Al21

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

Professorguitar

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.

RamTravel

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!

Professorguitar

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.

sarahyk

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!

angelfarmwest

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!

Rastaguytoday

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!

pdx

>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.

mikecarsgt351

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