alphaflightguru.com
 

Has anyone had any experience with this CA company advertised as offering discounted Business, etc.,, Class tickets? I always get nervous about companies I can't check out well and that are on the other side of the country. I have requested a quote on a particular routing, got a promot first response, and am waiting for the quote itself. I usually end up buying from the airline direct. thanks.

It doesn't look to good, does it? Just the fact that there isn't anything on the internet (except this negative comment http://www.ripoffreport.com/air-trav...shbe-d49b5.htm) would prevent me from even considering it.

http://www.bbb.org/.../travel-agenci...runo-ca-357439

newer reseller consolidator no BBB complaints

no personal experience good personal experience with

www.airbrokers.com

www.airtreks.com

www.airawards.com

Happy Hunting,

Always use my www.capitalone.com no foreign fee Venture CC

when booking new companies can always do a merchant reversal

get my money back and www.insuremytrip.com always wise.

Thank you for your responses. Thank you quovadis for the "personal experience" names.

Bought a ticket from them last winter. Took them a while to respond, but the guy did find a great flight that was $1,500 less than Orbitz! Also, I needed the return date changed, they did it for $150. That is as good as full price ticket bought from airlines directly. I definitely recommend.

I wiould be cautious in accepting the above recommendation, since D_Kat just joined Fodor's to post this.

These guys are legitimate. You'd be stupid not to check with them or someone like them before you buy an international business class ticket, unless you just want to throw away a lot of money, and we're talking thousands on something like a flight to Asia.
The only negative thing I've heard about some of these business class brokers is that they sometimes stretch the rules by buying up a lot of miles from Craig's list or other places, and then using the miles to upgrade your ticket. I'm not sure how it works exactly, but airlines frown on it. If detected, it could potentially get you booted from the airline's frequent flier program (if you're a member) and your miles confiscated.
So I would think twice before using a service like this on an airline whose ff program you belong to and value highly, but otherwise, it seems like a no-brainer to me. Always use a credit card that protects you in these situations as well. Never use a debit card, money order, cash or anything and you'll be ok.
All that being said, if these guys were having a problem, you'd see the complaints proliferating pretty quickly, but it seems their customers, including me, are pretty happy.

I just found these guys online. I asked for a quote for a business class airfare from Sydney to JFK and the airfare they quoted with Delta was about $1000 to $2000 cheaper than i had been able to find. I thought it sounded too good to be true.. but perhaps it isn't. Only problem is they have trouble contacting me on my mobile as I am in Australia and they have hounded me with emails, sometimes twice a day.

Another thing... as I had a doubt I thought I would use the quote and go to an Australian company that matches airfare prices to be safe.

These guys could be legit -- or crooks . . . I have no idea. But I do know that almost every recommendation has been by a first time/only time poster. None have ever posted on any other topic and at least one has been nuked by the editors. It would appear they are all shills for alphaflightguru. Which would be a pity if they do happen to be legit -- because these posts look pretty shady to me . . .

I agree janisj. All these first time posters, who came and registered just to tell us about AFG!

Just Joined up to let you all know that D_Kat posted a comment on July 22nd 2011 about how he/she bought a ticket etc etc and on the ripoffreport website the same D_Kat has post a large Rebuttal as He/She states that he/she works for Alphaflightguru and has done for 14 months..
check it out http://www.ripoffreport.com/air-trav...shbe-d49b5.htm
Now if these guys are Legit then it would be awfully stupid for one of their own to post/pose as a customer... kinda discredits legitimacy.

Also, Kat_D is supposedly an "agent" and has never heard of hidden city ticketing? Ludicrous! She needs to read Fodors more.

NOT A FAN
I used them once. I cannot recommend them. They purchase airline miles, purchase tickets with them and sell the tickets. I was not informed of this until it came time to book the tickets. I have never purchased tickets in this manner before, as this game is out of my comfort zone.

It had taken several weeks for them to find me seats that fit my schedule. When it came time to book the tickets I went to give him my airline member numbers and was informed of the situation. I was pressed for time and had spent too much time on this, so I accepted frequent flier tickets.

I was then told that I needed to wire funds. I took that as a red flag. But, again, I was in a hurry, and failed to heed it. I did, however, refuse to wire funds. Credit card or forget the whole thing. Then he wanted to charge me extra for credit card. I blew up. End result was they took the credit card without extra charge.

Overall, I would say that their focus is on revenue enhancement rather than service. The culture, as I perceived it, was that of an unscrupulous mechanic charging as much as he could get away with.

Numerous charges came through from various airlines around the world. I requested a statement/reconciliation of the charges. I was told "Don't worry. You'll see the charges on your credit card statement". I always start to worry when someone tells me "Don't worry." I was never able to get a list of the charges.

Ultimately, I was not comfortable working with them and cancelled the tickets. They did refund most of the charges under threat of filing a claim with credit card company. I didn't push for the smaller charges. I wrote them off as a learning experience.

I could go on. But, suffice it to say, I cannot recommend them. Maybe others have had a different experience.

Well call me crazy but I am just about to get on board with these guys. They told me up front about using reward points and although it's wierd I am prepared to take the gamble. I rang the airline and checked it out. They were aware of the arrangement and had no real dramas. There was an anomoly with some details so before I signed over I asked for this to be corrected. I'm in Australia so I could not discuss the corrections with them at the time I was ready to take the plunge. The savings are significant so if it works I will be stoked.
So here goes?? I'll post a comment either way so that there will be some actual experience on this blog.
Wish me luck!

Good luck, professor.

We used their services to JoBurg and Istanbul recently from Canada and everything worked well. Would use them again.

This thread is fascinating for some reason.

So here's my comment:
We paid a deposit of AUD$250 and within 24 hours we had a Virgin e-ticket BNE to LAX. We rang the airline and they confirned we were on board. But before paying the balance we wanted to make sure it was legit. These guys use Delta Airlines Skymiles so we contacted both Delta and Virgin and asked them to investigate if this scheme is illegal or against their T & Cs. While it is not the intended purpose their was no definative response that it broke any rules. Whether the airlines are willing or able to shut this down is yet to be seen. But I doubt it.
In the end we decided to fly premium economy on the same flights and went with Flight Center. AFG returned our deposit in full.
This scheme works and for anyone flying business class. It's a cheap way to go.

I recently used Alpha Guru to travel from Australia to the UK due to a personnal emergency and it was a complete nightmare. Due to them using the airmile points to reduce fares and an error in their adminstration I was not allowed to board my flight. The only way I could get home was to purchase a very expensive buisness class ticket from another airline. After many emails and discussions Alpha Guru they eventually organised flights back to Australia and reimbursed the cost of my outward tickets.
I certainly would never recommend or use this company again

Just a brief update.
We managed to find cheaper special one off fares with Qantas. Business class $5k return BNE to LAX.
Even cheaper than Alphaflightguru.
We had a personal family crisis that prevented us from travelling when we planned to go.
We lost the cheap flights and eventually rebooked at a shocking premium.
But the good news......Commonwealth Bank Platinum insurance paid off and we were fully reimbursed.
So we went legit and cheaper than Alphaflightguru.
But since going down this path I have spoken to others and this scheme (scam) definitely works. I have spoken to a number of people that have had great experiences. But they did not have to change like the last poster.
So my advice is. If you are really confident that the time you are going to travel is not going to change. Then go for it. It works.

I have used AlphFlightGuru once, flying from Chicago to Kuala Lumpur, with partial first class to Hongkong and then business class to Kuala Lumpur. It was at a steep discount to normal first class/business class fares.

I did not make a payment until I received an E-ticket with our names at the airlines' website. I paid with a US-based credit card, just to be on the safe side, since I believe we can submit a dispute if the flight does not work out. the flight went well, and we will complete our trip in early March, returning to Chicago. so, we will see how the trip completes.

I agree that it is a bit of a risk to use consolidated frequent flyer miles. I was very suspicious at first, worried about being turned away at the check in if the airline discovered that I was using someone else's frequent flyer miles that had been purchased. This was the second time, as I used another group (Let's Fly Cheaper) for a flight to South Africa via Paris over Christmas, and that too, went well. For both these flights, I frequently checked the respective airlines' websites to verify the booking was still valid.

The only hiccups I had was with seat assignments. With Let's Fly Cheaper, I could not get all the seats assigned straight away and had to go back and forth a few times with them. With Alpha Flight Guru, the agent said the HKG-KUL flights could be upgraded to First Class but only when it was two weeks before the flight. I found out later that the sector had NO first class to start with. that was maybe a bit of sleight of hand. They could have been more upfront about it.


It seems to me that this method is a distinct possibility if one is willing to risk it. I have not experienced any problems, but then I am new to this.

By the way, I do not work for either of these outfits!

Ram travel, please let us know about your March trip afterwards. I am keen to use these guys. I tried business class from Peru to Lax but it was too hard without starting from my home base in Australia.
I will use them at some stage and I am intrigued by this thread. Thanks to all.

I used alphaflightguru several times. The customer service is really bad. On my last flight I had enough. The customer service rep was rude and inconsiderate. I decided to go with FlyBusinessForLess.com a similar site that works pretty much the same way alphaFG does but with alot better customer service. My flight was great and I saved $4500!

PLEASE DO NOT USE ALPHA FLIGHT GURU! I WAS STRANDED!
They do appear completely reputable. The agent who sold me the ticket was very cordial, efficient and helpful--Everything you would want in a travel agent IF you could understand the foreign accent. You MAY make it safely to your destination and back IF there are no delays, mishaps or other challenges that can sometimes occur while traveling. However, do know that you are traveling on an illegal ticket that is actually resold award mileage...which happens to be illegal. That being said, yes, you can get a great deal at half the cost of normal Business or First Class airfare. BUYER BEWARE!

I did not realize it was resold mileage at the time it was purchased. I learned this after the fact when I could not get onto several subsequent flights after mine was delayed. My 'guru' told me it was not her responsibility but that of the airlines. When I called the airlines I learned to my dismay that I was traveling on someone else's mileage and and could therefore not get onto the earlier departing flights but had to wait a very long time. Still it had not dawned on me that my travel plans were in jeopardy. I did make it out on a much later flight. I thought everything was fine until I happened to call the airlines again and learned that this was a fraudulent ticket that was canceled on the spot! It cost me quite bit to purchase a return ticket for which I had not budgeted and I had to cut my trip short. A horrid experience and expensive lesson! Although I did not just fall off the apple cart yesterday, somehow I fell for this! Major lesson!

Alpha Flight Guru staff took no responsibility for this and ignored my calls.
Just because a company has a website, testimonials and cordial staff does not make them legitimate. I also see on their blog that they are attempting to discredit the numerous complaints about their service posted on Trip Advisor. BUYER BEWARE!

icuy - pretty adament statement by angelfarmwest, who also is a first time poster in May.

We've gone from happenstance to a coincidence.

If a deal looks too good to be true, it is.

I feel sorry for angelfarmwest, not!

>I did not just fall off the apple cart yesterday<
A perfect conglomeration of idioms:
"The apple does not fall far from the tree"
" I didn't just fall off the turnip truck"
"I wasn't born yesterday"
and there might be one or two others I'm missing.

Angelfarmwest, I really do offer you sympathy for your experience. I'm sure quite a few of us have been stuck one way or the other during our travels and it is always irritating and anxiety-producing. Chalk it up to experience and eventually you'll get over it.

Hi there I have just joined the group and been reading the above comments, I wish I had read them before. I have booked and paid with Alpha Seat Guru flying in June 2014 from Australia to Chicago return in business class.
I guess I will be the test dummy and will post back once I have flown or hopefully fly and keep you posted. I normally fly QANTAS everywhere, I have spoken with Virgin and Delta who my flights are with and they have confirmed my flights so here's hoping thanks Mike