mutheta

After it became obvious I was not going to get a response from Book Your Award, my second try was with Juicy Miles and my experience was similar to yours, Mr. Ocean. The response time was marginal, but not what I would consider appropriate in this type of business. I was made to feel that what I requested could easily be done, but I wouldn't get the details until I paid the fee. I respectfully declined and moved on.

mutheta

I have received a few private messages asking for a follow-up regarding my experience with Book Your Award.

It is now going on three weeks since I last received any communication despite their promise to respond the next day.

My guess is BYA just doesn't care because someone from the company certainly must be reading this blog.

oktoberfest

I tried using a booker for the first time recently. I did not like the experience. I'm not someone who would ever use Priceline since I have a need to know every detail of my trip before I book it and these bookers operate just like them but with heavy sales pressure. They will say they have what you're looking for, only to find out you have 3 stops each way (where? they won't tell you. Times? They won't tell you.What airline? They won't tell you. Product? They won't tell you.) and missing segments that you have to pay cash for that you told them you didn't want to pay. They then put you on a three way phone call with the airline and apply heavy sales pressure to put a hold on the reservation so they can then demand to be paid even though you know nothing about the flights they have in mind and don't have a chance to think about it. They do it so you won't then go and book the flights yourself if you liked them. Because I didn't agree, he then was audibly mad as hell with grunts and sounds in the background. Not very professional. Personally I can't travel like that and won't attempt to use a service again. I only did it this time because I had heard they might be able to get the very difficult first class seat with a certain airline on a simple r/t I couldn't find available on my own. Apparently they couldn't either. Not a pleasant experience. Never again.

TWA884

Would you mind sharing with us which booking service you used?

mutheta

(@TWA884 - I sent you a PM)

I'd like to respond to "octoberfest's" comments above. The following statement from octoberfest's post sums up my experiences with most booking services:

"They will say they have what you're looking for...."

Does this line sound familiar? If you ever bought a car you have heard this before and in my opinion the majority of award bookers fall into the car salesman category.

After I realized I was going nowhere with Book Your Award, I reached out to a few other services. While all were responsive, each made big promises, but were vague on details. It was obvious they wanted to make a quick booking using the easiest option.

There has to be a step between "looking" and "booking." It's the award booker who is willing to talk to you on the phone and understand your objectives that is going to provide the optimal service. The majority of award bookers use part-time people to do the grunt work and do not want to spend any more time then needed. As the saying goes - "you get what you pay for".

The market will eventually drive many of these "quick-buck" artists away. FF programs are going the way of the Dodo bird. DL and BA's programs (even before devaluation) were practically dead so unless one travels frequently in paid business or premium class seats or you are a serial card churner, you might want to look into a cash back card.

And those bloggers who every day come out with..."this is the one credit card you have to have"...they will also disappear.

RTW1

What do you expect... that they do the work figuring out a route and availability for you, provide you with all the details and then you go out and book it yourself?

That's no way to run a business, and that's what they are doing..... they are not your friends who do it for the love of it. And time is money, so clients that want to do a lot of back and forth are simply too expensive to make any profit. And when you wait too long they can start the search again.
They are also not going to look at any possible route for you, when they get you from A to B in a decent way they are going to stop. Again time is money, they cannot afford to do it like you can do yourself by spending hours searching for availability.

mutheta

RTW - the key word is "decent". What is a "decent way" for the award booker may not be a decent way for the customer. The business model you describe obviously is not what "octoberfest" felt was appropriate. Have you ever spent time with a salesperson looking for a product only to go somewhere else to make your purchase where it was less expensive or a better quality? Well, the same goes for the award booking model.

HMPS

You are spot on. One thing about your. Ar dealers, Not even the biggest car dealer in the world can carry very model and options combination on their lot. So there is a gentlemen's agreement between dealers to do a dealer trade.

Your easoning is correct. I I'd use a booker once who was a student when he started it as a " hobby" at $25 PP for a simle long haul trip. I vee tipped him, $25 for speed and selection. Time went by, he " graduated" in a larger role, merged and for me went downhill.
I think the car analogy comes back here. You can ( and lots of buyers do it) work a dealer for four hours, get a quote in writing and go down the street and the competing dealer undersells you by $25 ! No work like the four hours.
The way for the first dealer to win is to have sold service and honesty vs price alone. The award bookers here are too short sighted. make the buck NOW or else. It loose and show poor sportsmanship. Not a way to generate goodwill , good press that will get them volume. They need to learn " you win some, you lose some"

mutheta

One can't "sell" a service that is personal in a cookie cutter fashion and that's the problem with the award bookers. Their modus operandi is no different than the bloggers with their "credit card of the day" advertisements. It's all about pushing for the fast buck with little concern for the needs and personal objectives of the client. If I followed the advice of the more well-read bloggers I would have a dozen credit cards of which most would do me little good based on where I travel and whom I patronize.

Award bookers look, book and then run your credit card. Bloggers just want you to complete any credit card application that's on their website. For some consumers these business models are fine; for others they expect more.

oktoberfest

I'd rather not name the service but they are on the list here. To name them would just start a flame war with supporters.

I'd also like to say that I agree with mutheta who wrote that there needs to be something more between looking and booking and the definition of decent. Many people might be happy buying a "decent" Yugo with leather seats and one free oil change and calling it "business" class, good for them, but it's not the same "business" class as a BMW with leather seats and free maintenance. The problem is the award booker won't tell you which one you're getting, where or when you're getting it, or what 3 dealers in 3 unknown cities you'll have to stop in first, until after you pay for it.
I know more information about an iron before I buy one at Target than a booker will tell me about my trip that would retail for thousands of dollars. I can't shop that way.

mutheta

One can't continue to point fingers at the fast-buck world of award bookers without zeroing in on those who have created and now enable this unregulated cottage industry - the ethically challenged bloggers.

Think about it a minute - there are blogs (one in particular) that are devoted to informing readers about strategies to complete credit card applications for maximizing bonus miles; there are companies like Momma's Booking Service attempting to assist (for a fee) to use those miles; and some people even pay to attend seminars to listen to these "experts" articulate their knowledge on such subjects. Is something wrong with this picture?

Just today I read one well-known blogger informing readers that frequent flier space will be improving....at the same time every credit card under the sun is advertised on his blog.

It's no wonder the airlines are tightening up their seat inventory while drastically changing program rules. They want to get back to what Tom Plaskett's intent was when he first introduced American's FF program over three decades ago - award those who pay for seats - period. Such a universal change in the programs' missions will render my million plus miles near worthless, but it might succeed in cleaning up the bottom feeders who have permeated this industry for too long. For me that will be one award I will be happy to have...even with surcharges.

TWA884

Please try to stay on topic:
Thank you.

TWA884
Moderator

HMPS

Having a run in with a booker who doubled the price after I laid out a simple itn. And reading some of the posts here, a suggestion to both CUSTOMERS &bookers......

Create a simple form to be filled in with basic data of what miles you own, airline preferences, dates , destination, class, amenities desired ( lie flat, lounges.....) number of acceptable stops, number of max hours of layover,taxes , fees, and other factors that fracture the process and create disconnects / complaints, etc etc.

If these factors are defined very early in. The game, the booker can reply with the demands deviating from the CUSTOMERS wants. Either can stop the process. If the booker cannot accept that move on.
as to blogs advertising CCs, they need to get paid ! How long can you provide a free service. Face up, we get hit with advertising a few thousand times a day!

Journey4Happy

"I used a booker and I liked it."
"I used a booker and I didn't like it".
"I won't name names because... "

BALLS! This is a review forum! So that people can make decisions on the 20-something booking services out there! How can I make an informed decision without any data points?

mutheta

I sent you a PM.