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Comment by nlh | Hacker News Reader

I've been a huge FlightFox fan and used them for several big (and complicated) trips - they've gotten me spectacular deals each time. This was all in the competitive phase, btw - haven't tried the new format yet.

One thing I just saw -- they dramatically raised the price if you're doing a "miles flight" -- it's now $99. I suppose I understand the thought process -- if you're not spending $$ on the flight, you're more willing to spend $$ on the consultation?

But honestly it makes me less-likely to use them. I use miles on some flights precisely because I DON'T want to spend any cash. Adding $100 in cash to the cost of the trip feels counter-productive.

Anyway, still a fan of the service, even if I've been priced out of using it :/

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Thanks nlh. First, thanks for the feedback on the pricing. We're talking about the miles product right now and will update it very soon. The high price was to account for most miles trips being fairly complex, but we'll segment a little more and offer you much better pricing.

UPDATE: just spoke to the experts and made it $69 for now. We'll change the pricing to be +$19 to use miles, but that'll take a little time. Reason it's more is that the experts have a few tricks that take considerable time.

Great to hear you received value with the competitive format. We still have the top 0.3% of experts from the previous system, they just get paid more and can spend a lot more time on your trip now. But we'll keep analyzing and make sure it's working well.

Sounds totally reasonable. +$19 to use miles feels completely fair. I'm back in baby! ;)

(but seriously, thanks for the update. I know pricing is an imperfect science and takes time to optimize. Keep on kicking butt.)

(not a flightfox user but my 2 cents)

Booking an award trip can be much harder to do unless you have an easy route like a domestic non-stop. The ITA matrix won't show you those flights, expertflyer.com used to be really useful but right now you can't get access to the United (and most of *A) data, some airlines have vague routing rules that may or may not play in your favor depending on which agent you talk to on the phone (looking at you US Airways), etc.

I think 99$ is steal.

Being a bit of a miles guy myself, I agree with jdcryans. Most other award booking services charge ~150 per person so $69 (or even $99) is a great price.

That being said, the website doesn't really address the quality aspect of their award bookers. Extensive knowledge of routes/partners/tricks is essential to building a (good) award itinerary. I'd be hesitant to go with Flightfox even if it's a bit less expensive because a knowledgable award booker can mean the difference between getting an award and not going on the trip at all.

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