How do I know if companies who buy miles are legitimate?

amother

Thu, Oct 23 2014, 5:08 pm

Hi,
I'm wondering how I know if companies who advertise that they buy miles are legitimate? Specifically, I'm wondering if anyone has experience with "Sell My Points" (as they offered me the best rate)....

Thanks!

theoneandonly

Thu, Oct 23 2014, 5:17 pm

What miles do you have and what did they offer you? The prices they advertise on their website are not that great.

We've sold miles to a number of different people and never had problems but I can't comment on the trustworthiness of this particular group because we never used them.

amother

Thu, Oct 23 2014, 5:23 pm

OP here. I had no idea it was against the rules. I have amex miles and the best offer I got was 1.45 % for 100,000 miles (in two cards)

harriet

Thu, Oct 23 2014, 5:37 pm

amother wrote:

OP here. I had no idea it was against the rules. I have amex miles and the best offer I got was 1.45 % for 100,000 miles (in two cards)

I didn't know either. I found out after (when they kicked me out of the program embarrassed

amother

Thu, Oct 23 2014, 6:18 pm

If you read the credit card agreement papers you will see that its not legal to sell any credit card points. I have chase and Amex and both are illegal to sell. Based on discussion with other people I think all of them are.

amother

Thu, Oct 23 2014, 8:09 pm

What happens when you sell your miles is that someone pays that company (a reduced rate) for a flight booked with your miles.

Your account can be locked or cancelled if the company suspects you sold miles. It happened to someone we know who booked a flight for a friend as a chesed (although he managed to straighten it out).

Did you know that skip-lagging is similarly illegal or against the terms of the contract you make with the airline? This is where you find a cheap ticket to India via Israel, but you only fly to Israel & skip the second leg.

MaBelleVie

Thu, Oct 23 2014, 8:15 pm

Airlines don't like skiplagging but there is no law against it. I don't think anyone commits to fly all legs of a flight in any sort of contractual agreement either.

seeker

Thu, Oct 23 2014, 9:02 pm

I dunno, I've always wondered how this could possibly be legal, but on the other hand these companies don't make any secret about what they do so if it weren't legal wouldn't they all be getting shut down?

flmommy

Thu, Oct 23 2014, 9:11 pm

I was very skeptical but BH I knew someone who knew someone who could vouch for the guy. He gave me half the $ up front and the rest after he moved the miles. I swear I have no affiliation with him but he was a frum guy in NY the name of the company was shlomosmiles.

amother

Thu, Oct 23 2014, 9:25 pm

I have been searching for an ad I saw several months ago but I can't find it. Maybe someone in this thread knows what I'm talking about. It was an ad for someone that will get you approved, arrange the spending, sell the miles, and give you cash. I want to call them we are desperate for $ now.

MaBelleVie

Thu, Oct 23 2014, 9:37 pm

amother wrote:

DON'T DO IT. No one knows if these people are legit in any way. You are risking your credit in a big way, plus possible identity theft. And the money is not instant, even if it isn't a scam and it actually works out for you- it will be a while before you see it.

Notsobusy

Thu, Oct 23 2014, 9:46 pm

amother wrote:

This ad was running in the Lakewood papers for a while. Recently there was an ad put out which was signed by many Lakewood Rabbonim, saying it is illegal and a huge Chillul Hashem and nobody should do this.

amother

Thu, Oct 23 2014, 10:12 pm

Quote:

Airlines don't like skiplagging but there is no law against it. I don't think anyone commits to fly all legs of a flight in any sort of contractual agreement either.

You may not think so, but here is a quote from the United Contract of Carriage:

(You can verify it here by clicking on the pdf.)

Quote:

Prohibited Practices:
1)Fares apply for travel only between the points for which they are published. Tickets may not be purchased and used at fare(s) from an initial departure point on the Ticket which is before the Passenger’s actual point of origin of travel, or to a more distant point(s) than the Passenger’s actual destination being traveled even when the purchase and use of such Tickets would produce a lower fare. This practice is known as “Hidden Cities Ticketing” or “Point Beyond Ticketing” and is prohibited by UA

Notsobusy

Thu, Oct 23 2014, 10:42 pm

MaBelleVie wrote:

Airlines don't like skiplagging but there is no law against it. I don't think anyone commits to fly all legs of a flight in any sort of contractual agreement either.

It is illegal but I've never heard of an airline actually doing anything to anyone who didn't get on the connecting flight. They do however cancel peoples mileage accounts if they think they are selling miles. I don't think they actually try to prosecute anyone who does either of those things.

MaBelleVie

Thu, Oct 23 2014, 10:48 pm

glutenless wrote:

what law is that?

21young

Thu, Oct 23 2014, 10:52 pm

I worked in a very closely related industry for a while, so I did lots of research on the topic. No, it's not illegal. Yes, airlines and credit card companies don't like it, and if they catch you they will close your account, no questions asked.
As to the ad about someone arranging the spending, DON'T DO IT.
Personally I sell my miles to Sell Miles Now. They have been around for a long time and are very reputable. It's also a nice perk that they work really quickly.
In general, if you have any doubts about the person you're working with, don't do it.