/points, not get you a seat that's not there to begin with, as evidenced by this question from their FAQ:

Q: I have points and miles with several programs. Can you help me plan a trip that combines my accounts and maximizes the value of my miles and points?
A: Yes, we have extensive experience and can access a wealth of resources that provide us with the most up-to-date program information.

And like all of us, they do suggest to start planning as early as possible to claim the exact dates/flights/rooms we desire as stated here:

Q: How far in advance should I begin planning my trip when using AwardPlanner?
A: The more notice you provide us, the better your chances of getting the awards you want. But we can arrange your award travel for you even hours before your date of departure (assuming we receive your request during business hours).

So, I would say that AP may be great in some complex itinerary, or for somebody that doesn't want to call the airline /hotel programs themselves, but they don't have any "extra" seats/rooms on hold.

I think the above is a reasonable read.

Since they plan awards all day, they know about partnerships and routings that you might not think of yourself. They know about best-value awards. And tradeoffs. So their experience can help plan a complex trip.

So I'd say their service is likely well worth it for all but the most simple award matters.

And for folks who earn alot of miles through business travel but lack the time or desire to muddle through the particulars of using their miles, this is great! All many folks know is they have lots of points and want to go on a family vacation....

Thanks for the links, gleff. It turns out the two programs are one and the same set of employees.

My original question was in fact (subtley)about the possibility of inside connections, but I see now that really their know-how in some cases might just as well amount to the same thing. It seems like a great services and is going to make things soo much easier.

In one of the links gleff provided, Randy mentions something about getting bonus MR points for signing up, so make sure you go this route if you intend trying out the service!

Okay, sorry, not finished yet...

It's clear that they don't have any "extra" seats, but I guess my question about their possible "in" is more convoluted: Can calling a CS agent "as" AwardPlanner in itself yield better results (akin to somthing like better access to award seats for elites)than calling them "as" plain old me? Both for official and certainly unofficial reasons?

AwardPlanner helped me out a great deal in getting seats for a trip to Oz. Worth every penny of the $40. Those folks have the knowledge! Worth paying for!

Hello Madgalena, unfortunately, we do not have access to inventory other than what is accessible to you, nor do we have contacts to help us. We do work hard, and will spend the time on the phone, working with partner desks, etc. in order to make sure we exhaust every possible option.
If there are no seats available for the average caller, we will get the same result. Hope this helps!

LaDonna @ AwardPlanner

If you sign up with Award Planner for a one trip deal ($40), do you have to pay the fee even if they do not find award flights for you? I looked at the FAQ on their web site and other comments in this post and the links but I could not find any info on this. Thanks!

We do charge the fee, whether we are able to obtain the seats or not.
We work extremely hard at the job we do, and spend many hours on the phone. There are very few times we are unable to offer an itinerary, unless you are not flexible in dates or destinations; or if we are working around blackout or extreme demand date (Christmas, New Years, etc.).

LaDonna, thank you for your helpful reply.

I've signed up for their services this year, to help me put together an RTW award trip. The booking won't start for another month, but they've already been very helpful in working out my proposed intinerary--they are very knowledgeable about who goes where.

I book an award trip once a year on the average--they probably do it daily, and so will certainly have experience and knowledge working for us.

JP

Conde Nast Traveler Selects AwardPlanner's LaDonna Epler as one of the “World’s Most Amazing Travel Specialists”
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/8/prweb153097.htm

The AwardPlanner service recently received yet another distinction, as AwardPlanner travel agent LaDonna Epler was named among the “World’s Most Amazing Travel Specialists” in the August issue of Condé Nast Traveler magazine.This marks the fifth year that Condé Nast Traveler has recognized the best travel specialists, and the first year that a frequent flyer specialist has been included in the list. The article, written by Condé Nast Traveler's consumer news editor, Wendy Perrin, highlighted 130 travel specialists in all.

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO (PRWEB) August 28, 2004 -- Epler, who has been with AwardPlanner for over seven years, was lauded for her outstanding ability to, in Perrin’s words, “book your award travel for you, using strategies you may not have thought of.”

“To be recognized by a publication as well-respected as Condé Nast Traveler is a wonderful honor,” said Epler. “Each and every one of us here at AwardPlanner do our absolute best to serve our customers, and to be recognized for that is great. This award belongs to the entire AwardPlanner team.”

Epler will be awarded with a certificate to mark the achievement at an exclusive awards luncheon and reception to be held at the Mandarin Oriental New York on Oct. 6th. The following evening Epler will attend the 17th Annual Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards as a special guest. The Readers’ Choice Awards will be held at Jazz at Lincoln Center in the Time Warner Building.

AwardPlanner is the only service that specializes in helping frequent travelers plan and book award travel – ensuring they get the most out of their miles and points. To learn more about the AwardPlanner service visit AwardPlanner.com. AwardPlanner is a product of Frequent Flyer Services.

Here's the original article (http://www.concierge.com/cntraveler/articles/Editorial/Article/data/cntraveler/2004/08aug/perrin.xml/) and the page referencing LaDonna and AwardPlanner (http://www.concierge.com/cntraveler/articles/Editorial/Article/data/cntraveler/2004/08aug/perrin.xml/?page=23).