Feb 3, 2014, 1:11 pm
Last edit by: PointsNmiles
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Members with 90 posts and 90 days on FlyerTalk can edit this Wikipost to update.
This list is not an endorsement of any particular award booking service.
Please do your research and read this thread.
Members with 90 posts and 90 days on FlyerTalk can edit this Wikipost to update.
This list is not an endorsement of any particular award booking service.
Please do your research and read this thread.
Please refer to the FT Disclaimers for disclaimer of responsibility for use of these services, etc.
Please feel free add other services and options you are aware of to this wiki.
Also, please post any personal experiences you may have with any of these services in this thread.
Reviews which appear to have been solicited by the service providers based upon content and posting history will be deleted. If you are a brand new or a member with a low post count and wish that your post not be deleted, please be sure to include the following details in your review: program(s), number of miles or points and the desired destinations and hotels. Please also include the itinerary booked by the service including the airlines, routing and hotels, the number of points needed to book that trip and the fee charged.
Award booking services (alphabetical):
- Award Advocate - Domestic $100 p/p International $125 p/p, no additional charge for last minute. Changes $50. Also 10% discount for families traveling with children and active military
- Award Booking Service - $25 up front search fee plus $150/ticket & $49 per 30-minute skype consultations (ask anything!)
- Award Butler - Award Search: $79 for up to two passengers; flight info provided but does not include booking. Booking starting at $149 for first two passengers.
- Award Chaser - Search fee starting at $79. Itinerary only - no booking provided
- Award Expert - (MatthewLAX on FT, Live and Let's Fly blog) $150 first passenger, $100 each additional passenger; $250 per person for RTW; $50/ticket booking fee.
- Award Flight Assist - Specialising in Australian frequent flyer programs; from AU$199 for the first passenger, additional charges for complex itineraries and more passengers
- Award Planners - One way $129, additional person $99; Round trip $199, additional person $99; Multi City $249 additional person $149
- Award Travel Consulting - Award Search: $125/person; Booking ticket: $75/itinerary; changes: new trip
- Awardmagic - $179 per person OW/RT plus one stop or $279 per person for three or more destinations
- BoundlessMiles - (Dominik Żmuda/Travelling the World): Booking: starting at $50 per passenger; Changes: half of award flight service fee paid
- CabinChief - Bookings are $49 per pax
- CatchUsFlying - $125 CAD/person for round-trip, $225 CAD/person for complex round-the-world. Consulting available at $75CAD/hour. (loganre17) on FT
- Chatflights - Use app to chat in real time with real travel hackers to book travel for points or cash. Booking fee $295 pp coach and business, $395 pp first class.
- Cranky Concierge - $75 per person each way domestic; $95 per person each way international
- First Class and Beyond - "Concierge-style" bookings. Fee is based on the value of the retail ticket, $250/person minimum.
- Flightfox - Consultative flight searching; fees start at $100 (requires credit card authorization up front)
- Flyermiles - (Graham / YOWgary) $150 + 50 per additional person, $250 for RTW awards. Offers detailed information on how to book your own award.
- iflywithmiles.com - (Mike/Melissa): 150 USD first person, 85 for additional person on same itin. Change fees vary.
- JJ Award Travel - FT Member since 2012 - No upfront fees. Basic one-way or round-trip air award travel consisting of a total of 8 legs or less for the entire itinerary: $250 for the first person and $125 for each additional person. Complex one-way or round-trip air award travel consisting of a total of 9 or more legs per direction is additional. FT members get a 10% discount.
- Loophole Travel - Award Travel Coaching $150 for first passenger and $100 for each additional passenger. Points Earning and MS Coaching also available.
- Luxury Travel Consulting - (Jasper2009 on Flyertalk): $150 per person per ticket
- Miles Help - Domestic: $100 OW; $140 RT/complex. International: $150 OW; $200 RT/complex. $50 each additional person
- Miles Momma Booking Services - Airline Booking: $200 up to 2 passengers. $75 additional passengers. $50 non-refundable up front. Changes $50
- MileValue Award Booking Service - (Scott Grimmer): Booking: $125 per person per award; $15 up front. Full payment required for successful search even if not booked. Change fee not currently listed; previously $79
- PMM Travel Consulting - (Miguel R. Quinones/AwardWallet Blog): Booking: $125 per passenger for the first two, $99 for each additional. Additional charges for complex itineraries. Credit card advice and travel planning services.
- Point.me - merger of services formerly provided by PointsPro (Ben Schlappig/One Mile At a Time) and Juice Miles
- Reward Flyer - Domestic: $50 first person; $25 each additional person. International: $100 first person; $50 each additional person
- SFO777.com - (SFO777 on FT) Booking: $200 first passenger, $100 each additional passenger; change fees vary
- Travel Codex - Per person pricing: $50 for North America award / $100 for International award.
- The Flying Mustache - $100 per ticket; additional fees for more than eight segments. Change fees vary
- The Short Final - $100 per person. $100 upfront deposit that is fully refundable if no itinerary found.
- Travel Is The Point - USA, Canada/Mexico & the Caribbean – starting at $50 per person. All Other International Destinations – starting at $100 per person.
- zainman - FT member since 2009. Booking: $200 first passenger, $100 each additional passenger; change fees vary, consultant services for $ as well
- Zero Hassle Rewards - $100 per person. Discounts for domestic and one-way
Award booking services - a list and some reviews
Jan 5, 2012, 10:30 am
#32
Suspended
Join Date: Sep 2009
Programs: Gold, plat, diamond and more
Posts: 3,360
I have contacted all consultants mentioned to date in OP with a challenge. Will report progress.
Worth noting is that several dont publish their contact mail, and you have to use a form. This to me is inconvenient.
Worth noting is that several dont publish their contact mail, and you have to use a form. This to me is inconvenient.
Jan 5, 2012, 11:26 am
#33
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 2,731
I have always wonder what goes on when an consultant engages with a client to help with an award trip. Do they talk on the phone? Do they email back-and-forth? Do they finish within a day or two (successful or not), or do they work with the client longer-term to secure and optimize the redemption?
Jan 5, 2012, 11:50 am
#34
Join Date: May 2010
Location: BNA
Programs: No preference
Posts: 1,176
i like your site, but the blog hasn't been active in months
+1 (or ExpertFlyer)
Back in November I was looking for help in getting some award travel booked. I got in touch with both Ben (aka lucky) and Gleffp (aka bookyouraward.com). Gleffp never bothered responding to me. Ben responded to me within a couple of days (the delay being due to his being on the road). Thus of the two ben gets my vote. However, in the end I decided to plump down for KVSTool, do some research and booked my travel by myself.
Last edited by philemer; Jan 9, 2012 at 8:19 am Reason: removed quoted link now deleted
Jan 5, 2012, 12:42 pm
#35
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: MCI
Programs: AA Gold 1MM, AS MVP, UA Silver, WN A-List, Marriott LT Titanium, HH Diamond
Posts: 52,565
I used a service (none of the ones listed here) about 10 years ago that I thought was responsive, treated me well, and would be perfect for someone who is "new to the game"...but...they ended up finding only the same routing I had already found on my own, which made me think they were using the same tools I was. It was a semi-complicated oneworld itin nested inside a more straightforward Star Alliance itin, but nothing overly crazy. Couple hotel awards in there too...
It was cheaper then - something like $49 per trip. I paid it thinking they'd magically find some partner or routing I didn't know existed, but I was wrong. Not really their fault...it's just that if you know how to use a lot of the tools listed here on FT (whether for mileage runs or for award searches), you're likely fairly high up on the proficiency scale already and therefore less likely to overlook a nugget that a true "pro" will find. At the end of the day, the $49 bought me assurance that I had indeed found the optimal route and not missed something.
Where I can see using a professional would be on an RTW, simply because of how long it would take to put that one together. Anything that gets into long phone calls to airlines starts to sound worth it to me. Plus some good local knowledge of hotels in places where I'm not using points would be worthwhile.
It was cheaper then - something like $49 per trip. I paid it thinking they'd magically find some partner or routing I didn't know existed, but I was wrong. Not really their fault...it's just that if you know how to use a lot of the tools listed here on FT (whether for mileage runs or for award searches), you're likely fairly high up on the proficiency scale already and therefore less likely to overlook a nugget that a true "pro" will find. At the end of the day, the $49 bought me assurance that I had indeed found the optimal route and not missed something.
Where I can see using a professional would be on an RTW, simply because of how long it would take to put that one together. Anything that gets into long phone calls to airlines starts to sound worth it to me. Plus some good local knowledge of hotels in places where I'm not using points would be worthwhile.
Jan 5, 2012, 1:41 pm
#36
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 2,731
I used a service (none of the ones listed here) about 10 years ago that I thought was responsive, treated me well, and would be perfect for someone who is "new to the game"...but...they ended up finding only the same routing I had already found on my own, which made me think they were using the same tools I was. It was a semi-complicated oneworld itin nested inside a more straightforward Star Alliance itin, but nothing overly crazy. Couple hotel awards in there too...
It was cheaper then - something like $49 per trip. I paid it thinking they'd magically find some partner or routing I didn't know existed, but I was wrong. Not really their fault...it's just that if you know how to use a lot of the tools listed here on FT (whether for mileage runs or for award searches), you're likely fairly high up on the proficiency scale already and therefore less likely to overlook a nugget that a true "pro" will find. At the end of the day, the $49 bought me assurance that I had indeed found the optimal route and not missed something.
Where I can see using a professional would be on an RTW, simply because of how long it would take to put that one together. Anything that gets into long phone calls to airlines starts to sound worth it to me. Plus some good local knowledge of hotels in places where I'm not using points would be worthwhile.
It was cheaper then - something like $49 per trip. I paid it thinking they'd magically find some partner or routing I didn't know existed, but I was wrong. Not really their fault...it's just that if you know how to use a lot of the tools listed here on FT (whether for mileage runs or for award searches), you're likely fairly high up on the proficiency scale already and therefore less likely to overlook a nugget that a true "pro" will find. At the end of the day, the $49 bought me assurance that I had indeed found the optimal route and not missed something.
Where I can see using a professional would be on an RTW, simply because of how long it would take to put that one together. Anything that gets into long phone calls to airlines starts to sound worth it to me. Plus some good local knowledge of hotels in places where I'm not using points would be worthwhile.
Also, before you engaged them, how much time do you estimate yourself having spent to find the same routing that they did?
I imagine that's part of the pricing situation with these kinds of consultations. The consultant has to average his work complexity - if everyone booked the easy trips themselves and only come to the consultant for the extremely complex trips, the cost (and price) will have to be well north of $200 - $400, instead of just $49.
Jan 5, 2012, 3:59 pm
#37
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: IAH
Posts: 207
Jan 5, 2012, 10:13 pm
#39
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: PHL
Programs: Marriott Lifetime PLT
Posts: 1,229
Thanks! Yes, I am working on getting it back up and running. Look for a new post coming this weekend.
Jan 6, 2012, 5:59 am
#40
Suspended
Join Date: Sep 2009
Programs: Gold, plat, diamond and more
Posts: 3,360
I prefer not to have my e-mail published on the website simply to prevent automated bots from filling my inbox with spam. If it is really an issue for people, maybe I will reconsider. Either way though, simply drop me a PM or fill out the form, and I will be happy to reply with my e-mail.
In any case many prefer using their mail client, which also keeps a copy in the sent box.
Jan 6, 2012, 7:29 am
#41
Join Date: Sep 2009
Programs: *G, SPG, OW Sapphire
Posts: 2,565
I prefer not to have my e-mail published on the website simply to prevent automated bots from filling my inbox with spam. If it is really an issue for people, maybe I will reconsider. Either way though, simply drop me a PM or fill out the form, and I will be happy to reply with my e-mail.
Thanks! Yes, I am working on getting it back up and running. Look for a new post coming this weekend.
Thanks! Yes, I am working on getting it back up and running. Look for a new post coming this weekend.
You can see an example of it on my website (view the page source code).
I've added mine--see link below-- thanks for the feedback!
Last edited by philemer; Jan 9, 2012 at 8:20 am Reason: removed comm. link
Jan 6, 2012, 8:14 am
#42
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: MCI
Programs: AA Gold 1MM, AS MVP, UA Silver, WN A-List, Marriott LT Titanium, HH Diamond
Posts: 52,565
Also, before you engaged them, how much time do you estimate yourself having spent to find the same routing that they did?
I imagine that's part of the pricing situation with these kinds of consultations. The consultant has to average his work complexity - if everyone booked the easy trips themselves and only come to the consultant for the extremely complex trips, the cost (and price) will have to be well north of $200 - $400, instead of just $49.
Tonight I'll go looking through my old emails to see if I can find out any further details...and also maybe figure out if this agency is still in business.
Jan 6, 2012, 12:50 pm
#43
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: PSM
Posts: 69,232
Mine, too. No special website for the bookings (I get enough business through referrals without it) but contact info is, among other places, in first link below in my signature line.
Honestly, that's not really all that much to be paying for what is effectively travel agent services. Unless you're also willing to let them handle all the bookings and take a commission on that work, the $200 is likely not worth it based on the hourly.
To pay $200+, I'd probably want someone who could not only execute the reservations for air/hotel but who also had solid local knowledge of my destination. For that kind of money, I'd want them to book local reputable guides/drivers and that kind of thing. In fact, I'd probably pay more for the local knowledge...even if they weren't any better than I am at using award searching tools.
Last edited by philemer; Jan 10, 2012 at 2:14 pm
Jan 6, 2012, 5:37 pm
#44
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 123
Jan 7, 2012, 6:15 am
#45
Suspended
Join Date: Sep 2009
Programs: Gold, plat, diamond and more
Posts: 3,360
For the sake of the master list I hope to have an as complete list as possible.
You and others, especially of the long time runners, have enough clients - as we all know its time consuming as well.
Gleff sent me a very polite reply as well, point also being that they are happy to let new people develop their service, as they already have their market.
Prime market is in any case outside FT.
Last edited by philemer; Jan 9, 2012 at 8:23 am Reason: quoted comm. link removed