Over the past few years, I’ve received numerous requests from readers asking for help booking award tickets, for destination inspiration, or even just suggestions to point them in the right direction.
While I am always eager to help, I decided that having my own award booking service on this blog was not something I put high on my list.
I had the opportunity to form an “tweet-friendship” (those are always the best, right?) with Ari, the founder of AwardMagic about a year ago, and we finally crossed paths earlier this month at the First2Board Seattle Sessions. During our lunch break, we talked, and it made sense to work together because we both have similar award-booking “styles”.
In my opinion, a good award booking service not only finds availability for your desired itinerary, but they also go the extra mile to make sure you are absolutely 100% maximizing the value of your miles too.
AwardMagic fits the bill with their team of experts who work around the clock piecing together your award trip.
Here’s their range of services:
Standard Award, per person: $139
- One-way or round-trip ticket. This may include a stopover to visit up to two destinations, depending on the rules of the airline’s rewards program.
Magic Award, per person: $249
- More complicated ticket involving three or more destinations. These include round-the-world tickets and American Airlines Explorer Awards.
Expedited Service, per person: $25
- All requests receive responses within 24 hours. If you require faster service or are departing within 7 days, an Expedited Service fee will apply.
Change Fee, per person: $65
- If the airline makes an involuntary change, Award Magic will try to book a new itinerary at no charge. If the customer wishes to make a voluntary change, a Change Fee will apply.
Of course, there are dozens of award booking services out there, and you’re welcome to explore the array of options to see which award booking you feel most comfortable with, but I’l tell you this – Ari is a cool dude, and for the purposes of full disclosure, I do receive a small referral fee for each referral I send their way from my site.
You can learn more information about AwardMagic here or by clicking on the Award Booking tab above.
Recently worked with Alex from http://www.easyawardbooking.com . Super happy with his services. Was able to book me and my family for Europe in Business class. I found it difficult to piece the trip together with 3 stops and so an award booking service helps big time with this
I’m a firm believer in the Halo effect. Price your product higher than others to create perceived value.
I’ve always been under the impression that frequent flyers are cheap, and like to do things frugally. I think the way to make money is to price your product lower than market. That would attract buyers.
I wish one of the bloggers would do a comparison of all of these services to see who charges how much.
dh
On the other hand, some readers are busy working and don’t want to spend the many hours it takes to find the best value for the miles they have collected. I used an award booking service two years ago for a complex, four-stop trip. I know I got better routing, saved 50K miles, and many hours of frustrating searching on all those lovely airline websites. Money well spent!
That’s a great idea! However, I think there’s already a thread on Flyertalk which lists each company – from the one-man-shows all the way through to the big boys – and gives their links and their costs.
As for us, we’re just thrilled to be a part of the “family” here at Just Another Points Traveler!
This is one of the reasons I chose Alex @ Easy Award Booking. He charges $99/per person. I did not want to pay more than that
I agree with dhammer53 that people in this hobby tend to be cheap and frugal. After all, we complain when fuel surcharges are added! ;)