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
Aug 31, 2016, 7:36 pm
#481
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 728
Major props to Josh at Juicy Miles. He took on a challenge that others didn't even bother to respond to and he did some great work.
Family of 5 from east coast to Oz next summer
Travel around Oz from Melbourne to Alice Springs
Alice Springs to Cairns
Cairns to mystery destination for pit stop and to find best flights home using least amount of miles to get 5 home all on the same flights.
Sent the request to three as I knew it would be a challenge that some wouldn't bother with and only Juicy Miles responded.
Final trip
MIA to SYD in business class from SFO to AKL with 400k United miles and all 5 on same flight
MEL to ASP on Qantas at lowest avios award
ASP to Cairns on Qantas at lowest avios award
ASP to Papeete, Tahiti with 2 in business and 3 in coach on same flight with good flight times using AA saver awards on Qantas and Air Tahiti with 4 night stop in Tahiti Could have done all in business but didn't want to split family up
Papeete to RSW with 2 in business and 3 in coach using AA saver awards on Air Tahiti and AA with option to do 4 in biz and 1 in economy if we wanted to split family up
Only 1 layover longer than 4 hours and it was an overnight in Auckland and only because I didn't have enough United miles to get the Air New Zealand flights from CNS to PPT
From start to finish we spent almost 3 weeks hammering it all out and he was great to work with and seemed to really enjoy the challenge. The man knows his stuff, especially around the S. Pacific. First time I ever paid for a booking service but we got our money's worth.
Family of 5 from east coast to Oz next summer
Travel around Oz from Melbourne to Alice Springs
Alice Springs to Cairns
Cairns to mystery destination for pit stop and to find best flights home using least amount of miles to get 5 home all on the same flights.
Sent the request to three as I knew it would be a challenge that some wouldn't bother with and only Juicy Miles responded.
Final trip
MIA to SYD in business class from SFO to AKL with 400k United miles and all 5 on same flight
MEL to ASP on Qantas at lowest avios award
ASP to Cairns on Qantas at lowest avios award
ASP to Papeete, Tahiti with 2 in business and 3 in coach on same flight with good flight times using AA saver awards on Qantas and Air Tahiti with 4 night stop in Tahiti Could have done all in business but didn't want to split family up
Papeete to RSW with 2 in business and 3 in coach using AA saver awards on Air Tahiti and AA with option to do 4 in biz and 1 in economy if we wanted to split family up
Only 1 layover longer than 4 hours and it was an overnight in Auckland and only because I didn't have enough United miles to get the Air New Zealand flights from CNS to PPT
From start to finish we spent almost 3 weeks hammering it all out and he was great to work with and seemed to really enjoy the challenge. The man knows his stuff, especially around the S. Pacific. First time I ever paid for a booking service but we got our money's worth.
Sep 12, 2016, 6:27 pm
#482
Join Date: Sep 2016
Posts: 2
Juicy miles and the whereabouts of Josh?
Juicy miles and the whereabouts of Josh?
Does anyone have a clue as to what is happening to juicymiles.com and Josh ???
Have been unable to make contact for the past eight days. I sent juice emails with email and I've tried several times to contact Josh :
Sent this email to them this am :
JOSH HAS BEEN WORKING WITH ME & WE HAVE OUR OUTBOUND LEG --- HOWEVER, HE SEEMS TO HAVE GONE MISSING THIS WHOLE PAST WEEK & WE ARE AWAITING HIS HELP FOR THE RETURN LEG.
DESPITE TEXTS,EMAILS, & PHONE CALLS FROM ME TO HIM THERE IS COMPLETE SILENCE ??
PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT'S UP - HOPE JOSH IS OK BUT HAVE BEEN WORRIED WHEN HE HASN'T RESPONDED
Thanks
Does anyone have a clue as to what is happening to juicymiles.com and Josh ???
Have been unable to make contact for the past eight days. I sent juice emails with email and I've tried several times to contact Josh :
Sent this email to them this am :
JOSH HAS BEEN WORKING WITH ME & WE HAVE OUR OUTBOUND LEG --- HOWEVER, HE SEEMS TO HAVE GONE MISSING THIS WHOLE PAST WEEK & WE ARE AWAITING HIS HELP FOR THE RETURN LEG.
DESPITE TEXTS,EMAILS, & PHONE CALLS FROM ME TO HIM THERE IS COMPLETE SILENCE ??
PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT'S UP - HOPE JOSH IS OK BUT HAVE BEEN WORRIED WHEN HE HASN'T RESPONDED
Thanks
Sep 12, 2016, 9:07 pm
#483
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: ORD
Programs: US Air, UA BA LH AI DELTA MARRIOTT CHOICE SGP
Posts: 9,883
Re ABOVE
That is alarming. Did you pay in advance ? Paypal ?
Funny thing: There are a few of these services who do not rally want you to know where they are nor even a phone number.
I dealt with Chase at JMILES briefly, could not put anything together. So we parted and I told him I will look for him next time I need a service. Guess not anymore
That is alarming. Did you pay in advance ? Paypal ?
Funny thing: There are a few of these services who do not rally want you to know where they are nor even a phone number.
I dealt with Chase at JMILES briefly, could not put anything together. So we parted and I told him I will look for him next time I need a service. Guess not anymore
Sep 18, 2016, 9:21 pm
#485
Join Date: May 2016
Programs: Aeroplan, AMEX MR, AAdvantage
Posts: 1
Awarding Canada Recommendation
I've used Awarding Canada (Avery) twice with a very positive experience both times.
Just recently I was trying to use my points to fly my girlfriend to Munich for a week. Avery came up with a good itinerary within our date constraints, but a week before the trip we noticed that her last name entered on the ticket incorrectly (we should have checked as soon as we received the itinerary several weeks prior). She is Chilean so has two last names, and the second one was used instead of the first, so it didn't exactly match her passport.
Avery was exceptionally patient and helpful in sorting out the problem. We wound up trying to check-in 24hrs in advance but at the airport, but United wouldn't allow it, so we called Avery and he immediately started looking for alternate itineraries to book a new ticket. Within two hours he had cancelled her original flight, and booked her on a new one with a better itinerary. He was very patient and professional throughout the whole process, going far above and beyond what I expected given that it was my error in filling out the original passenger form.
Despite Awarding Canada's terms of service clearly stating we are to notify them within 24hrs of the original booking if any errors are spotted on the ticket, he voluntarily waived the normal re-booking fee, and on top of that was able to get aeroplan to waive their fees for changing the ticket! So in the end we got a better itinerary, and didn't have to pay anything more than we originally did.
Just recently I was trying to use my points to fly my girlfriend to Munich for a week. Avery came up with a good itinerary within our date constraints, but a week before the trip we noticed that her last name entered on the ticket incorrectly (we should have checked as soon as we received the itinerary several weeks prior). She is Chilean so has two last names, and the second one was used instead of the first, so it didn't exactly match her passport.
Avery was exceptionally patient and helpful in sorting out the problem. We wound up trying to check-in 24hrs in advance but at the airport, but United wouldn't allow it, so we called Avery and he immediately started looking for alternate itineraries to book a new ticket. Within two hours he had cancelled her original flight, and booked her on a new one with a better itinerary. He was very patient and professional throughout the whole process, going far above and beyond what I expected given that it was my error in filling out the original passenger form.
Despite Awarding Canada's terms of service clearly stating we are to notify them within 24hrs of the original booking if any errors are spotted on the ticket, he voluntarily waived the normal re-booking fee, and on top of that was able to get aeroplan to waive their fees for changing the ticket! So in the end we got a better itinerary, and didn't have to pay anything more than we originally did.
Sep 21, 2016, 11:53 pm
#486
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: California via OAK
Posts: 139
How far out should I be contacting consultants? I have a basic plan in mind but devaluations have made it too expensive for me since I lack points for a certain leg. I am currently t-500 but again, I have a lot of points/miles catching to do.
Last edited by sigma6; Sep 22, 2016 at 12:08 am
Sep 22, 2016, 12:17 am
#487
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: MEL CHC
Posts: 20,987
Some awards can be/are released any time from T-330/T-355 up to T-0 depending on the frequent flyer program.
Sep 22, 2016, 11:32 am
#488
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: ORD
Programs: US Air, UA BA LH AI DELTA MARRIOTT CHOICE SGP
Posts: 9,883
sigma6 So you have time on your side.
Figure out how you can build up your miles bank.
Start playing with routings on your own, this will give you a better idea of what to expect re connections, layovers etc.
If you decide later on to hire a planner service, you will be much better to submit exactly what you want and make the whole process smoother.
You will be surprised, if it is a staraight forward deal, you can DIY.
Figure out how you can build up your miles bank.
Start playing with routings on your own, this will give you a better idea of what to expect re connections, layovers etc.
If you decide later on to hire a planner service, you will be much better to submit exactly what you want and make the whole process smoother.
You will be surprised, if it is a staraight forward deal, you can DIY.
Sep 22, 2016, 11:44 am
#489
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minneapolis: DL DM charter 2.3MM
Programs: A3*Gold, SPG Plat, HyattDiamond, MarriottPP, LHW exAccess, ICI, Raffles Amb, NW PE MM, TWA Gold MM
Posts: 100,368
Does it make sense to work with some sort of planner service in order to focus earnings on the most useful programs for a particular trip?
Sep 29, 2016, 8:47 am
#490
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Wilmington, NC
Programs: Ritz Carlton Gold, AA Platinum, Etihad Gold, Air Berlin Gold, Starwood Gold
Posts: 1
Trip of a lifetime using minimum amount of points
I approached Scott and his crew on MILEVALUE.COM back on November 8th. Came up with some crazy itineary where I wanted to fly from my small hometown of Wilmington NC for a few weeks trying different airlines for a 2 week period. I had told them I wanted to fly first class product of Qatar Airbus 380, Etihad Airbus 380, Qantas 747 or 380, and Cathay Pacific . Well after almost a month of hard work, he somehow was able to cover every airline using the airline saver for each leg. Was even able to get a night in Paris withouth being penalized for a stopover because I was only there for less than 24 hours to fly Qatar. I think I only had to pay for one leg and that was doha to Dubai and the rest was covered with points. So for 265000 points, I was able to fly from Wilmington to London First class on AA777, London to Paris on BA business class, Paris to Doha on Qatar 380 first class, and Doha to Dubai on Qatar coach. That was my first leg for 90000 points. After staying in Dunbai for 4 nights, I flew Etihad Apartment from Abu Dhabi to Melbourne and Qantas business to Sydney. 36 hours later, I flew Qantas 747 upper deck to Hong Kong for 60000 points. Finally the last leg 4 days later was on Cathay Pacific 777 first class to LAX and then back to reality of flying outdated AA first class to charlotte and then to Wilminton for the remainder of 95000 points.
Truely a dream come true for a airplane geek and a trip of a life time. Looking forward to using their service again very soon for another memorable trip.
Can't thank you guys enough.
Truely a dream come true for a airplane geek and a trip of a life time. Looking forward to using their service again very soon for another memorable trip.
Can't thank you guys enough.
Oct 7, 2016, 10:17 pm
#492
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: DC
Programs: AA Plat, MVP Gold, HHonors Diamond
Posts: 116
I (Points Jet Setter) offer a card strategy consult, as I'm sure several others on the list do as well. Reddit Churning's What Card Wednesday thread can also be helpful for a newbie looking for a credit card signup strategy.
Oct 10, 2016, 9:05 am
#493
Join Date: May 2002
Location: St Louis, MO
Programs: AA L.T. PLT
Posts: 3,265
Oct 24, 2016, 9:24 pm
#494
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: SXSW
Programs: DL Plat; HH Diamond; SPG & Hyatt Plat
Posts: 996
Put in an inquiry with MileValue at beginning of October, only took a day to get a response with a question about one small detail omitted. I provided it immediately and followed followed up twice thereafter, but still didn't get a response, and it's been a total of almost three weeks.
UPDATE: after posting here, I suddenly got a response.
UPDATE: after posting here, I suddenly got a response.
Last edited by b8b; Oct 24, 2016 at 9:44 pm
Nov 10, 2016, 6:35 am
#495
Join Date: Nov 2016
Posts: 10
AWARDBird tool (BETA) - Mileage calculator AND Booking service!
Hi everyone,
We are proud to present our Mileage calculator AND Booking service - AWARDBird.
It supports major frequent flyer, bank and hotel programs. AWARDBird is made to help everyone redeem their points / miles with decent value. We hope it will be useful and interesting for you!
Please visit: awardbird.com
Transferable programs we support:
AMEX - Membership Rewards (US)
CHASE - Ultimate Rewards (US)
CITI - ThankYou (US)
MARRIOTT (MRT) - Marriott Rewards
STARWOOD (SPG) - Starwood Preferred Guest
Airline Programs we support:
AAdvantage® - American Airlines (AA)
Executive Club - British Airways (BA)
MileagePlus® - United Airlines (UA)
KrisFlyer - Singapore Airlines (SQ)
SKYPASS - Korean Air (KE)
Flying Club - Virgin Atlantic (VS)
Flying Blue - Air France (AF)
Club Premier - AeroMexico (AM)
Aeroplan® - Air Canada (AC)
Mileage Club - ANA (NH)
Asia Miles™ - Cathay Pacific (CX)
SkyMiles® - Delta Air Lines (DL)
Emirates Skywards® - Emirates (EK)
Etihad Guest - Etihad Airways (EY)
HawaiianMiles® - Hawaiian Airlines (HA)
Iberia Plus - Iberia (IB)
Infinity MileageLands - EVA Air (BR)
Enrich - Malaysia Airlines (MH)
Frequent Flyer - Qantas (QF)
Privilege Club - Qatar Airways (QR)
Royal Orchid Plus - Thai Airways (TG)
Miles+Bonus - Aegean Airlines (A3)
topbonus - airberlin (AB)
PhoenixMiles - Air China (CA)
Airpoints™ - Air New Zealand (NZ)
Mileage Plan™ - Alaska Airlines (AS)
Asiana Club - Asiana Airlines (OZ)
Velocity Frequent Flyer - Virgin Australia (VA)
Alfursan - Saudia Airlines (SV)
Miles & More - Lufthansa (LH)
Mileage Bank - Japan Airlines (JL)
LATAM Pass - LATAM Chile (LA)
Fortune Wings - Hainan Airlines (HU)
JetPrivilege - Jet Airways (9W)
Eastern Miles - China Eastern Airlines (MU)
Sky Pearl Club - China Southern Airlines (CZ)
LifeMiles - Avianca (AV)
FEATURES
SOON
Result example
Don't hesitate to contact us: [email protected]
We will be glad to hear your thoughts and advice.
Best regards,
AWARDBird Team
We are proud to present our Mileage calculator AND Booking service - AWARDBird.
It supports major frequent flyer, bank and hotel programs. AWARDBird is made to help everyone redeem their points / miles with decent value. We hope it will be useful and interesting for you!
Please visit: awardbird.com
Transferable programs we support:
AMEX - Membership Rewards (US)
CHASE - Ultimate Rewards (US)
CITI - ThankYou (US)
MARRIOTT (MRT) - Marriott Rewards
STARWOOD (SPG) - Starwood Preferred Guest
Airline Programs we support:
AAdvantage® - American Airlines (AA)
Executive Club - British Airways (BA)
MileagePlus® - United Airlines (UA)
KrisFlyer - Singapore Airlines (SQ)
SKYPASS - Korean Air (KE)
Flying Club - Virgin Atlantic (VS)
Flying Blue - Air France (AF)
Club Premier - AeroMexico (AM)
Aeroplan® - Air Canada (AC)
Mileage Club - ANA (NH)
Asia Miles™ - Cathay Pacific (CX)
SkyMiles® - Delta Air Lines (DL)
Emirates Skywards® - Emirates (EK)
Etihad Guest - Etihad Airways (EY)
HawaiianMiles® - Hawaiian Airlines (HA)
Iberia Plus - Iberia (IB)
Infinity MileageLands - EVA Air (BR)
Enrich - Malaysia Airlines (MH)
Frequent Flyer - Qantas (QF)
Privilege Club - Qatar Airways (QR)
Royal Orchid Plus - Thai Airways (TG)
Miles+Bonus - Aegean Airlines (A3)
topbonus - airberlin (AB)
PhoenixMiles - Air China (CA)
Airpoints™ - Air New Zealand (NZ)
Mileage Plan™ - Alaska Airlines (AS)
Asiana Club - Asiana Airlines (OZ)
Velocity Frequent Flyer - Virgin Australia (VA)
Alfursan - Saudia Airlines (SV)
Miles & More - Lufthansa (LH)
Mileage Bank - Japan Airlines (JL)
LATAM Pass - LATAM Chile (LA)
Fortune Wings - Hainan Airlines (HU)
JetPrivilege - Jet Airways (9W)
Eastern Miles - China Eastern Airlines (MU)
Sky Pearl Club - China Southern Airlines (CZ)
LifeMiles - Avianca (AV)
FEATURES
- Supports major frequent flyer, bank and hotel programs (you can see the list above)
- Supports region as well as distance based award charts
- Route information and routing rules are supported
- Filter by program, filter by amount of points
- Point combinations are supported
- Calculate mileage price considering transfer rate of transferable programs
- Supports SPG bonus ( for every 20K transferred, bonus 5,000 Starpoints )
SOON
- New Airline Program - Turkish Airlines: Miles&Smiles
- New Airline Program - TAP Portugal: Victoria
- New Airline Program - Aeroflot: Aeroflot Bonus
- New Airline Program - South African Airways: Voyager
- New Transferable Program - Hilton: HHonors
- Fuel charge indicator (will indicate flights where fuel surcharge may be imposed)
- 2-stop flights
Result example
Don't hesitate to contact us: [email protected]
We will be glad to hear your thoughts and advice.
Best regards,
AWARDBird Team
Last edited by AWARDBird Team; Feb 9, 2017 at 6:48 am
