Feb 3, 2014, 1:11 pm
Last edit by: PointsNmiles
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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
May 7, 2012, 3:14 am
#61
Suspended
Join Date: Sep 2009
Programs: Gold, plat, diamond and more
Posts: 3,360
MatthewLAX - www.awardexpert.com
I've helped many of you already on FT and I look forward to helping many more of you in the coming days, months, and years.
I've helped many of you already on FT and I look forward to helping many more of you in the coming days, months, and years.
May 8, 2012, 7:49 pm
#62
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: PDX, PVR, NHA
Programs: SPG plat 75, HH Gold
Posts: 262
I contacted Gleff on March 27th. He said he'd put me in contact with his 'associate', Steve Belkin. Either one of us has herpes and they are avoiding contact, or they don't want/need the biz - no further communications.
Jul 3, 2012, 4:08 am
#63
Suspended
Join Date: Sep 2009
Programs: Gold, plat, diamond and more
Posts: 3,360
http://crankyconcierge.com/ (Word of warning: contrary to other services this require full pre payment)
Aug 22, 2012, 5:30 pm
#64
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 13
Award booking companies
I am looking for the name of some reputable award booking companies. I know there are a few out there but were wondering have anyone used these services and if so who do you recommend.
I am looking for an award booking to Tahiti in June of 2013 and was looking for some help with doing the booking with miles. I am a newbie and it was recommended to try out one of these services.
The only company i am aware of is points pros which i contacted and we were doing good by email then all of a sudden no contact what so ever for over a week and multiple emails. So i am now looking to give my money and service to someone else.
Thanks
Brad
I am looking for an award booking to Tahiti in June of 2013 and was looking for some help with doing the booking with miles. I am a newbie and it was recommended to try out one of these services.
The only company i am aware of is points pros which i contacted and we were doing good by email then all of a sudden no contact what so ever for over a week and multiple emails. So i am now looking to give my money and service to someone else.
Thanks
Brad
Aug 22, 2012, 6:11 pm
#65
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: HNL
Posts: 781
I've never used a service myself as i enjoy making my own award bookings too much I can't make a recommendation. To get you started, heres a thread with a listing of options.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...ices-list.html
I'll send this off to the travel tools forum for further discussion.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...ices-list.html
I'll send this off to the travel tools forum for further discussion.
Aug 22, 2012, 6:37 pm
#66
Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 385
Interestingly one of the bloggers just blogged about this subject yesterday: The Frequent Miler, boarding area . com. Folks added their comments/experiences/recommendations -- here's one:
Scott says:
August 21, 2012 at 5:29 pm
When I couldn’t find award space for a trip I had been planning, I contacted Ben(lucky) from pointspros to book an award for me. He initially got back to my request very quickly and told me i’d hear back from him with several options within 24 hours. that was the last i heard from him as I never did receive a reply after that.
I then contacted gary leff of view from the wing blog. within 2 days of initial contact, I had an itinerary on hold, in my preferred dates, ready to book. I was extremely happy with the service provided to me and will go back if I need to make another booking.
Scott says:
August 21, 2012 at 5:29 pm
When I couldn’t find award space for a trip I had been planning, I contacted Ben(lucky) from pointspros to book an award for me. He initially got back to my request very quickly and told me i’d hear back from him with several options within 24 hours. that was the last i heard from him as I never did receive a reply after that.
I then contacted gary leff of view from the wing blog. within 2 days of initial contact, I had an itinerary on hold, in my preferred dates, ready to book. I was extremely happy with the service provided to me and will go back if I need to make another booking.
Oct 1, 2012, 7:02 pm
#67
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Miami
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 40
Pay for help booking award tickets
Does anyone know of a "pay for" service for assistance in routing and booking award tickets... Lucky Ben used to be the BEST at it but I don't think he is doing it anymore. Unfortunately, I just don't have the time to scour the sites to determine best routes and values. Thanks for the recs, FT!!!
Oct 1, 2012, 7:19 pm
#68
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: NYC, USA
Programs: AA PLT, 3MM, DL Plat, Hertz PC, SPG Gold
Posts: 601
I'm a regular reader of Gary Leff's blog....he's a very savvy guy.
I haven't used his booking service, but If I were to do so, he would be my first call
http://www.bookyouraward.com/
I haven't used his booking service, but If I were to do so, he would be my first call
http://www.bookyouraward.com/
Oct 1, 2012, 7:56 pm
#69
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: HNL
Posts: 781
The following thread has a list:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...ices-list.html
Moving this over to the Travel Tools forum for further discussion.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...ices-list.html
Moving this over to the Travel Tools forum for further discussion.
Oct 2, 2012, 7:49 am
#70
Join Date: May 2008
Location: PHL (kinda, no airport is really close)
Programs: AA Exp, but not sure for how long. Enterprise Platinum woo-hoo!
Posts: 4,550
I wanted to share a thought. 9 months ago when I decided to ramp up my mileage collection, I thought I'd have to use one of these services because yes, the search process was daunting. However, since then I've learned an awful lot, and now feel competent to do it myself. You need to read FT and know the nuances, you need a search tool like Expert Flyer or KVS, and you need some patience.
I'm not at all putting down the use of paid help, if you don't care to go through the learning process it can definitely be worthwhile, and if you only book tickets occasionally and/or have miles on multiple alliances such that you'd have to learn the search-and-destroy, er sorry, search-and-book procedure for multiple alliances, it's likewise a better decision to pay than to learn yourself. I found the learning process informative.
Another thing is, I don't know how the paid services work, but I assume they limit you in terms of tradeoffs of time and routing. I just booked a trip for my wife. I assume you can tell an award service "I have miles on Skyteam and Star Alliance, I want to go on these dates, I have this much flexibility, and I want this class of service." When I booked the trip for my wife I had a huge number of tradeoffs. Book now on a decent routing or wait for an ideal one. Book with Star Alliance miles, which are the easiest to use, or Skyteam, which are the hardest, and save the *A miles for later. How much better is business class on the A380 than on the 777? Leave at 7AM and connect once, or leave at 11AM and connect twice? Not to mention that I didn't have enough USAir points to book a certain trip I had my eye on, but was expecting some to post shortly, and then just saw a promotion that allowed me to buy the last points I needed. If you can do it yourself, you will have a lot more flexibility.
Again, I am no way criticizing the decision to use a paid booking service.
I'm not at all putting down the use of paid help, if you don't care to go through the learning process it can definitely be worthwhile, and if you only book tickets occasionally and/or have miles on multiple alliances such that you'd have to learn the search-and-destroy, er sorry, search-and-book procedure for multiple alliances, it's likewise a better decision to pay than to learn yourself. I found the learning process informative.
Another thing is, I don't know how the paid services work, but I assume they limit you in terms of tradeoffs of time and routing. I just booked a trip for my wife. I assume you can tell an award service "I have miles on Skyteam and Star Alliance, I want to go on these dates, I have this much flexibility, and I want this class of service." When I booked the trip for my wife I had a huge number of tradeoffs. Book now on a decent routing or wait for an ideal one. Book with Star Alliance miles, which are the easiest to use, or Skyteam, which are the hardest, and save the *A miles for later. How much better is business class on the A380 than on the 777? Leave at 7AM and connect once, or leave at 11AM and connect twice? Not to mention that I didn't have enough USAir points to book a certain trip I had my eye on, but was expecting some to post shortly, and then just saw a promotion that allowed me to buy the last points I needed. If you can do it yourself, you will have a lot more flexibility.
Again, I am no way criticizing the decision to use a paid booking service.
Oct 3, 2012, 3:25 pm
#71
Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 385
Scott at milevalue.com just did a great job booking two business seats to Morocco for me. Within 24 hours he came up with several options that met my criteria. Then he booked the ones I selected, and re-booked when I changed my mind. There were many details that he brought to my attention, and he answered all my questions. He was friendly, professional and knowledgeable. I am so happy -- I could never have found these flights myself. His price was very reasonable and well worth it - $149 for two tickets on the same itinerary.
Oct 4, 2012, 4:06 am
#72
Suspended
Join Date: Sep 2009
Programs: Gold, plat, diamond and more
Posts: 3,360
Scott at milevalue.com just did a great job booking two business seats to Morocco for me. Within 24 hours he came up with several options that met my criteria. Then he booked the ones I selected, and re-booked when I changed my mind. There were many details that he brought to my attention, and he answered all my questions. He was friendly, professional and knowledgeable. I am so happy -- I could never have found these flights myself. His price was very reasonable and well worth it - $149 for two tickets on the same itinerary.
Oct 4, 2012, 8:20 am
#73
Join Date: May 2008
Location: PHL (kinda, no airport is really close)
Programs: AA Exp, but not sure for how long. Enterprise Platinum woo-hoo!
Posts: 4,550
Booking Help Available
I hope I'm not violating any rules by posting this...
As noted above, I've learned quite a bit about bookings in the past few months.
I'm offering, free of charge, to help one or two people book award trips. Strongly prefer domestic or Europe, because those are what I'm most familiar with. Why would I do this? I just booked my wife's summer trip and she said "I'd like to learn what you do." So rather than pick a phony trip and pretend to look for it, I'd rather have a real case to work on.
Of course if you don't like what I come up with, you don't have to book it.
Offer only good for weekends she's here (she lives in another city) and for the next 7 weeks (until my KVS subscription runs out). But this weekend would be good.
As noted above, I've learned quite a bit about bookings in the past few months.
I'm offering, free of charge, to help one or two people book award trips. Strongly prefer domestic or Europe, because those are what I'm most familiar with. Why would I do this? I just booked my wife's summer trip and she said "I'd like to learn what you do." So rather than pick a phony trip and pretend to look for it, I'd rather have a real case to work on.
Of course if you don't like what I come up with, you don't have to book it.
Offer only good for weekends she's here (she lives in another city) and for the next 7 weeks (until my KVS subscription runs out). But this weekend would be good.
Oct 4, 2012, 9:26 am
#74
Suspended
Join Date: Sep 2009
Programs: Gold, plat, diamond and more
Posts: 3,360
I hope I'm not violating any rules by posting this...
As noted above, I've learned quite a bit about bookings in the past few months.
I'm offering, free of charge, to help one or two people book award trips. Strongly prefer domestic or Europe, because those are what I'm most familiar with. Why would I do this? I just booked my wife's summer trip and she said "I'd like to learn what you do." So rather than pick a phony trip and pretend to look for it, I'd rather have a real case to work on.
Of course if you don't like what I come up with, you don't have to book it.
Offer only good for weekends she's here (she lives in another city) and for the next 7 weeks (until my KVS subscription runs out). But this weekend would be good.
As noted above, I've learned quite a bit about bookings in the past few months.
I'm offering, free of charge, to help one or two people book award trips. Strongly prefer domestic or Europe, because those are what I'm most familiar with. Why would I do this? I just booked my wife's summer trip and she said "I'd like to learn what you do." So rather than pick a phony trip and pretend to look for it, I'd rather have a real case to work on.
Of course if you don't like what I come up with, you don't have to book it.
Offer only good for weekends she's here (she lives in another city) and for the next 7 weeks (until my KVS subscription runs out). But this weekend would be good.
Oct 10, 2012, 10:19 am
#75
Join Date: May 2011
Location: SF Bay Area
Posts: 8
Scott at milevalue.com just did a great job booking two business seats to Morocco for me. Within 24 hours he came up with several options that met my criteria. Then he booked the ones I selected, and re-booked when I changed my mind. There were many details that he brought to my attention, and he answered all my questions. He was friendly, professional and knowledgeable. I am so happy -- I could never have found these flights myself. His price was very reasonable and well worth it - $149 for two tickets on the same itinerary.