My friend recently told me of a website where you can buy and sell frequent flyer awards. The website is www.awardflyer.com. The website looks quite professional and legitimate. Does anyone have an opinion on this company or the practice of buying and selling awards generally?

Thanks.

 

At least they are fairly upfront, if you read the 8 pt font on the "sell" page:

 

DON'T BUY/SELL/BARTER
DON'T BUY/SELL/BARTER WITH A BROKER
DON'T BUY/SELL/BARTER ON E-BAY

If you are looking to sell mileage on a one time only basis to raise some quick cash, deal with someone you already know and trust well. Your account won't be flagged for an occasional 3rd party name using your miles.

If you are looking to sell mileage as an ongoing 'business', that's where the airlines get serious.


On the buying end, since you don't know who the end user suppliers are, you could be getting 'infected' mileage from accounts that are being flagged by the airlines...and you don't know it until you get the fifth degree before boarding your return flight home. YIKES!

Again, if you need to buy miles on a one time only basis, contact a someone you know and trust well and figure out a fair deal using their miles.

Airlines are looking for the big fish- sellers who have a lot of mileage and lots of 3rd party account activity on high demand/premium class of service routes.

BTW, airlines are exempt from antitrust when it comes to security and fraud. So, on the buying end, don't get smug by thinking you can buy from alot of different buyers who fly different airlines. The airlines can see if a guy is flying on nothing but award tickets and has no mileage of his own.

I don't want to start a firestorm of debate on 'gifting' or the philosophy behind airlines micro-managing our mileage redemption behavior. This is just meant to offer a PRACTICAL understanding/overview of the posters inquiry.

I have consistently maintained that mileage transactions be permitted in a website that is monitored by airlines and where people have to register. So there would be a legal,
transparent market instead of the black/gray market that the airlines foster with their current restrictive mileage policies.

 

Rather strange that the e-mail address in this profile is for the same person that e-mailed me this last week asking me to sell miles. Promoting your own site, perhaps? Let's be honest about it if that is what you are doing, versus saying a friend told you about the site.

(An identical thread was started in Flyer Talk Community.)

 

Yes, I do have an opinion on the practice. You expect the airlines to honour the terms and conditions of their FF programmes, right? You expect to get all the miles and upgrades you are entitled to etc. If you don't you probably complain, rightfully so. Now, given that, why would you not honour the terms and conditions that you agreed to when signing up for the FF programme, which invariably prohibit the selling of FF awards?

This seems like a no-brainer to me, don't do it.

 

This article appears in today's WSJ online. This subject seems to have been discussed in many threads lately.

Airlines Attempt to Thwart Sales
Of Frequent-Flier Miles on EBay

By JANE COSTELLO
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINE


John Robinson won't be selling any more frequent-flier miles online.

Last December, Mr. Robinson decided to use the eBay auction Web site (www.ebay.com) to sell a certificate for 500 American Airlines AAdvantage miles. An engineer from Kansas City, Mo., he had 200,000 miles in his frequent-flier account, and wanted to sell the mileage certificate that he received as a reward from Greenpoints, a virtual version of the legendary S&H Green Stamps program.

Mr. Robinson posted the certificate on eBay and waited for the bids to roll in. Two days later he received an e-mail from American Airlines telling him to stop the sales effort.

"Your attempt to auction this offer on eBay...violates the terms of the offer and the AAdvantage program," reads the note from Lisa Lowe, a member of what tech-savvy airline passengers refer to as American's "eBay police." "Please cease your attempt to sell the certificates and end your auction immediately." ...

http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/...4435188052.htm

 

This has been "triplicated" under the coupon connection, which raises ones suspicions about the notion of free publicity for a new site. Koala

 

He/she offered to sell me a VIPOW he/she had up for trade in Coupon Connection for $500.

Be careful

 

All other threads started on this topic (in other forums) have been deleted, so have all your words here. The advice and observations of other FlyerTalkers on this matter are better said that what I could add.

 

DON'T EVEN TRY....

 

snake wll bite you!

 

In a similar vein, I would urge you to consider this: If WE do not follow their rules, then we do not have the right to take the moral high ground when the AIRLINES do not follow their rules.

I would urge all to adhere to them...yes, take any ethical advantage of them that you can, but do not violate them.

If we do not do this, then WE become the outlaws.

Just an opinion...

 

You expect the airlines to honour the terms and conditions of their FF programmes, right? You expect to get all the miles and upgrades you are entitled to etc. If you don't you probably complain, rightfully so. Now, given that, why would you not honour the terms and conditions that you agreed to when signing up for the FF programme, which invariably prohibit the selling of FF awards?

Habard Viking is absolutely correct IMO.
rdy
'do the right thing'

 

A friend told me to stop complaining that I coul'd redeem my points "After all you are been given free flights for flights taken"..point noted.