Anyone ever booked with "Luxury for Less" (FLYL4L.COM) before?
 

I ran across this website while searching for deals on business class / first class tickets for my trip to Asia this summer.

Does anyone have any experience with "Luxury for Less" FLYL4L.com or mileage tickets overall?

It seems they buy miles from companies who accumulate but do not use them, and then use the miles to get tickets for their clients at a substantial discount.

Anyone familiar with this? Or perhaps could recommend the best place for deeply discounted first/business class tickets to Asia?

Thanks!

For discounted Business class tickets to Asia, i would suggest you to check Exploretrip or cheaoair, who are like specialized for international travel. You may make a search online to see the fares or call-up their customer care and ask for quote. I am sure calling up their customer care will give you more bargaining power.

Alex

Anyone used Fly Luxury 4 Less
 

Has anyone used L4L before, they have come back with a real good price for a flight for my in November, however I can't really find much information on them, even there website dosn't say much, but does link to here and that, I just dont want to spend over a grand to end up with nothing, I mean he fare they are giving me details for is great, would save me well over £1300 if I were to book with the airline itself, can anyone help

Moving this over to the Online Travel Booking Forum.
Obscure2k
TravelBuzz Moderator

In multiple threads on here the same questions are asked in different ways and this pertains to my other thread on consolidators.

Cheapoair.com has no rating on file with the BBB however has oodles of complaints filed.

BBB processed a total of 350 complaint(s) about this business in the last 36 months, our standard reporting period. Of the total 350 complaint(s) closed in the last 36 months, 105 were closed in the last 12 months.

These complaints concerned:
20 regarding Advertising Issues
66 regarding Billing or Collection Issues
11 regarding Contract Disputes
1 regarding Customer Service Issues
18 regarding Customer Services Issues
10 regarding Delivery Issues
2 regarding Guarantee Or Warranty Issues
10 regarding Product Issues
142 regarding Refund Or Exchange Issues
37 regarding Selling Practices
33 regarding Service Issues

These complaints were closed as:
119 Administratively Closed
6 No Response
224 Resolved
1 Unpursuable

This is not what I would consider acceptable. Check all consolidators out with the BBB website before you purchase. If the record is acceptable and the price and conditions are right then don't hesitate to buy. But never go blindly by asking questions on the internet without doing your own research.

The website and the firm you mention has no record on file with the BBB and as such I would not recommend using the company. The name does not check out and neither does the website.

There is another firm with the same name and a different location listed which has an F rating and is a Used car dealership.

There is no known travel agencies on file with the BBB with this name.

All other legitimate travel agencies and firms I know of are on file with the BBB.

So to answer the question: It seems to me that this website is nothing more than a bunch of scam artists and I would not give out any information whatsoever to these people or this firm. Legitimate firms can be checked as to who the business owner is and other assorted information. Websites get quick hits by firms such as Dun and Bradstreet and other assorted firms which check out the authenticity and credibility of the firm.

All the places I know of to check out businesses show the business of this website you mentioned does not exist in any legitimate credible form. Manta.com, bbb.org show nothing for this firm therefore I recommend strongly against any contact with them.

With the Internet it is quick and easy to check out agents and their credibility and as to who is legitimate and who is not and to screen them all quickly.

The problem I have is that getting the cheaper consolidator fares is time consuming since there are loads of agents and finding a good one combined by one which will know and work with all the consolidators.

I wish there was one website for all this information but it seems to be highly segmented as of now.

I too am looking for cheaper airfare and came across your posting so I thought to check it out but it didn't check out at all.

Curious as to the multiple postings on this website which showed up, but sites like BBB and Manta show no such firm located at that address in legitimate form.

Therefore it does not look legitimate to me and I can not suggest any contact with such firm.

If it was legitimate, then BBB + Manta would show more details about this firm.

Thanks for that, dam shame, as they would of saved me well over £1000 for a business class flight to the USA using reward miled, the search goes on then I guess.

The first thought that comes to my mind is, "If it's too good to be true...."

Maybe I am confused, but how is being warned that a company may take your money and run be a "shame"?? You would not have saved a pence. You would have lost everything you paid, then have to buy another ticket again.

No wonder many internet sites make people tons of money. So many people are easily deceived.

Some of the well known search aggregators are also picking up firms which have low prices and no mention in BBB or Manta or Dun and Bradstreet's company database.

Personally I wouldn't do business with any firm which is not authorized and of which I can not obtain information about the company.

In the USA there are loads and loads of legitimate ticket consolidators all over with various prices all over the spectrum and some with access to certain flights. A deep search using the internet finds loads of legitimate consolidators which check out. However many others do not even though they are showing the lowest prices on consolidator websites but without a BBB or a corporate search being found anywhere other than an internet domain site, these vendors even if they were somehow a legitimate enterprise, lack enough credibility because to me any legitimate business will be found and one will be able to verify more details about the business itself.

Feel free to use this vendor at your own risk. There are legitimate vendors which check out who have much lower prices than the airlines themselves and are true consolidators who are honorable and will do the right thing.

I would doublecheck this on a search again.

I checked out Entity Name: EXPLORETRIP, INC and it turns out it was legit but was a very new business just filed last month so new businesses have yet to make the BBB till a track record is known which takes time.

I prefer businesses who have been around for awhile rather than new startups in general.

Considering this place is in Manhattan, I would check to see if it is a legitimate corporation and at that address and if it is a licensed agency.

Some really cheap places are indeed excellent finds but you need to do your homework.

I read the comment by peggm01 as a reference to the possibility that the fares might not be valid as being a shame. I did not read that poster's comment as referring to being warned as being a shame.

I checked them (Luxury 4 Less flyl4l.com) out too a while ago and upon pointing out my concerns recieved this reposnse:

------
Dear xxx,
I wish I could have the perfect answer you want to hear but will rather be direct and to the point without beating round the bush.

As explained in detail on the FAQ page of our website (www.flyl4l.com/faq), we are not a regular travel agency but what is known as 'mileage brokers'. We resell bulk frequent flyer miles as deeply discounted first and business class air tickets.

We are what you would call the grey market of the luxury travel industry. No airline likes when their seat in a premium cabin is sold for 50% off the published retail fare yet we only do so much as booking a seat with rightfully earned miles in the official award inventory.

As mentioned, we usually do not issue any e-tickets before receiving payment but will for your peace of mind - as a first time client of ours - do this the other way round. We will issue the tickets and send you confirmation and e-ticket numbers. You can then check directly with the airlines and indeed confirm the ticket validity.

We have been in this line for over 12 years and have built a successful client base - mainly corporate - for whom we arrange and are responsible of their travel accounts.

Offhand I can give you names of 2 companies and their CEO’s based here in New York with whom we have been dealing for a while:

xxx
CEO: xxx

xxx
CEO: xxx

Contact details for these companies are on their websites for which I enclosed links.

Again this 'is' a grey area and its like you buying a Rolex for a deeply discounted price, not because the Rolex is a fake but because it is indented to be sold in Japan only. It is therefore very much up to you if this is your thing.
-----

Since this email I have used them for many trips and never has any issues.

Booking with L4L
 

I just book round trip airfare from LAX to DOH, the list price at the KLM site was between $8900 and $12,000 USD. I paid $3690 and the flight leaves in less than a week. I am not sure why you would think this is a scam, they tell you that the ticket is an award ticket based on redeemed miles, and that you do not earn miles using their tickets.

For all of us that has used award miles you already know those flights do not earn frequent flier miles, and if you have ever read your contract, it says you can transfer or use them how you see fit. I am just glad that big corporations have these miles available, and that I can get low cost business class. For their prices 3 of my flights cost what one would normally cost, and traveling this trip 6-8 times a year means enormous savings for me. Also I check with KLM and regardless of reward ticket or normal flight I am entitled to use the Executive lounge, so this is a real plus when figuring out what to do during layovers.

I will update next week when I get to Doha Qatar, and when I return in December to LA.

Fixed dates?
 

I wrote to flyl4l requesting a quote for a transatlantic itinerary giving originating and destination cities, and dates.

Their answer was quick and the price was more than reasonable, but the dates were not exactly those I had requested.

Is it possible that they buy trips that are already arranged, and on specific airlines? Or do most of you who use FlyL4L get the original dates you request, and can you request a specific airline, or airlines?

I'm looking forward to using them, if I can just get the dates right. :confused:

Feels dodgy
 

Personally it feels dodgy to me. I tried to find two people on their customer referrals and there is no sign of either of them on Linkedin or on the company websites themselves (in fact one company doesn't even seem to exist).

If they are legitimate, perhaps they should put some real customers on their site.

Sorry mjack99 but you make make me laugh.
L4L is now probably the biggest mileage brokerage in the USA.

In the past I used Frequent Flyer Depot who are a Texas based firm but L4L beats their prices and services hands down.

Funnily, I was in the Hong Kong Cathay first class lounge a few weeks ago and was chatting with a lady, it ended up being that we both got our tickets through L4L...

Here is an intersting link: http://usaca.com/

These are the biggest ticket consolidators in the US. They do only wholesale, so they will probably not work with you directly. However, they can probably suggest a subagent they work with.

Another intersting thing is that despite what people think or say, most of these consolidators have the same fares. They all have the same contracts with the major carriers (DL, UA, AA, US, LH, CO, AF, JL, LX, KL). Some may have contracts with smaller airlines, and those are the ones worth of exploring.

The consolidation is another distribution channel for the airlines. For certain markets, it makes more sense to distribute through the consolidators because it is more efficient. This way the airlines focus on markets that are high yield and require "less work".

We have a booking with them for flights in January and after paying for the flights we got our booking confirmed and were able to see the same flights on the website of the airline.

Today I checked again and the flights are gone from our booking on the airline website. I've posted another thread about this to find out if anyone have experience this issue. In the meantime I've written to flyl4l to get an explanation.

Been away on business for a few days meanwhile flyl4l has been great. They've been on the phone with my wife and completely re-arranged our trip as well as providing additional service. Our flights are re-booked and we're all set. Seems some airlines are just picky!

Thanks to everyone at flyl4l and we'll be using you again!

I have returned from my trip to Doha, and used L4L to fly my wife out to see me during my visit, both of us had uneventful roundtrips. The flight attendants remember you based on how many times they have flown with you, and since there is nothing on the ticket to indicate it is an air miles ticket, your perks will result from the flight attendants choosing to give you updgrades.
I got upgraded on the short leg on the way home from business to first on Emirates... Stick with business, The only difference I saw was the TV was bigger, but since it is not HD it is really not better to look at, and they have this sliding wall that closes you in, reminded me of being in a bathroom stall, and I kept wondering if someone was going to peek in over the top... anyway they are legitamite, just don't use up all their miles, I don't want to spend double to get business class...

After reading this blog, I was quite suspicious in moving forward and using flyl4l (in fact I posted some separate blogs on this elsewhere in FT), but after the last post, I thought sod-it, take the risk.

I just confirmed my flight with them. The service was excellent all the way through, and they explained everything to me. So far everything is going well. The booking is showing up on my personal airline bookings page and I've received all the documents from them (albeit 24hrs after booking it via online).

Flight is next week, so will let you know how it turns out.

ZRH-HKG (Rtn): US$4,690 - FIRST CLASS.

Bargain; just saved myself US$19,166 (if I had booked this today direct with SWISS.com)

Anyway, if all works out next week... I will be using these guys for ALL my travels...

Have faith people!

APX
Let us know how it all goes. Great price!

As promised, here's my update.

If you are not bothered about collecting air-miles that BOOK with flyl4l... Simple!

How it worked for me:

1) Made enquiry
2) Receive details and cost (went back and forth with other possible flight options, i.e., I don't like TX, can you find me something with SWISS for example)
3) Once happy, I payed my deposit via CC on their site link (Airline Tax)
4) Received my booking reference number (had to wait 24hrs - the only scary part)
5) Completed the Wire Transfer of Balance before flight date
6) Fly and Enjoy!!!! FIRST CLASS, NO PROBLEMS

So, therefore I will be using flyl4l for all my big trips from now on... However, I'll probably still keep using the direct services for my local trips, so that I can maintain my FTL status.

PS: With this service in place, why would anyone want to build up to the top tier statuses?

With the savings I made, I could of done the same trip in F (with all the bells and whistles), 4 x over???

Go for it folks, I think you like it... The lady who helped me was a Bonnie G (I think the rules forbid me to leave her full name - or PM me)... Very Very helpful and polite on the phone... Ask for her

Enjoy :)

Doing business with a mileage broker? Thanks, but, no thanks!
 

Judging from this post, this company seems to be a mileage broker.

I understand you had a wonderful first encounter with them, but with due respect, I am not that sure nor comfortable dealing with any mileage broker myself.

You are basically buying miles from another "seller" through this broker (i.e. 3rd party), which I have no idea if they establish any partner relationship with named airlines. Not to mention selling miles is in violation of most airline's FFPs that I know. OTOH, Points.com has their business model/relationship with a number of airlines but I rather not conduct any trade with Points (bad value, high fees...etc).

Here are two sample threads about selling miles and implications over MilesBuzz! Forum for your reading pleasure:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/miles...ell-miles.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/miles...-com-scam.html

My personal experience
 

I just traveled through flyl4l.com and following the incidents I went through, I thought I would search for comments on them, and post my own personal review in regards to their service...

I had to travel from Melbourne to Paris this month. I was recommended by a friend flyl4l.com. They quoted me AUD $4200 (inclusive of taxes) to fly in business through Thai Airways. This was less than half of the cheapest airfare I could find..
The route was MEL->BKK->ZUR->CDG and back. ZUR->CDG via SwissAir

I was very suspicious to say the least, and the idea of paying through direct transfer doesn't help in making you feel better.

But I went ahead anyway..

I dealt with Michelle B. Fantastic service, quick response, lots of back and forth emails trying to sort out availability and airlines. The choice of flights is obviously much more limited than if you dealt with the airline directly, but considering the price, I wasn't surprised: plus in the end, I got the flight I wanted.

Taxes got paid through my Amex and Air Canada charged the US $300-odd taxes.

I was worried when I showed up at the airport, as all I had with an e-ticket number and nothing directly issued by an airline.

Showed up at checkin, presented my passport expecting the worse. And everything went well, I enjoyed the business lounge while waiting for the flight. Just as I was used to.

3 weeks later, time to go back home. Alas, being so used to travel on this route, somehow I was convinced the returned flight was at 1:30PM. It was at 11AM. I realised this at 10:30AM and arrived at the airport at 11:15AM.

Tried to call flyl4l.com emergency number, to no available (remember it's still sunday night in NY where they are based)...

Swissair considered me as a no-show. Wouldn't want to reschedule a flight. Thai had no problem to reschedule me flight but told me I had to deal via Air Canada as they were the one to issue the ticket.
Showed up at Air Canada ticketing booth, wouldn't want to do anything with my ticket as Swissair had considered me as no-show and told me I had lost the ticket and would need to apply for a new one.

From there, I started to stress obviously. The tour de France has just finished, and there are just no availability to fly within the next two days, except on full-fare business (4000+ euros for a one-way ticket)...

I then got a call back from flyl4l.com ; I guess they had seen the caller-ID as they called back the phone I had used earlier (not my personal phone).

He said he would call me back within 15 minutes with some options.

He did call back 20 minutes later with two options: fly on the same day through a crazy route (Paris->Frankfurt->Bangkok->Singapore->Melbourne), or fly the next day CDG->BKK->MEL.
I went the 2nd option.

Cost US$100...

So to summarise: awesome service if you ask me, and as cheap as you can get. The downsides are:
- Not as much flexibility with dates and airlines
- You don't have someone to talk to face to face if there is a last minute emergency and it's a dreadful wait not knowing what's going to happen next.

Their staff are extremely knowledgeable, very responsive and very friendly.

I will fly with them again, I'm guessing the chance of missing my flight is low (it only happened to me once before 15 years ago) and I have flown well over a million miles.
When .... did hit the fan they were great and very helpful and sorted the issue quickly and without any problems, issues I couldn't have resolved myself.

A big thumbdown to Swissair that caused an entire journey to be cancelled because of a missed one-hour flight (I could have made the connection through Air France and catch the next Thai airways flight)...

That's all for now...

I have heard negative reviews regarding this site that they cancel the reservation if they need to and rebook you on another flight as they wish.

Also I am wary that they do not accept credit cards but need fund transfers.

Any member from FT been here long can guide us?

Sorry but to be honest it may be difficult to go by reviews of new 1 time users of FT.... who knows if its the website itself giving good reviews.

Sweets,
I have been using them for years now and so have my friends & colleagues. Nothing negative...

Sweets,

I can assure you that although I am a newbie to FT, like yourself (just over 12 months). I am not affiliated with FlyL4L in anyway, shape or form. The view's I've shared are of my own experiences with them and I have already recommended them several times over. In fact, after using them again recently, I have just booked my honeymoon flights with them.

Enjoy! ^

I didn't say anyone is an imposter or connect with the website.

Just someone who used the website complained that his booking on a specific airline was suddenly cancelled and he was booked for another airline.

This gets frustrating. Also is the problem of the credit card.

"Also is the problem of the credit card."

This would be a reason for me to hesitate.

No Problems
 

I just booked a friend SYD-BKK-SYD. L4L got him the exact flights he wanted. Saved over $1,500 (TG Business Class). Paid by bank t/t but emailed TG SYD Res first. They confirmed tkt nmbrs and special rqsts were in booking and all was OK. Sent t/t next day. No problems at all. Extremely happy with service. More prompt than Flight Centre down the road.

Sure everything will work until airlines catch up what is going on with this company. As buyers seems to wire the money there is absolutely no recourse if something goes wrong. Eventually something will.

Personally I would be very hesitant flying on a ticket when I wouldn't know who is the person whose account has been used to "fund" the mileage ticket.

I am not sure I agree with this. Even if airlines 'catch up' it is difficult to predict what they would, do even could do. This style of business is known to be practised in New York, London, Frankfurt and Madrid. So long as participants - buyer, seller, facilitator know what they are getting into, then as adults they have the choice of going down the route to some exceptional value tickets. Although it may be true to say that technically no recourse if something were to go wrong, I have heard enough stories of how similar operators are prepared to go to the n th degree to ensure that a client does not lose out. Typically the worse that might happen is someone is refused boarding, in which case an alternative has to be found. As a risk reward play, that might prove attractive to the savvy regular traveller.

I am in no position to recommend this particular group, but neither have I heard a bad thing said by users against L4L or other points operators.

Any updates on this company? The lack of pay by Credit Card option is the one that stops me persoanlly (meaning no chargeback if L4L screws you!)

Fly4l.com
 

I too would like an update as I am flying to the UK in July.

I have just used L4L for the 3rd time this year (so a total of 5ve times in 2 years) and need to reiterate that the service is excellent and I've not had a single issue with any of my flights.

Yes, the non-credit card payment system is a bit of a pain and my conversations of late with them about this revealed, that it doesn't look like it's going to change any time soon (unless the credit card companies remove their fee's).

As mentioned, I would highly recommend them but understand some people want to have that safety net!

Whatever you decide, safe travels peeps! :D

Fly4l.com
 

Hey Apx,
Many thanks for the update. I'm going to risk it as living on the other side of the world in NZ means very little competition among airlines and painful prices for flights.:)

GOOD NEWS!!!!
 

How wrong was I?

Just checked my personal emails this morning and voila: http://www.flyl4l.com/newsletters/12june12.html

They now accept credit cards... wooohooo!!!

Hi everybody
I read all the mail, since April 2010, and after some hesitation I am concluding that a company which is active more that 2 years should be trustworthy.
I still wonder however how they can collect so many miles in order to offer this service on a large scale ?
Anyway I asked them for a flight from Geneva to Colombo in business, I got a proposal for $ 3'120, i.e. 7% cheaper than regular fare. With such a small difference I prefer to book with a local travel agent. I am however bookmarking FLYL4L as I noted in the previous thread that they can propose sometime real bargain, until 50% of the regular price.
Do you know any other trustworthy company offering the same service ?

I've used these guys in the past. it seems shady because somehow always seem to have access to itineraries that others don't. I was flying from TLV - JFK and booked a flight on RJ through cheapo. The day before my flight my status on the website showed "unconfirmed". I called them up and they said it's all fine and not to worry about it. Had no problems getting to JFK.

I am going to Rome in Oct and just bought a ticket on BA (AA operated) for $640 one way. All other sites, including BA/AA price this ticket over $2k so not sure what to make of it.. hopefully i am able to fly the route! Will post back my experience in Oct.