Feb 3, 2014, 1:11 pm
Last edit by: PointsNmiles
Wikipost instructions: Signed in members can minimize or maximize Wikipost by clicking on [-] or [+] box upper right of post.
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
Nov 3, 2012, 2:29 pm
#106
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: DEN
Programs: UA Gold-MM, AA Gold-MM, F9-Silver, Hyatt Something, Marriott Gold, IHG Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 6,392
Altruistic reason: the main purpose of milevalue.com is not profit.
And congrats on FlyerTalk post #100! You are now 1% of the way to becoming an Evangelist!
Nov 3, 2012, 4:28 pm
#107
Join Date: May 2012
Location: SNA
Programs: hilton gold,hyatt
Posts: 208
maybe next year i will try to use booking service if i do a multi city ,multi continents.
this year i just booked my first award ticket bos-iad-hyd-iad -bos business and hopefully get to see whats all about business class ,so far its always economy for me.
this year i just booked my first award ticket bos-iad-hyd-iad -bos business and hopefully get to see whats all about business class ,so far its always economy for me.
Nov 3, 2012, 9:24 pm
#108
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 6,385
As the proprietor of one of the largest Award Booking Services, I wanted to say a few things. First, to OP's concerns:
For most awards, I need the following info: full legal names, gender, birthdays, account info and pin/pw. For AA awards, I don't even need account info, gender, or birthday.
Then I put an award on hold, and you book it with your own credit card. In some situations, it is not possible to put an award on hold. In those cases, you can choose between giving me the credit card info by phone, which I shred afterwards, or calling in to book the award yourself with step-by-step written instructions.
Now, to the value proposition:
At $149 for two passengers on one award, my price, almost everyone gets incredible value from a good award booking service.
First, it will save you tons of time. Any time you have to get into a phone call with the awfully-trained agents of a few airlines, you are staring at an hour. What do you value your time at?
Second, it will save you taxes and fees. My personal record is saving two people almost $2,000. In many cases, I will save $50 in phone fees by using phone-ticketing tricks.
Third, you can add free oneways and extra legs. You may know the rules for all airlines in this regard. We do.
Four, you will not have to think about which of your 5 types of miles/points is best for the job.
If you just want a domestic oneway on United, an award booking service would be a waste of your money. But if you want anything with any complexity, and you aren't a complete expert yourself, you will get good value.
Finally OP made another interesting point: "And, also considering most services operate blogs, isn't their service the exact opposite of what their blogs attempt to provide?"
The short answer is yes, which is very interesting for me to ponder. If you read and understood every post on my blog, you would basically have the same award-booking acumen I do. I am giving away for free what I charge for. I can't think of other businesses that do that.
Altruistic reason: the main purpose of milevalue.com is not profit.
Selfish reason: It turns out to be a successful strategy because it advertises my acumen and draws in more potential customers.
For most awards, I need the following info: full legal names, gender, birthdays, account info and pin/pw. For AA awards, I don't even need account info, gender, or birthday.
Then I put an award on hold, and you book it with your own credit card. In some situations, it is not possible to put an award on hold. In those cases, you can choose between giving me the credit card info by phone, which I shred afterwards, or calling in to book the award yourself with step-by-step written instructions.
Now, to the value proposition:
At $149 for two passengers on one award, my price, almost everyone gets incredible value from a good award booking service.
First, it will save you tons of time. Any time you have to get into a phone call with the awfully-trained agents of a few airlines, you are staring at an hour. What do you value your time at?
Second, it will save you taxes and fees. My personal record is saving two people almost $2,000. In many cases, I will save $50 in phone fees by using phone-ticketing tricks.
Third, you can add free oneways and extra legs. You may know the rules for all airlines in this regard. We do.
Four, you will not have to think about which of your 5 types of miles/points is best for the job.
If you just want a domestic oneway on United, an award booking service would be a waste of your money. But if you want anything with any complexity, and you aren't a complete expert yourself, you will get good value.
Finally OP made another interesting point: "And, also considering most services operate blogs, isn't their service the exact opposite of what their blogs attempt to provide?"
The short answer is yes, which is very interesting for me to ponder. If you read and understood every post on my blog, you would basically have the same award-booking acumen I do. I am giving away for free what I charge for. I can't think of other businesses that do that.
Altruistic reason: the main purpose of milevalue.com is not profit.
Selfish reason: It turns out to be a successful strategy because it advertises my acumen and draws in more potential customers.
It is weird coming from someone who didn't know LAN partnered with AS - but I'm not complaining.
Well put milevalue! PS: it was great to meet you in Chicago!
I am fairly certain I am the only award booking service that does not run a "real" blog.
I do have a blog on my site but I just post interesting tips and offers as I find them. I DO NOT have any affiliate or credit card links on it. I don't want to become a marketing/sales slave for American Express or Chase.
I have booked a lot of awards for myself and others over the years and I want to help others. I am not going to get rich off of it but its a hobby that I can make a little extra travel money doing.
To echo others it really comes down to time value. You can spend 5 hours learning the airline program rules and fighting with phone agents if you like. Same as you can spend 5 hours learning about plumbing and replace your own toilet in your house.
I have many satisfied customers who say I charge too little. There is exactly where I want to be. I only plan to raise prices if I get overwhelmed (which is what any business does!).
I am happy to answer any questions via private message--whether you decide to use my service or not!
Foo
I am fairly certain I am the only award booking service that does not run a "real" blog.
I do have a blog on my site but I just post interesting tips and offers as I find them. I DO NOT have any affiliate or credit card links on it. I don't want to become a marketing/sales slave for American Express or Chase.
I have booked a lot of awards for myself and others over the years and I want to help others. I am not going to get rich off of it but its a hobby that I can make a little extra travel money doing.
To echo others it really comes down to time value. You can spend 5 hours learning the airline program rules and fighting with phone agents if you like. Same as you can spend 5 hours learning about plumbing and replace your own toilet in your house.
I have many satisfied customers who say I charge too little. There is exactly where I want to be. I only plan to raise prices if I get overwhelmed (which is what any business does!).
I am happy to answer any questions via private message--whether you decide to use my service or not!
Foo
And then I swear CX J space fluctuated at least 4 times today. Like I didn't know that when I was booking, so it flusters me a lot. 
Ok that was very embarrassing.
Nov 4, 2012, 5:35 am
#109
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 5,439
I run an award booking service- the way I do it is mostly over the phone- I take the person's details including credit card but not account password and do everything with the call centre agent.
In terms of whether or not it's worth the value, I generally let my customers decide that for themselves.
In terms of whether or not it's worth the value, I generally let my customers decide that for themselves.
Nov 5, 2012, 8:36 am
#110
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: SXSW
Programs: DL Plat; HH Diamond; SPG & Hyatt Plat
Posts: 996
I tried using Ben's service earlier this year. Very poor customer contact experience from an associate of his. No reply to my emails after the initial inquiry. I canceled my request and still received no reply or contact.
I like his blog, but the award booking service needs attention.
I like his blog, but the award booking service needs attention.
Nov 6, 2012, 4:38 pm
#111
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: SXSW
Programs: DL Plat; HH Diamond; SPG & Hyatt Plat
Posts: 996
Contacted www.milevalue.com - >24 hours ago (after submitting form, it said I response in <24 hours), still no response.
Nov 6, 2012, 9:12 pm
#112
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
FlyerTalk has recently created a Travel Tools forum which would be ideal for this thread and I'll move it there. Ocn Vw 1K, Moderator, TravelBuzz.
Nov 9, 2012, 12:22 pm
#113
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 6,385
I guess my point is that a travel agent doesn't add any value to me for airlines and hotels - except perhaps if we're talking about boutiques or B&B's that the agent knows very well. In fact, I've had cases where I used a 3rd party agent and then had problems changing, canceling, viewing, or otherwise managing a reservation directly with an airline or hotel. The involvement of the TA actually injected problems into the situation.
My other point was that I would pay for something that a human travel agent can still bring to the table in 2011: ridiculously good local knowledge that can effectively "curate" the gigabytes of review information on the Internet and in guidebooks. So yes, I would let them handle all of those bookings and make commissions on that...
Later this year, I'll have a few days in each of Mumbai, Delhi, and Kathmandu. I know little about any of those cities or regions. I will probably sniff around, do some of my own research, but may end up finding a travel agent who really knows how to plan activities in each one. My hunch is that I'll book some things through the agent - drivers, guides, etc. - and they'll make commission that way.
My other point was that I would pay for something that a human travel agent can still bring to the table in 2011: ridiculously good local knowledge that can effectively "curate" the gigabytes of review information on the Internet and in guidebooks. So yes, I would let them handle all of those bookings and make commissions on that...
Later this year, I'll have a few days in each of Mumbai, Delhi, and Kathmandu. I know little about any of those cities or regions. I will probably sniff around, do some of my own research, but may end up finding a travel agent who really knows how to plan activities in each one. My hunch is that I'll book some things through the agent - drivers, guides, etc. - and they'll make commission that way.
Dec 2, 2012, 1:31 pm
#114
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 1
I have used http://www.worldclassperks.com/ 3 times in the past month for 2 future vacation trips and one trip for my friends - total of 9 tickets and their service was fantastic. I'm not a big miles junkie but understand the value. We were provided multiple options, cabin layouts, difference between first and business pricing and how first class for our Asia trip was better (have a boat load of United mies). Our 2 trips were booked within 24 hours and our friends within a few days as they were exploring additional destinations.
Jan 7, 2013, 2:50 pm
#115
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 301
Same thing here 
Contacted www.milevalue.com - >24 hours ago (after submitting form, it said I response in <24 hours), still no response.
Jan 7, 2013, 2:55 pm
#116
Suspended
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Bay Area
Programs: DL SM, UA MP.
Posts: 12,729
I have used http://www.worldclassperks.com/ 3 times in the past month for 2 future vacation trips and one trip for my friends - total of 9 tickets and their service was fantastic. I'm not a big miles junkie but understand the value. We were provided multiple options, cabin layouts, difference between first and business pricing and how first class for our Asia trip was better (have a boat load of United mies). Our 2 trips were booked within 24 hours and our friends within a few days as they were exploring additional destinations.
Feb 4, 2013, 7:30 pm
#118
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Los Angeles / Basel
Programs: UA 1K MM, AA EXP, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 26,923
I figure I might as well plug my company...
We are very busy but still taking on new clients.
Let our Award Expert Team help you out on your next award redemption--we book millions of miles each week and can help you on any and all award redemptions.
We are very busy but still taking on new clients.
Let our Award Expert Team help you out on your next award redemption--we book millions of miles each week and can help you on any and all award redemptions.
Feb 4, 2013, 8:02 pm
#119
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: SXSW
Programs: DL Plat; HH Diamond; SPG & Hyatt Plat
Posts: 996
Conversely:
Let our Award Expert Team ...we book millions of miles each week and can help you on any and all award redemptions.
They're very patient and knowledgable, and have expertise on all the routes and rules (as one might imagine from an FT Evangelist and his team).
__
I didn't see Award Travel Services on the list - I also booked one with him, he was able to find me a great award booking, accomplished what appeared to be an impossible US award - something I couldn't easily do myself, if at all.
Last edited by b8b; Feb 15, 2013 at 5:32 pm
Feb 4, 2013, 10:21 pm
#120
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 5,439
I didn't see Award Travel Services on the list - I also booked one with him, he was able to find me a great award booking, accomplished what appeared to be an impossible US award - something I couldn't easily do myself, if at all.
I used to be called The Flight Concierge at the beginning before switching over to Award Travel Services about a couple of months ago.
(Also could the OP kindly please update the opening post. Thanks a ton.
)