The Points Guy
May 30, 2010, 4:22 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Posts: 709
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"?
May 30, 2010, 10:09 pm
#2
Senior Moderator
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: San Francisco, CA
Programs: UA Plat/2MM [23-yr. 1K, now emeritus] clawing way back to WN-A List; MR LT Titanium; HY Whateverist.
Posts: 12,396
Please follow the thread as it moves to MilesBuzz as it appears more mileage related than travel related. Ocn Vw 1K, Moderator, TravelBuzz.
May 30, 2010, 11:54 pm
#4
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Happily living in Frenaros Cyprus having escaped the near-death experience called Sofia Bulgaria
Programs: Etihad Guest Gold, DL FO and 1MM, and a bunch of others at a low level
Posts: 2,052
Any FT member who knows anything is a POINTS GUY.
Nothing to see here folks, move along.
Nothing to see here folks, move along.
May 31, 2010, 12:17 am
#5
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: MAD
Programs: DL, UA, AA, BA, Marriott
Posts: 599
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 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.
May 31, 2010, 12:35 am
#6
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Down Under
Programs: AA Plat, CO Plat, DL Plat, FB Plat, UA 1P, VA Plat, VS Silver, SPG Plat, Hertz PC, National EE
Posts: 144
May 31, 2010, 1:01 am
#7
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: YYC
Programs: DL PM, UA *S, SPG/MR Gold, IHG Spire, Hertz PC, pleb in all the rest
Posts: 387
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.
May 31, 2010, 1:06 am
#8
Join Date: Mar 2010
Programs: Skywards Silver, Goldpoints Silver, CC Gold, Hilton Gold, Le-Club Platin
Posts: 111
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...
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...
Jun 1, 2010, 9:16 am
#9
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Posts: 709
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'm by no means an expert but I know much more than many of my friends and family.
Jun 2, 2010, 11:32 am
#12
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: ord -n- mdw
Programs: big pimpin'
Posts: 974
Jun 2, 2010, 7:32 pm
#13
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: NYC
Programs: Delta DM, SPG Plat, Hyatt Diamond, MTA Rust, Hertz Five Star something or other
Posts: 2,858
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'
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'
Last edited by thepointsguy; Jun 2, 2010 at 7:37 pm
Jun 2, 2010, 9:39 pm
#14
Join Date: Mar 2010
Programs: Frontier Ascent, Marriot Silver Elite
Posts: 64
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'
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'
Jun 3, 2010, 6:46 am
#15
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: DCA
Programs: AMC MovieWatcher, Giant BonusCard, Petco PALS Card, Silver Diner Blue Plate Club
Posts: 22,297
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
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