Feb 3, 2014, 1:11 pm
Last edit by: PointsNmiles
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Members with 90 posts and 90 days on FlyerTalk can edit this Wikipost to update.
This list is not an endorsement of any particular award booking service.
Please do your research and read this thread.
Members with 90 posts and 90 days on FlyerTalk can edit this Wikipost to update.
This list is not an endorsement of any particular award booking service.
Please do your research and read this thread.
Please refer to the FT Disclaimers for disclaimer of responsibility for use of these services, etc.
Please feel free add other services and options you are aware of to this wiki.
Also, please post any personal experiences you may have with any of these services in this thread.
Reviews which appear to have been solicited by the service providers based upon content and posting history will be deleted. If you are a brand new or a member with a low post count and wish that your post not be deleted, please be sure to include the following details in your review: program(s), number of miles or points and the desired destinations and hotels. Please also include the itinerary booked by the service including the airlines, routing and hotels, the number of points needed to book that trip and the fee charged.
Award booking services (alphabetical):
- Award Advocate - Domestic $100 p/p International $125 p/p, no additional charge for last minute. Changes $50. Also 10% discount for families traveling with children and active military
- Award Booking Service - $25 up front search fee plus $150/ticket & $49 per 30-minute skype consultations (ask anything!)
- Award Butler - Award Search: $79 for up to two passengers; flight info provided but does not include booking. Booking starting at $149 for first two passengers.
- Award Chaser - Search fee starting at $79. Itinerary only - no booking provided
- Award Expert - (MatthewLAX on FT, Live and Let's Fly blog) $150 first passenger, $100 each additional passenger; $250 per person for RTW; $50/ticket booking fee.
- Award Flight Assist - Specialising in Australian frequent flyer programs; from AU$199 for the first passenger, additional charges for complex itineraries and more passengers
- Award Planners - One way $129, additional person $99; Round trip $199, additional person $99; Multi City $249 additional person $149
- Award Travel Consulting - Award Search: $125/person; Booking ticket: $75/itinerary; changes: new trip
- Awardmagic - $179 per person OW/RT plus one stop or $279 per person for three or more destinations
- BoundlessMiles - (Dominik Żmuda/Travelling the World): Booking: starting at $50 per passenger; Changes: half of award flight service fee paid
- CabinChief - Bookings are $49 per pax
- CatchUsFlying - $125 CAD/person for round-trip, $225 CAD/person for complex round-the-world. Consulting available at $75CAD/hour. (loganre17) on FT
- Chatflights - Use app to chat in real time with real travel hackers to book travel for points or cash. Booking fee $295 pp coach and business, $395 pp first class.
- Cranky Concierge - $75 per person each way domestic; $95 per person each way international
- First Class and Beyond - "Concierge-style" bookings. Fee is based on the value of the retail ticket, $250/person minimum.
- Flightfox - Consultative flight searching; fees start at $100 (requires credit card authorization up front)
- Flyermiles - (Graham / YOWgary) $150 + 50 per additional person, $250 for RTW awards. Offers detailed information on how to book your own award.
- iflywithmiles.com - (Mike/Melissa): 150 USD first person, 85 for additional person on same itin. Change fees vary.
- JJ Award Travel - FT Member since 2012 - No upfront fees. Basic one-way or round-trip air award travel consisting of a total of 8 legs or less for the entire itinerary: $250 for the first person and $125 for each additional person. Complex one-way or round-trip air award travel consisting of a total of 9 or more legs per direction is additional. FT members get a 10% discount.
- Loophole Travel - Award Travel Coaching $150 for first passenger and $100 for each additional passenger. Points Earning and MS Coaching also available.
- Luxury Travel Consulting - (Jasper2009 on Flyertalk): $150 per person per ticket
- Miles Help - Domestic: $100 OW; $140 RT/complex. International: $150 OW; $200 RT/complex. $50 each additional person
- Miles Momma Booking Services - Airline Booking: $200 up to 2 passengers. $75 additional passengers. $50 non-refundable up front. Changes $50
- MileValue Award Booking Service - (Scott Grimmer): Booking: $125 per person per award; $15 up front. Full payment required for successful search even if not booked. Change fee not currently listed; previously $79
- PMM Travel Consulting - (Miguel R. Quinones/AwardWallet Blog): Booking: $125 per passenger for the first two, $99 for each additional. Additional charges for complex itineraries. Credit card advice and travel planning services.
- Point.me - merger of services formerly provided by PointsPro (Ben Schlappig/One Mile At a Time) and Juice Miles
- Reward Flyer - Domestic: $50 first person; $25 each additional person. International: $100 first person; $50 each additional person
- SFO777.com - (SFO777 on FT) Booking: $200 first passenger, $100 each additional passenger; change fees vary
- Travel Codex - Per person pricing: $50 for North America award / $100 for International award.
- The Flying Mustache - $100 per ticket; additional fees for more than eight segments. Change fees vary
- The Short Final - $100 per person. $100 upfront deposit that is fully refundable if no itinerary found.
- Travel Is The Point - USA, Canada/Mexico & the Caribbean – starting at $50 per person. All Other International Destinations – starting at $100 per person.
- zainman - FT member since 2009. Booking: $200 first passenger, $100 each additional passenger; change fees vary, consultant services for $ as well
- Zero Hassle Rewards - $100 per person. Discounts for domestic and one-way
Award booking services - a list and some reviews
Oct 5, 2017, 7:10 am
#556
Moderator: Travel Buzz
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Sunny San Diego
Posts: 3,099
Welcome to Flyertalk!
I don't think it's necessarily bad form to get in touch with a few award booking services to ask some general questions, but you may want to make it very clear that it is not a specific request to search for availability.
The way award booking services generally work is that the client provides their details regarding preferred destination, number of miles etc. and they're successful in finding availability the client is expected to pay the consulting fee.
I don't think it's necessarily bad form to get in touch with a few award booking services to ask some general questions, but you may want to make it very clear that it is not a specific request to search for availability.
The way award booking services generally work is that the client provides their details regarding preferred destination, number of miles etc. and they're successful in finding availability the client is expected to pay the consulting fee.
For me, a good award booking service needs to have a minute listening ability and honest customer service in order to be effective.
PM me for details.
eJuicyMiles - John showed some ideas but was very unresponsive. I had to constantly follow-up. One month after submitting my form online I called off the search. John was very customer friendly though and his ideas were thoughtful, and would try them again.
AwardButler - Steffen was great and is based in Dubai. He listened to my preferences, was very responsive, offered suggestions in order to show well-informed ideas and was very customer friendly. I'd definitely run my next search by Steffen.
Luxury Consulting - Jasper2009 was AWESOME and is based in Canada. He was high touch and very responsive, asked questions and offered suggestions in order to show well-informed ideas. Most importantly, he listened minutely to everything I mentioned and accounted for it in his suggestions. He found the iconic flights I was looking for, and was even monitoring for better options that could open up closer to departure. He does more than award bookings, including end-to-end travel consulting and luxury hotel bookings as well. Needless to say, I'd run my next search by them.
PM me for details.
eJuicyMiles - John showed some ideas but was very unresponsive. I had to constantly follow-up. One month after submitting my form online I called off the search. John was very customer friendly though and his ideas were thoughtful, and would try them again.
AwardButler - Steffen was great and is based in Dubai. He listened to my preferences, was very responsive, offered suggestions in order to show well-informed ideas and was very customer friendly. I'd definitely run my next search by Steffen.
Luxury Consulting - Jasper2009 was AWESOME and is based in Canada. He was high touch and very responsive, asked questions and offered suggestions in order to show well-informed ideas. Most importantly, he listened minutely to everything I mentioned and accounted for it in his suggestions. He found the iconic flights I was looking for, and was even monitoring for better options that could open up closer to departure. He does more than award bookings, including end-to-end travel consulting and luxury hotel bookings as well. Needless to say, I'd run my next search by them.
I've never used an award booking service, but have referred friends to MileValue and others. I'm curious to know what you'd be asking if you were to "run my next search by them..." prior to hiring them to actually do the search. What type of response would you expect prior to committing with them?
Oct 6, 2017, 7:58 pm
#557
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: ORD
Programs: US Air, UA BA LH AI DELTA MARRIOTT CHOICE SGP
Posts: 9,883
Hello,
We would like to have our AwardBird booking service added to the list. We charge:
- Economy Class Tickets: $39 for the 1-st passenger and $19 for each additional
- Business/First Class Tickets: $69 for the 1-st passenger and $39 for each additional.
We do not charge expedited service fee.
Other details can be found here: https://awardbird.com/how-it-works
Best regards,
AwardBird Team
We would like to have our AwardBird booking service added to the list. We charge:
- Economy Class Tickets: $39 for the 1-st passenger and $19 for each additional
- Business/First Class Tickets: $69 for the 1-st passenger and $39 for each additional.
We do not charge expedited service fee.
Other details can be found here: https://awardbird.com/how-it-works
Best regards,
AwardBird Team
F Y I
Just checked your website. Your quoted prices do not match what you say here.
Oct 12, 2017, 10:41 pm
#558
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: SFO
Programs: UA Silver, AA Platinum, Alaska MVP, Hyatt Discoverist, National Executive
Posts: 116
Welcome to FT, viperbrown. That was an excellent post.
I've never used an award booking service, but have referred friends to MileValue and others. I'm curious to know what you'd be asking if you were to "run my next search by them..." prior to hiring them to actually do the search. What type of response would you expect prior to committing with them?
I've never used an award booking service, but have referred friends to MileValue and others. I'm curious to know what you'd be asking if you were to "run my next search by them..." prior to hiring them to actually do the search. What type of response would you expect prior to committing with them?
The general modus operandi I've experienced seems to be: the client first specifies desired route, class of service and miles/points balances. This happens either via an online form or via email. Then typically the service provider offers feedback on whether it looks like a plausible search and whether they'd like to work on it.
This is the stage of the process where I've seen services taking different paths. Most services are like BookYourAward and AwardButler, where they show the client specific flights and routings that they've been able to find. If these don't work for the client for any reason then the client typically doesn't have to pay. Some services like Luxury Consulting share broad strokes about what they've been able to find, and if these look good then the client pays in order to see the specific details.
Hope that helps!
Last edited by viperbrown; Oct 13, 2017 at 5:17 pm
Oct 28, 2017, 7:24 pm
#560
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2009
Location: FRA / YEG
Programs: AC Super Elite, Radisson Platinum, Accor Platinum
Posts: 11,874
Here's a question for the community.
1) As most people probably know, the basic business model behind all award booking services is that the client sends over their desired origin/destination, stopovers, mileage/points balances, dates, preferred class of service etc. and the award booking service conducts a search. The client usually only pays the consulting fee if an itinerary is found that meets all the criteria set out by the clients; and most services charge nothing if no routing is found (although a few charge a nominal fee for "just looking")
2) In terms of the actual process, different services take slightly different approaches:
- some ask for a credit card at the very beginning to ensure the client doesn't just run off
- some ask for a non-refundable deposit
- some will do all the work and present their findings first and send an invoice later trusting the client won't just run off with the flight information
- and some services (incl. mine) send over a general overview, but no detailed flight information (e.g. "short-haul flight from your home city to another hub followed by a 3h connection and a non-stop flight in First class to your destination on an Asian *A airline (excl. Air China) on one of the two preferred dates") before payment or a deposit is made
3) Regardless of the approach, any good award booking service will attempt to tweak the itinerary until the client is happy ("could I have a longer connection in ABC?", "any chance avoiding airline xyz?")
------
So recently I spent several hours and exchanged over two dozen e-mails with a client (who's an experienced and knowledgable FTer). He's happy with the general routing, number of miles, dates etc.; he even initiates the transfer of his credit card points to the FFP and informs me that he'll book the following day upon hearing back from his tour guide.
Then the client goes silent (except for a quick update that he hasn't heard back from the guide yet).
Two weeks later, after my sending another follow-up e-mail, he informs me that he's found a different/better routing and he's all set.
My response was along the lines "well, I spent several hours working on your itinerary, we exchanged over two dozen e-mails regarding this booking, you agreed to the general routing, so it would be nice if you still paid the attached invoice".
Client's perspective is that it's unreasonable to ask for payment since he didn't go through with the booking.
Debate Question:
Is it reasonable to ask for a (partial) payment?
(FWIW, after some back and forth I offered to 50% discount off my usual fee.)
Regardless, while this has never been an issue in the past, I'll make sure to add a "if you ask for a service and we complete >80% of the work and you're happy with the results, you're expected to go through with the purchase" clause.
1) As most people probably know, the basic business model behind all award booking services is that the client sends over their desired origin/destination, stopovers, mileage/points balances, dates, preferred class of service etc. and the award booking service conducts a search. The client usually only pays the consulting fee if an itinerary is found that meets all the criteria set out by the clients; and most services charge nothing if no routing is found (although a few charge a nominal fee for "just looking")
2) In terms of the actual process, different services take slightly different approaches:
- some ask for a credit card at the very beginning to ensure the client doesn't just run off
- some ask for a non-refundable deposit
- some will do all the work and present their findings first and send an invoice later trusting the client won't just run off with the flight information
- and some services (incl. mine) send over a general overview, but no detailed flight information (e.g. "short-haul flight from your home city to another hub followed by a 3h connection and a non-stop flight in First class to your destination on an Asian *A airline (excl. Air China) on one of the two preferred dates") before payment or a deposit is made
3) Regardless of the approach, any good award booking service will attempt to tweak the itinerary until the client is happy ("could I have a longer connection in ABC?", "any chance avoiding airline xyz?")
------
So recently I spent several hours and exchanged over two dozen e-mails with a client (who's an experienced and knowledgable FTer). He's happy with the general routing, number of miles, dates etc.; he even initiates the transfer of his credit card points to the FFP and informs me that he'll book the following day upon hearing back from his tour guide.
Then the client goes silent (except for a quick update that he hasn't heard back from the guide yet).
Two weeks later, after my sending another follow-up e-mail, he informs me that he's found a different/better routing and he's all set.
My response was along the lines "well, I spent several hours working on your itinerary, we exchanged over two dozen e-mails regarding this booking, you agreed to the general routing, so it would be nice if you still paid the attached invoice".
Client's perspective is that it's unreasonable to ask for payment since he didn't go through with the booking.
Debate Question:
Is it reasonable to ask for a (partial) payment?
(FWIW, after some back and forth I offered to 50% discount off my usual fee.)
Regardless, while this has never been an issue in the past, I'll make sure to add a "if you ask for a service and we complete >80% of the work and you're happy with the results, you're expected to go through with the purchase" clause.
Last edited by Jasper2009; Oct 28, 2017 at 7:33 pm
Oct 28, 2017, 7:56 pm
#561
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: ORD
Programs: US Air, UA BA LH AI DELTA MARRIOTT CHOICE SGP
Posts: 9,883
Here's a question for the community.
1) As most people probably know, the basic business model behind all award booking services is that the client sends over their desired origin/destination, stopovers, mileage/points balances, dates, preferred class of service etc. and the award booking service conducts a search. The client usually only pays the consulting fee if an itinerary is found that meets all the criteria set out by the clients; and most services charge nothing if no routing is found (although a few charge a nominal fee for "just looking")
2) In terms of the actual process, different services take slightly different approaches:
- some ask for a credit card at the very beginning to ensure the client doesn't just run off
- some ask for a non-refundable deposit
- some will do all the work and present their findings first and send an invoice later trusting the client won't just run off with the flight information
- and some services (incl. mine) send over a general overview, but no detailed flight information (e.g. "short-haul flight from your home city to another hub followed by a 3h connection and a non-stop flight in First class to your destination on an Asian *A airline (excl. Air China) on one of the two preferred dates") before payment or a deposit is made
3) Regardless of the approach, any good award booking service will attempt to tweak the itinerary until the client is happy ("could I have a longer connection in ABC?", "any chance avoiding airline xyz?")
------
So recently I spent several hours and exchanged over two dozen e-mails with a client (who's an experienced and knowledgable FTer). He's happy with the general routing, number of miles, dates etc.; he even initiates the transfer of his credit card points to the FFP and informs me that he'll book the following day upon hearing back from his tour guide.
Then the client goes silent (except for a quick update that he hasn't heard back from the guide yet).
Two weeks later, after my sending another follow-up e-mail, he informs me that he's found a different/better routing and he's all set.
My response was along the lines "well, I spent several hours working on your itinerary, we exchanged over two dozen e-mails regarding this booking, you agreed to the general routing, so it would be nice if you still paid the attached invoice".
Client's perspective is that it's unreasonable to ask for payment since he didn't go through with the booking.
Debate Question:
Is it reasonable to ask for a (partial) payment?
(FWIW, after some back and forth I offered to 50% discount off my usual fee.)
Regardless, while this has never been an issue in the past, I'll make sure to add a "if you ask for a service and we complete >80% of the work and you're happy with the results, you're expected to go through with the purchase" clause.
1) As most people probably know, the basic business model behind all award booking services is that the client sends over their desired origin/destination, stopovers, mileage/points balances, dates, preferred class of service etc. and the award booking service conducts a search. The client usually only pays the consulting fee if an itinerary is found that meets all the criteria set out by the clients; and most services charge nothing if no routing is found (although a few charge a nominal fee for "just looking")
2) In terms of the actual process, different services take slightly different approaches:
- some ask for a credit card at the very beginning to ensure the client doesn't just run off
- some ask for a non-refundable deposit
- some will do all the work and present their findings first and send an invoice later trusting the client won't just run off with the flight information
- and some services (incl. mine) send over a general overview, but no detailed flight information (e.g. "short-haul flight from your home city to another hub followed by a 3h connection and a non-stop flight in First class to your destination on an Asian *A airline (excl. Air China) on one of the two preferred dates") before payment or a deposit is made
3) Regardless of the approach, any good award booking service will attempt to tweak the itinerary until the client is happy ("could I have a longer connection in ABC?", "any chance avoiding airline xyz?")
------
So recently I spent several hours and exchanged over two dozen e-mails with a client (who's an experienced and knowledgable FTer). He's happy with the general routing, number of miles, dates etc.; he even initiates the transfer of his credit card points to the FFP and informs me that he'll book the following day upon hearing back from his tour guide.
Then the client goes silent (except for a quick update that he hasn't heard back from the guide yet).
Two weeks later, after my sending another follow-up e-mail, he informs me that he's found a different/better routing and he's all set.
My response was along the lines "well, I spent several hours working on your itinerary, we exchanged over two dozen e-mails regarding this booking, you agreed to the general routing, so it would be nice if you still paid the attached invoice".
Client's perspective is that it's unreasonable to ask for payment since he didn't go through with the booking.
Debate Question:
Is it reasonable to ask for a (partial) payment?
(FWIW, after some back and forth I offered to 50% discount off my usual fee.)
Regardless, while this has never been an issue in the past, I'll make sure to add a "if you ask for a service and we complete >80% of the work and you're happy with the results, you're expected to go through with the purchase" clause.
I had two good bookings three years ago, first one was just starting out, I was pleased and sent him $ 25 over the agreed price. Second time he wasted ten days of my time without a single suggestion! Nowadays I hear he lectures at FTU (?). The second one did a good fast job, never responded ! Third one insisted I accept what he came up with, never mind mismatch with my written directions. Wrote me an almost two page legal sounding letter. I don't see his name around FT anymore. Also found out he was a lawyer !
Oct 29, 2017, 1:09 pm
#562
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: flyover country
Posts: 2,435
There are at least two sides to every story, and I've only heard yours, but it sounds to me like you had a bad client.
Nov 1, 2017, 8:52 pm
#563
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: SFO
Programs: UA Silver, AA Platinum, Alaska MVP, Hyatt Discoverist, National Executive
Posts: 116
I'd atleast expect your client to have come back with the better routing/deal he found and ask you to reduce your fee if possible.
As a courtesy.
As a courtesy.
Nov 9, 2017, 12:04 pm
#564
Moderator: Travel Safety/Security, Travel Tools, California, Los Angeles; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: LAX
Programs: oneword Emerald
Posts: 20,634
Moderator's Note:
Reminder:
Award booking services reviews which based upon content and posting history appear to have been solicited by the service providers (you know who you are) will be deleted. For example, reviewed by brand new members who have posted nowhere else and seemingly joined FlyerTalk solely for the purpose of posting a positive review.
TWA884
Moderator
TWA884
Moderator
Nov 9, 2017, 12:47 pm
#565
Suspended
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Bay Area
Programs: DL SM, UA MP.
Posts: 12,729
Do the solicited posts actually work?
Do any FTers bite on these services because someone new posts a recommendation in this thread?
Otherwise you'd think these booking services would have stopped doing fake posts.
Or maybe they're just low-rent advertising from services which have no other means to advertise.
Do any FTers bite on these services because someone new posts a recommendation in this thread?
Otherwise you'd think these booking services would have stopped doing fake posts.
Or maybe they're just low-rent advertising from services which have no other means to advertise.
Nov 9, 2017, 1:13 pm
#566
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Bye Delta
Programs: AA EXP, HH Diamond, IHG Plat, Hyatt Plat, Marriott Plat, Nat'l Exec Elite, Avis Presidents Club
Posts: 16,273
Here's a question for the community.
1) As most people probably know, the basic business model behind all award booking services is that the client sends over their desired origin/destination, stopovers, mileage/points balances, dates, preferred class of service etc. and the award booking service conducts a search. The client usually only pays the consulting fee if an itinerary is found that meets all the criteria set out by the clients; and most services charge nothing if no routing is found (although a few charge a nominal fee for "just looking")
2) In terms of the actual process, different services take slightly different approaches:
- some ask for a credit card at the very beginning to ensure the client doesn't just run off
- some ask for a non-refundable deposit
- some will do all the work and present their findings first and send an invoice later trusting the client won't just run off with the flight information
- and some services (incl. mine) send over a general overview, but no detailed flight information (e.g. "short-haul flight from your home city to another hub followed by a 3h connection and a non-stop flight in First class to your destination on an Asian *A airline (excl. Air China) on one of the two preferred dates") before payment or a deposit is made
3) Regardless of the approach, any good award booking service will attempt to tweak the itinerary until the client is happy ("could I have a longer connection in ABC?", "any chance avoiding airline xyz?")
------
So recently I spent several hours and exchanged over two dozen e-mails with a client (who's an experienced and knowledgable FTer). He's happy with the general routing, number of miles, dates etc.; he even initiates the transfer of his credit card points to the FFP and informs me that he'll book the following day upon hearing back from his tour guide.
Then the client goes silent (except for a quick update that he hasn't heard back from the guide yet).
Two weeks later, after my sending another follow-up e-mail, he informs me that he's found a different/better routing and he's all set.
My response was along the lines "well, I spent several hours working on your itinerary, we exchanged over two dozen e-mails regarding this booking, you agreed to the general routing, so it would be nice if you still paid the attached invoice".
Client's perspective is that it's unreasonable to ask for payment since he didn't go through with the booking.
Debate Question:
Is it reasonable to ask for a (partial) payment?
(FWIW, after some back and forth I offered to 50% discount off my usual fee.)
Regardless, while this has never been an issue in the past, I'll make sure to add a "if you ask for a service and we complete >80% of the work and you're happy with the results, you're expected to go through with the purchase" clause.
1) As most people probably know, the basic business model behind all award booking services is that the client sends over their desired origin/destination, stopovers, mileage/points balances, dates, preferred class of service etc. and the award booking service conducts a search. The client usually only pays the consulting fee if an itinerary is found that meets all the criteria set out by the clients; and most services charge nothing if no routing is found (although a few charge a nominal fee for "just looking")
2) In terms of the actual process, different services take slightly different approaches:
- some ask for a credit card at the very beginning to ensure the client doesn't just run off
- some ask for a non-refundable deposit
- some will do all the work and present their findings first and send an invoice later trusting the client won't just run off with the flight information
- and some services (incl. mine) send over a general overview, but no detailed flight information (e.g. "short-haul flight from your home city to another hub followed by a 3h connection and a non-stop flight in First class to your destination on an Asian *A airline (excl. Air China) on one of the two preferred dates") before payment or a deposit is made
3) Regardless of the approach, any good award booking service will attempt to tweak the itinerary until the client is happy ("could I have a longer connection in ABC?", "any chance avoiding airline xyz?")
------
So recently I spent several hours and exchanged over two dozen e-mails with a client (who's an experienced and knowledgable FTer). He's happy with the general routing, number of miles, dates etc.; he even initiates the transfer of his credit card points to the FFP and informs me that he'll book the following day upon hearing back from his tour guide.
Then the client goes silent (except for a quick update that he hasn't heard back from the guide yet).
Two weeks later, after my sending another follow-up e-mail, he informs me that he's found a different/better routing and he's all set.
My response was along the lines "well, I spent several hours working on your itinerary, we exchanged over two dozen e-mails regarding this booking, you agreed to the general routing, so it would be nice if you still paid the attached invoice".
Client's perspective is that it's unreasonable to ask for payment since he didn't go through with the booking.
Debate Question:
Is it reasonable to ask for a (partial) payment?
(FWIW, after some back and forth I offered to 50% discount off my usual fee.)
Regardless, while this has never been an issue in the past, I'll make sure to add a "if you ask for a service and we complete >80% of the work and you're happy with the results, you're expected to go through with the purchase" clause.
Nov 9, 2017, 1:27 pm
#567
Moderator: Travel Safety/Security, Travel Tools, California, Los Angeles; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: LAX
Programs: oneword Emerald
Posts: 20,634
Do the solicited posts actually work?
Do any FTers bite on these services because someone new posts a recommendation in this thread?
Otherwise you'd think these booking services would have stopped doing fake posts.
Or maybe they're just low-rent advertising from services which have no other means to advertise.
Do any FTers bite on these services because someone new posts a recommendation in this thread?
Otherwise you'd think these booking services would have stopped doing fake posts.
Or maybe they're just low-rent advertising from services which have no other means to advertise.
In my judgement, for all practical purposes, these solicited reviews are commercial in nature and thus are in violation of FlyerTalk Rule 10.
While we make a limited exception to that rule in the Travel Tools forum and allow vendors to explain their services and answer questions about their products, FlyerTalk is not a marketplace or a venue to solicit business, which is what these solicited posts are all about.
Nov 12, 2017, 4:14 am
#568
Join Date: May 2007
Location: NJ
Posts: 24
Great experience with Luxury Consulting
Long-time lurker here.
Having read this incredibly helpful set of reviews below, I went ahead and worked with Jasper2009 of Luxury Consulting. I can't say enough good things. In looking to pull-off a trip to New Zealand (hard destination) over Christmas / New Year's (hardest timing, w relatively short notice), he really came through. Will be flying some pretty sweet first/business products. Consulting fee was very reasonable in light of the above-and-beyond elbow grease required and the great level of responsiveness. Plus, plenty of great destination-related advice...the man is very well-travelled. Won't hesitate to work with him again in the future.
Having read this incredibly helpful set of reviews below, I went ahead and worked with Jasper2009 of Luxury Consulting. I can't say enough good things. In looking to pull-off a trip to New Zealand (hard destination) over Christmas / New Year's (hardest timing, w relatively short notice), he really came through. Will be flying some pretty sweet first/business products. Consulting fee was very reasonable in light of the above-and-beyond elbow grease required and the great level of responsiveness. Plus, plenty of great destination-related advice...the man is very well-travelled. Won't hesitate to work with him again in the future.
New member on FT and looking forward to contributing and sharing in the community.
To start off, I typically do my own award searches but sometimes I'm looking for hard to get cabin classes on certain airlines and/or am in a time crunch. Have used a few award booking services and here are my quick reviews. For me, a good award booking service needs to have a minute listening ability and honest customer service in order to be effective.
PM me for details.
FlightFox - Used them twice. Decent online system. The first time, I had Roland who was on-point and found us solid flights for our miles balances for our honeymoon. He was cold but effective. Second time around I had Tomas who was a combination of generally unresponsive, incorrect and horrible to the point that I had to reach a resolution with the company founder.
BookYourAward - This is Gary Leff's company. Decent online system that connects with AwardWallet. They were great about offering phone calls to chat through as well so initially offered a sense of expertise. They didn't really listen to my preferences and were pushy about booking immediately whatever they found. They were generally unresponsive and sometimes incorrect, and I was rarely connecting with one person. I ended up booking one leg they recommended and the other leg by myself. They were great about not charging me as their recommendations didn't meet my preferences. They said they would monitor for better options closer to departure but I never heard from them one way or the other.
AwardBird - Snazzy automated system with a little human support from Andrei. Probably hard to work with if you have flexibility in airports and dates as they are so automated and form driven.
JuicyMiles - John showed some ideas but was very unresponsive. I had to constantly follow-up. One month after submitting my form online I called off the search. John was very customer friendly though and his ideas were thoughtful, and would try them again.
AwardButler - Steffen was great and is based in Dubai. He listened to my preferences, was very responsive, offered suggestions in order to show well-informed ideas and was very customer friendly. I'd definitely run my next search by Steffen.
Luxury Consulting - Jasper2009 was AWESOME and is based in Canada. He was high touch and very responsive, asked questions and offered suggestions in order to show well-informed ideas. Most importantly, he listened minutely to everything I mentioned and accounted for it in his suggestions. He found the iconic flights I was looking for, and was even monitoring for better options that could open up closer to departure. He does more than award bookings, including end-to-end travel consulting and luxury hotel bookings as well. Needless to say, I'd run my next search by them.
To start off, I typically do my own award searches but sometimes I'm looking for hard to get cabin classes on certain airlines and/or am in a time crunch. Have used a few award booking services and here are my quick reviews. For me, a good award booking service needs to have a minute listening ability and honest customer service in order to be effective.
PM me for details.
FlightFox - Used them twice. Decent online system. The first time, I had Roland who was on-point and found us solid flights for our miles balances for our honeymoon. He was cold but effective. Second time around I had Tomas who was a combination of generally unresponsive, incorrect and horrible to the point that I had to reach a resolution with the company founder.
BookYourAward - This is Gary Leff's company. Decent online system that connects with AwardWallet. They were great about offering phone calls to chat through as well so initially offered a sense of expertise. They didn't really listen to my preferences and were pushy about booking immediately whatever they found. They were generally unresponsive and sometimes incorrect, and I was rarely connecting with one person. I ended up booking one leg they recommended and the other leg by myself. They were great about not charging me as their recommendations didn't meet my preferences. They said they would monitor for better options closer to departure but I never heard from them one way or the other.
AwardBird - Snazzy automated system with a little human support from Andrei. Probably hard to work with if you have flexibility in airports and dates as they are so automated and form driven.
JuicyMiles - John showed some ideas but was very unresponsive. I had to constantly follow-up. One month after submitting my form online I called off the search. John was very customer friendly though and his ideas were thoughtful, and would try them again.
AwardButler - Steffen was great and is based in Dubai. He listened to my preferences, was very responsive, offered suggestions in order to show well-informed ideas and was very customer friendly. I'd definitely run my next search by Steffen.
Luxury Consulting - Jasper2009 was AWESOME and is based in Canada. He was high touch and very responsive, asked questions and offered suggestions in order to show well-informed ideas. Most importantly, he listened minutely to everything I mentioned and accounted for it in his suggestions. He found the iconic flights I was looking for, and was even monitoring for better options that could open up closer to departure. He does more than award bookings, including end-to-end travel consulting and luxury hotel bookings as well. Needless to say, I'd run my next search by them.
Last edited by doubleplay362; Nov 12, 2017 at 4:31 am Reason: Small fix
RTW Award booking services experience
Dec 28, 2017, 9:09 am
#570
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Moderator's Note
Reminder:
Award booking services reviews which based upon content and posting history appear to have been solicited by the service providers (you know who you are) will be deleted. For example, reviewed by brand new members who have posted nowhere else and seemingly joined FlyerTalk solely for the purpose of posting a positive review.
Additional posts(s) have been deleted.
If you are a brand new or a member with a low post count and wish that your post not be deleted, please make sure to include the following information in your review; program(s), number of miles or points, and desired destinations and hotels. Also include the airlines, routing and hotels booked by the award booking service, the number of points used to book that trip and the fee charged.
Thank you for understanding.
TWA884
Moderator
Additional posts(s) have been deleted.
If you are a brand new or a member with a low post count and wish that your post not be deleted, please make sure to include the following information in your review; program(s), number of miles or points, and desired destinations and hotels. Also include the airlines, routing and hotels booked by the award booking service, the number of points used to book that trip and the fee charged.
Thank you for understanding.
TWA884
Moderator