Frequently asked questions
Straight answers before you send the brief.
Most clients ask the same handful of questions about hotels, flights, fees and how we work. The answers are below. If something is not here, the contact form is the fastest route.
About Propeller
What we are and who we work with.
What is Propeller Travel?
Propeller Travel is a specialist UK travel agency. Three things we do better than most: complex air and round-the-world routing, premium hotel bookings with preferred-partner benefits, and high-touch planning for trips that do not fit a search box.
We are not a generic OTA, a luxury lifestyle brand or a points-arbitrage shop. We are a working travel agency with GDS access, hotel programme partnerships and over a decade of building difficult itineraries.
Who do you typically work with?
Three rough groups. Frequent flyers planning status runs, mileage runs, BA Gold Upgrade Voucher use or full round-the-world routes. Premium leisure travellers booking Four Seasons, Aman, Mandarin Oriental, Rosewood and similar with preferred-partner benefits. Business travellers and small companies who want a real human handling complex bookings rather than a self-service portal.
Are you a Virtuoso member?
Yes. We are also preferred-partner status with Four Seasons, Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, Marriott, Accor and Small Luxury Hotels. The full list is on the premium hotel benefits page.
Why book through Propeller rather than direct?
Three concrete reasons. Same price as booking direct, but with preferred-partner extras layered on top (breakfast, hotel credit, priority upgrade, late checkout). Full hotel programme loyalty points and night credit on most rates. A real person handling schedule changes, disruption and the awkward middle of complex itineraries.
If a public direct rate is the better answer, we will say so. Our quote tells you what we recommend, not what we want to sell.
Getting started
Forms, response times and urgent travel.
Which form should I use?
Use the form that matches what you are asking for:
Hotel quote for new hotel stays.
Air travel quote for straightforward flight bookings.
Complex air for unusual routes, mixed cabins, ITA Matrix finds, separate-ticket questions or ticketability checks.
Trip planning for round-the-world, mileage runs and broader briefs.
GUF for BA Gold Upgrade Voucher work.
Existing hotel booking for hotel bookings already made elsewhere.
If you are unsure which fits, pick the closest one. We will redirect internally if needed.
How quickly will you reply?
Most enquiries get a first response within one working day. Hotel quotes and air bookings often come back faster. Round-the-world and complex multi-city itineraries take longer because the work itself takes longer, not because the queue is slow.
Travel within 24 hours, what do I do?
Call rather than emailing or filling in a form. The phone number is on the contact page. Forms are queued, phones get answered.
Can I email instead of using a form?
Yes. Email query@propellertravel.com for anything that does not fit a form neatly. Forms exist to capture the right detail up front, but they are not mandatory.
Hotels
Preferred partner benefits and loyalty.
What do preferred-partner benefits actually include?
The exact set varies by hotel programme, but the typical package is: full breakfast for two, a hotel credit (often $100), priority upgrade at check-in subject to availability, early check-in or late checkout when possible, and complimentary wifi.
You will see the specific benefits for your hotel listed in the quote, before you book.
Will I earn hotel programme loyalty points and night credit?
Yes, on most preferred-partner rates. We book against your hotel programme loyalty number, and stays earn points and elite-night credit normally.
A small number of rates (some prepaid promotions, certain wholesale channels) are not loyalty-eligible. If that applies, we will flag it before booking, not after.
How does the price compare to booking direct?
Same price, in almost all cases. Preferred-partner rates match the hotel’s best available rate (BAR) for the same room and dates, with the partner extras added on top. The benefits do not come at a price premium.
Can you help with a hotel booking I have already made?
Sometimes, yes. Use the existing hotel booking form. What we can do depends on the rate type, programme rules and how close to arrival you are. We will tell you what is possible without a long back-and-forth.
Air travel
Flights, complex routing and ticketing.
Air Travel Quote or Complex Air, which one fits?
Air Travel Quote is for straightforward flights. London to New York return, Manchester to Tokyo direct, business class to Singapore. Standard routings, single ticket.
Complex Air is for ITA Matrix finds, unusual origins, open-jaws, mixed-cabin itineraries, separate-ticket questions, ticketability checks, mistake-fare validation and round-the-world segments.
If unsure, send it through Complex Air. We will tell you which lane it actually fits.
Can you book reward flights using my miles?
Some, yes. We can issue partner award tickets for airline programmes that allow third-party agents to ticket through GDS (Amadeus, Sabre, Galileo). Many programmes restrict award booking to the member directly, in which case we plan the route with you and advise on availability and timing.
Send the request through Complex Air with your programme and number, and we will tell you what is bookable.
Do you handle BA Gold Upgrade Voucher requests?
Yes. GUF requests are something we handle frequently for BA Gold members. Use the GUF form so we have the ticket detail to sequence the upgrade properly.
What happens if my flight is changed or cancelled?
For tickets we issued, we handle schedule change support and proactive rebooking as part of the standard ticketing fee. There is no additional service fee from us for involuntary rebookings or refund processing, although airline penalties still apply where the fare allows them.
Can you book separate tickets to make a route work?
Yes, where it makes sense. Separate-ticket itineraries are useful for some long-haul routes and mistake-fare combinations, but they carry trade-offs around connection protection and luggage. We will explain the risk before booking, not as an aside afterwards.
Trip planning, RTW and mileage
How planning briefs work.
Do I need to pay a deposit to start trip planning?
No. You can send a trip planning outline, RTW enquiry, mileage run or status run brief without an upfront deposit. We review the outline first. If paid planning or ticketing work is needed, we confirm the service fee before proceeding.
Hotel quotes, single air bookings and BA Gold Upgrade Voucher requests do not require a planning deposit. Published ticketing or service fees can still apply if you proceed.
Are there fees if I proceed with the booking?
Yes. If you choose to book the trip through us, our standard ticketing fees apply (as listed on our fees page). If your brief is highly complex and requires extensive research or paid planning work, we will always discuss and agree on a planning service fee with you upfront before starting that work.
Do you do round-the-world tickets?
Yes. Star Alliance, oneworld, SkyTeam and miles-based RTW routes are all in scope. We build them around the alliance rules, your earning preferences and your dates. Send the brief through round-the-world planning.
Status runs and mileage runs?
Yes. We plan tier-point runs (BA Executive Club), mileage runs (Avios, Virgin, Star Alliance) and status-extension routes against your specific target. Send the brief through trip planning.
Fees
What you pay and when.
What does Propeller charge for hotel bookings?
Nothing. Hotel bookings are free of Propeller service fees. The hotel pays our commission, you get the same rate as direct plus the partner benefits.
How are air ticket fees calculated?
A small per-ticket fee that scales with itinerary complexity. Up to six segments, up to nine segments, ten or more (or round-the-world). The fee covers ticketing plus the work that follows, including schedule changes and refund processing on tickets we issued.
Current fees are listed on the fees page.
Are there hidden fees later in the process?
No. The fees on the fees page are the full picture for standard work. Anything that would carry an additional charge (extensive replanning, certain reissue scenarios) is flagged before we proceed, never after.
Do you accept international clients in different currencies?
Yes. UK clients are billed in GBP, international clients in USD. Where prices appear on the site, you can switch between currencies using the country selector in the site header.
Ready to start
Send the brief.
A quick brief, a short message or a full enquiry, any of those work. The contact form goes to a person, not a queue.