http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=1346748950

"UNLIMITED Frequent Flyer Miles or more for only 1.3 cents per mile for all airlines. The miles you can purchase are unlimited! Fly FIRST CLASS roundtrip to Europe for $1000 and change ($6,500 ticket!!!).I will show you how to do this but the special is over April 30th. This is 100% legit, legal, and even encouraged by them. I have already used it for First Class tickets to Europe and 5 star hotels in Paris, Nice, and Madrid. I will sell as many "how to" packs as folks want for $19.95. As soon as you bid email me. We'll do it through PayPal and them you will have it in your posession immediately. This is only a 5 day auction as this offer expires April 30th. The airlines include but are not limited to: Delta, US Air, American, Continental, American West, Northwestern, United, Alaska Air, British Airways, Air France, Air Canada, KLM, and many more!"

For $20, the guy will tell you to buy $60 magazine subscriptions from Randy (until, of course, April 30) for the 2500 Starpoints.

Mike

oh, the magazine deal worked out to 1.3 cents per mile? silly me. thanks!

That's the place where this guy gets a bit misleading - it's not 1.3 cents per mile for all of the airlines, just the few that transfer Starwood points to airline miles at 1:2 (QF, LatinPass, and so on). For example, the math on QF goes something like this:

$60 = 2500 *wood points = 5000 QF miles = 1.2 cents per mile

or $480 = 20,000 *wood points = 50,000 QF miles = .096 cents per mile

Even if the transfer were done to another airline at 1:1 (most of the others) at a rate which would earn bonus points, it would still look like this:

$480 = 20,000 *wood points = 25,000 AS miles = 1.92 cents per mile

This *has* to be the promo that he's hawking. You don't honestly think that someone would have an avenue for cheap miles out there without the rest of FT knowing about it?

Mike

He claims it is 1.3 cents/mile for AA, NW, etc.

[This message has been edited by PG (edited 04-20-2002).]

He is trying to sell you a package that will make you a "travel agent" so that you get get the travel agents rate for hotel, air, etc. You will be a travel agent for some fly by night outfit. This loop hole has been plugged by the airlines.

I have listened to several similar talks. In essence, you are to sell similar packages and he gets a cut on what you sell. A ponzi.

[This message has been edited by Faye (edited 04-20-2002).]

How does the travel agent package allow you to buy unlimited miles at 1.3 cents for airlines like AA, BA, NW?

Legit travel agents gets a big big discount on most travel related deals, a perk, because most companies want to put their best foot forward for people who can route business their way.

Most travel agents make a very low salary, this is their perk.

So some thinker wants to make money on this by producing travel agents for a small fee. For this fee you get a card and a business # verifying you as a travel agent. I believed that in the beginning, I attended one of their spiels several years ago, it worked. The last I heard from a legit travel agent, the airlines have tightened up.

Oh and you too get the priviledge of selling these packages. You get a percent off of every package you sell and every package these people sell and every package those people sell to some level. Sounds too much like a PONZI.

This guy actually took a big eBay risk by stating "Because I cannot do a Dutch Auction, I will still only charge the $19.95 even though the minimum bid will increase the price. Bid whatever you have to, YOU WILL NOT BE CHARGED MORE THAN THE $19.95"

If 2 bidders had decided to bid $100,000, he could have been stuck with an eBay Final Value Fee of about $1500.

I see he's relisted now as a Dutch auction,and the price has dropped to $5.

You can pick up flyers offering the 19.95 deal in most retail outlets that allows such. e.g 7 eleven.

But how does that let you buy miles at 1.3 cents a mile?

Try:

http://www.globaltravel.com

for a company that claims to have sold 40,000 travel agent kits with credentials.

I contacted people who bid on his auction and found out he was only selling the Inside Flyer info we all know about. Where did the 1.3 cents come from? Well - because of the tax rebate he will tell you how to get.
I don't think I like his math very much....