The Points Guy
 

Just read about him on Jaunted - http://www.thepointsguy.com/index.html, Im assuming he is definitely a FT member, what do others think of his "service"?

Please follow the thread as it moves to MilesBuzz as it appears more mileage related than travel related. Ocn Vw 1K, Moderator, TravelBuzz.

I also take 5,000 American Express Membership Rewards points as a form of payment (per $50 in service)

I can't imagine that being allowed as per the Amex MR T&C. lol

Any FT member who knows anything is a POINTS GUY.

Nothing to see here folks, move along.

If you don't have the time to do your own bookings, or have extremely complex bookings, I would imagine such a service would be beneficial.

I don't know the link offhand, but someone had compared milemanager vs another award search engine vs one of the award booking agencies (such as the service you mention), and the service came out ahead almost every time.

Booking complex award itineraries can take hours on the phone over the course of multiple days in order to see success. For my recent booking from US to EU/Asia, I probably spent 5 hours on the phone with various airlines checking availability and making reservations (and that's for a total of 3 tickets, if it were for multiple people, on an even more complex, longer itinerary, I don't know that I could've done it without help.

If you do have the time, the interest, the miles, and the motivation, then ft is really all you need, post the right questions here, do your research, and you don't need to pay anyone else.

If you are someone with millions of unused miles gathering dust and want to burn through them quickly and easily without any effort, an award booking service may be right up your alley.

I have no problem with what this guy is doing. Many people, especially those who rack up points from CCs alone, don't have time to understand the nuances of each FFP/codeshare agreement/fare buckets and whatnot. If it's easier for them to pay some guy 50 bucks to sort it out, power to them.

his service is like taking the fun out of planing a trip...
But on the other hand, if you really dont have time for this or hate planing/booking a trip this could be very useful.
Only the payment via Amex Bonus Points doesnt look so serious...

I agree his service is useful, many of us sometimes forget that we only make up a minuscule amount of the population and that most "normal" people do not know the first think about booking a reward ticket.

I'm by no means an expert but I know much more than many of my friends and family.

I think its a pretty cool service. Before I found FT I was, and really still am unsure of the most efficient ways to put my miles and points to work for me.

Sure, why not...

How many of us have had friends say -
"You spend so much time on this stuff, why don't you start a business?"

This guy did. Why not make a few bucks on his obsession...
^

5k AMEX MR>>$50.


{Off topic commentary redacted by moderator}

Wow, don't know how I missed this thread. This is actually my little side venture, which has been a lot of fun. As many have pointed out, this service is not aimed at your savvy FlyerTalker who enjoys booking complex awards. It's much more targeted at the business traveler who doesn't have time to figure it all out, but still wants to leverage the value of their points.

The initial response has been overwhelming and the testimonials on my site are all real feedback from clients. So many people face roadblocks when trying to book awards, so I offer a service that helps them realize their travel dreams (at a relatively cheap price).

I always appreciate feedback so feel free to PM. Even you big pimpin';)

Good for you, I figured it had to be someone who frequents this board.

With the addition of The Points Guy it appears there are at least (4) Flyertalkers offering a paid award booking service.

We may have to start offering award booking certification programs!

* How many segments are permitted on an Aeroplan award?
* What North American gateways are permissable for American Airlines redemption on British Airways to London?
* What program should you transfer SPG points to for business class redemption East Coast to London? Coach East Coast to Israel?
* What gateways give you the best chance of finding four premium class seats transatlantic during the summer?

As some examples ;)