BWJ Travel, LLC Reviews

ETA: As a follow up, they are now trying to say that my review isn't real unless I provide more information. This is information that doesn't exist (Never received a reference number while APPLYING FOR A JOB), and information that I am not comfortable giving out. Intimidation tactics don't look good on anyone. I applied for a position on LinkedIn that has *literally* nothing to do with travel. I received an odd reply yesterday via email to the effect of "that position has been filled, but we have this other one we want to talk to you about" from their founder Jacob. I ended up in a zoom meeting with a bunch of other people only to find out it was for a different company (BWJ Travel) and it was to be a travel agent. I listened to his idiotic sales pitch for just a couple minutes and wondered how anyone could fall for such obvious lies before I looked up the company name and I found this page. I sent him the link to it in the zoom meeting chat and asked if it was a scam to see if he would respond. He did not. I left. They already took the job listing down, or I would report them for a phishing scam. FRAUD!

This is such a SCAM. No reputable employer will ask you to complete a form and BUY with your ccard information anything!

I’m a little confused. I was really excited. And I ended up paying the 60$ even though I felt something wasn’t right. But after some research I feel like I might have been scammed? I’m really sad. I’m newly disabled and trying to get back on my feet while completing my masters degree. Their website doesn’t have a lot of info, which seems strange to me. Not a lot of transparency. I wish it were easier to trust businesses. I’ve been interviewed and offered fake jobs before, so I am skeptical.

Fraud. No job offer. No salary. Misleading job interview is a sales pitch for a $60 a month membership they push you to pay, immediately. Predatory, multiple named companies and should not be allowed to operate this way. Preying on jobseekers money.

I wanted to write a review so that search bots are able to find more of the aliases this company works under. I was contacted by this company under the name "Star Streams, LLC" or "Star Stream Travel" (a star gazing tour group based in CO) and "Backbone Business Solutions" (a business consultancy in San Francisco). The players were Jacob (founder, son of founder) and Marcus (co-founder, nephew of founder). In their training webinars, they both flash a building owned by SVH Tours and Travel Services. All contact information for the zoom meeting hosts direct you to BWJ. Know ahead of time that no company will ever ask you to pay an initial deposit of $59 for licensing before 1) speaking with you directly, 2) running a credit search on you, 3) onboarding you fully. I see no evidence that after paying the $59 leads are generated for the numbers they quote in theirs sales pitch. Beware!

Please check their license number on their website, I try searching it on Google and it’s for guns.

I am fulfilling a cease and desist request issued by BWJ Travel, LLC, to clarify my points of negative review. Clarification has been provided by BWJ Travel, LLC in the reply to the original message. However, I now leave the following as my changed legally factual review, taken in-part from correspondence sent by myself to the legal representation of BWJ Travel, LLC being Francesco Picone, Esq: BWJ Agents, LLC is a buissness and using deceptive tactics to flood job boards for a common scam. These include the submitting of an email which claims that your resume was rejected, but it has been considered for another position that is "higher" in the company. A scheduled meeting is then held that is presented like it is an interview. Then, it ends up being either a recorded video, or in this case a web presentation. After the Web Presentation is held, without any input from the number of persons who followed the email, the bait and switch is to then announce that you will be charged for a package associated with the fees, licensing, certifications, and more associated with the specific field. It is deceptive, but not inherently illegal. However, during the Web Presentation that was supposed to be an interview, "Jacob" went on and on for over 1 hour about the "amazing things" that the company has to offer. He also claimed to have been in business for over 30 years under this company, which can not be verified through public records. Further, If I am recalling correctly, he at one point claimed that he inherited the business from his father. Since BWJ Travel, LLC is actually "Book(ing) with Jacob", am I to presume that Mr. Jacob Sr. was the original company holder? The company has only existed for two years. He also explicitly stated that this was not an MLM which appears to possibly be a lie. I do not know on this respect, as this tactic is highly characteristic of the MLM hustlers. At the end of this presentation, originally expected to be an interview, Mr. Salk then did the bait and switch to expose that his dupes were to pay a monthly subscription of $59.99 that was never ending (and from public reviews of the company, non-cancel-able and non-refundable.) Mr. Salk referred to this alternatively as both the fee for "Insurance" that was required to work as a Travel Agent, and "Certification" for the position. The link, as expected, was to a subpage of their own operating website. And as expected, Mr. Salk refused to allow me to speak, ask any speak, and deliberately avoided me over the next 24 hours. I have no personal vendetta nor desire for revenge to this entity or its persons. It is completely irrelevant to me. I am a young man, and a sufferer of PTSD, who has been exploited in the past by a number of employers including in recent months. I was acting upon an urge to fulfill my civil duty in both giving a tip to the relevant authorities and to be a town crier to warn the public forum. It appears that in my warning, a misconstrument of facts derived from deliberately withheld information which created a distorted reality of the situation, which I still hold as negative and valid, and still worthy of investigation by the relevant authorities. I previously mistook an entity known as "Sterling Consulting Firm, LLC" as the same entity because this was an MLM that was employing the same tactics simultaneously and I had applied to multiple jobs through the same job board website, LinkedIn.

This is a scam targeting people that want to work from home. I’ve worked for a travel agency for years and have never been required to pay a monthly fee to be “licensed”. And the license is through them, which in itself is really weird. Typically when you are in a position where you have to be licensed, the license is not granted through the company. Not to mention, they send the same email to everyone - you’ll get an email from them saying that they have “filled the role you applied for, but they have an EVEN BETTER role that they think you would be a great fit for”. This is your make you feel special and suck you in to their BS. They’ll send you a link to schedule an “interview”, but it’s not at interview- it’s a virtual webinar that is over an hour long. There’s no one-on-one contact with the person leading it, and he immediately “hires” everyone in the webinar. Hell ramble for an hour and then try to get you to pay $59 for the “license”. Don’t fall for this.

$59 / month, indefinitely(?), for "certification" Part of me doesn't think this would be a bad gig if (what is essentially) a subscription wasn't required. Across the board, NEVER PAY TO GET A JOB. That's Sleazy Business 101. Jacob's presentation was fine. Honestly, I would lean into this opportunity if it did not require a monthly fee. The actual description of the job itself is something I'd do, on the side. All they have to do it work that $60 into the commission or something, and I'd be in. Requiring a certification or license isn't an issue - that is a reasonable expectation - but paying your employer an indefinite subscription is not how it should be done. An upfront fee to arrange learning materials and a for proctor the exam? I could see that, but not a subscription. I'm staying out of debt and away from payments, not looking for a side job that requires you to pay the equivalent of 4x Amazon Prime accounts to keep.

Love working at BWJ as one of their agents. Just closed a $6200 Cancun vacation package from one of the leads they assigned to me! Can't wait to grow with them!

WOW!! Currently an agent with BWJ and I'm completely astonished at how this business operates. They do an incredible job caring for their team. The support team always works with me on any client questions and helps me do my best to book these clients and earn my commission. I am going into 2025 with so many tools and help that I NEVER feel alone. Thank you BWJ. Glad to be a part of the team!!

This is a scam I literally just got off the call with this man. It all seemed strange to begin with I assumed it would be a one on one interview but once I got on it was a group webinar. There is a fee that he doesn’t discuss until the end of the call. That people need to pay upon getting a start date. Avoid !!!

I am a current agent. The negative reviews are spot on so far. I am an annual member. Educate yourself with a travel agent academy. It is an informative resource. At the halfway mark, it says to stop and take the following steps before continuing. Get business social media accounts, your niche/specialty, a web page, and a business phone. Your niche will become your business specialty. Google Workspace is $144 a year, the website is $254 annually from wix.com, BWJ fees, and the phone is $15 a month. Get a name for your business. You can finish the other half of the Travel Agent Academy course. In the in-person question session, he said the modules are optional. Even if you don't do Agent Academy, you must have a minimum of 20 followers on your business social media. The URL is attached to your profile page. I have no idea how everyone's profile page exists. I had all the items listed here to get a live account. Don't worry. You will have the opportunity to assist someone with their travel requests. In June 2024, I became live. I haven't seen any opportunity to work with any travel requests yet. I called to check on how long it would take for some referrals, and I was told not to worry, it should be soon. I called again to ask if I was looking In the correct space. I was told I was looking in the correct online space. I was not connected to the referrals list. Four months, no income. 6 months, nothing. I got very excited when I finally saw the referral list. The first one hung up on me; the second one asked me to remove their name from the list. I asked support how to remove a name from the list, and they said they couldn't remove them from a list. I express my concern that I would be helping people make travel arrangements. Not cold calls. I tried five referrals, but nothing. Pro. The online education for referrals is informative t. Spot on. Con: you'll have an opportunity to get a travel agent discount. Not really. One example stated that you must sign a form and agree to social media during or after your trip. 2 Another one requires a travel agent card. The travel agent card is for people with a certain number of sales, full-time, and then you pay the annual fee for the card. If you haven't had any sales yet, you cannot even book a room for a discount. It clearly states if you don't prove you're a travel agent, you're whatever will get canceled. It makes sense to me that you need an ID for a discount. A travel agent academy is not mandatory. Before creating a website, I need two business social media accounts and Google Workspace. You get a referral. Yes. But they might not want to be assisted at this time. Plenty of travel discounts. Not really. I had a wonderful referral in October. I contacted you first thing in the morning. They were in a work meeting and called back at a specific time. The referral knew their budget, destination, and traveling party. After obtaining the information from my online account, I was excited to help with the referral. I am in a different time zone. I left a message/and emailed/contacted support to assist me, check the system, and confirm that I am doing this correctly. I explain the person's budget. Am I doing this correctly? Support replies yes, you are doing it right, but the final numbers were not in the referral budget. Support Told me to send my screenshot of the booking and explain that as a travel agent, I can't keep their budget, and as a travel agent, I am worth the time and effort. I saw red. I hung up with the support desk and wanted to find my notes to fix it. When I found the correct information, I completed the referral. They just did it themselves. October nothing. Well, my spouse spent 2 nights at the hotel. He let me practice everything with his reservation. So I can't give you the full price of the room. Book with Jacob Travel states a speedy turnaround to pay us. It's unclear how long you must wait for the hotel company to pay BWJ. Guess who's on the phone every week, trying to get BWJ paid then I can get paid. 2 months later. I have spent money on a business card, website, phone, and Google Workspace. the business social pages are free. The owner meets in person twice a week to answer any questions. Every other Sunday, also. Awesome sessions. The scary part is how many other people are agents, and now it's in the thousands. Is that too many? Of course not, Jacob says. Travel agents already have to compete with large discount services for travel. I can name five different memberships that give you a minimum of 30% off anything: hotel car rentals, vacation packages, and even cruises are on the membership sites. With so many discounts available, travel agents will probably not be around too much longer unless it's a more significant event. I don't know how to ask them to give me a different support person. Mine has been wrong, 80%.

BWJ Agents is a scam! They will definitely have you thinking its legit. I seen this job offer on indeed it is detailed about working from home remotely and booking reservations for hotel/traveling and I sent my resume and they contacted me very quickly which was odd. "Edwin" sent me a link to my email to join a meeting on my timing, I did- the very next day- just to see a pre-screen recording video it was "Edwin" speaking he was supposed to go over the pay, our duties etc it sounded to good to be true, went over how much we would make and just a presentation of the "job offer" well when that was over there is a option to pay monthly or yearly? That isn't right or feels right I then did my research on them and read a couple of reviews a man paid and never took the classes and they never returned his money. It's a shame how people do this. When I went to BBB to report a scam they ask where the scam is from. They are smart they put 3 different locations in Canada so there's no way we can see where they are actually located, if you look up the zip code and the address they use its odd they use a CA address. I am glad I didn't fall for it.

Definitely a scam. I do not recommend.

The company is misleading they said you can cancel anytime and I was told i can cancel but I will not get my money back i signed up for the yearly membership. since i started the training i ask for a refund because one of the thing is you have to book 15 days prior and something else you have to have a paper form to the credit card approval, I had been giving the run around write to customer services they take for ever and if you finally get a call back i was told by Jazmine that i will not received my money back and specific in the main page before you become an agent it says you can get a refund.

I wasted my money and time joining BWJ Travel through one of Jacob's webinars on July 19, 2023. I paid $396, which is a 1 year membership fee. BWJ Travel automatically places you into Autopay/ Autoship so that your yearly membership automatically renews after your 1 year membership anniversary is up. Since I enrolled, I never once used any of their travel packages & discounts either for myself or to book travel for others. Since I was not active and never used their Travel membership discount, I couldnt comment on whether their product is either good or bad but the BBB rates them an "F" so BEWARE. Considering I never got involved with their programs nor did I use my membership even once, I took the initiative to cancel my membership by texting Jacob the webinar host who is also the owner of the company. Jacob BWJ Travel (BookWithJacob) Located at 1731 W. Glenoaks Blvd. Suite #202 Glendale, CA 9120. I let him know on 10/13/2023 (8) months in advance to cancel & terminate any future autoship and my membership renewal which was coming up due on 7/19/2024. I sent Jacob a text explicitly requesting to cancel and remove me from any future membership auto-renewal. However, Jacob never responded, and I never did hear back from him. I have proof of the text I sent over to BWJ Travel. Since I had notified BWJ to cancel and stop any future billing, I was under the impression that my request had been honored and that I would not be charged a renewal fee in the future. However, on July 19, 2024, I noticed a $396 charge from BWJ Travel - for my yearly travel membership renewal on my Wells Fargo checking account. This charge was not supposed to happen since I had given them a notice and informed Jacob at BWJ Travel to remove me from any auto-renewal (8) months prior by text. Over the past two months, I have contacted multiple people within the company, including Jacob, to request a reversal of this charge. Despite my efforts, I been told that the charge is considered valid and non-refundable according to company policy. I understand the company's policy but this charge was made without my consent since I clearly communicated my desire to discontinue any future membership charges well in advance (8) months in advance. This charge was applied against my will, making it fraudulent, and it should be refunded immediately. I gave Jacob at BWJ notice to cancel (8) eight months prior to this charge, and yet the company proceeded without my authorization and consent to collect the $396 membership fee. Additionally, I have not heard back from Jacob since August 25, 2023 which was our last text correspondence, and he never informed me of any necessary steps to cancel the auto-renewal. As the owner of this travel club, I believe Jacob has a responsibility to set a positive example for his employees and customers by addressing this issue fairly which he hasnt and has gone silent, MIA. BWJ Travel Support department (is a Joke) responds with the below lame email which does not address the issue as to why they still went ahead and charged me the yearly auto renew fee of $396 against my wishes/will after the owner was given a notice via text letting him know to cancel and STOP any future charges well in advance. They were made aware to discontinue any future autopay but they ignored my requests and still went ahead and charged me the yearly membership fee of $396 anyways. Look below at their lame email response. Considering the steps I took well in advance to cancel future membership charges It should of never got to the point for me to have to ask them for a refund, I told them 8 months in advance to cancel my autoship, but since they are crooks and unethical, they go in circles with you trying to avoid having to refund back my money. They basicly stole my money. PLEASE DO YOURSELF A BIG FAVOR, IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING PAYING THEM A FEE TO JOIN - DO NOT DO IT! THEY ARE A SCAM, THEY HAVE NO INTEGRITY, DONT BECOME A VICTIM OF THEIR UNETHICAL PRACTICES - LOOK at the BBB - they have an (F) rating. STAY AWAY! Here is a copy of their email when I asked them to do right and refund back my money: Thu 8/29/2024 3:51 PM BWJ Travel Hi there, We received your call. You had signed up for an annual subscription. Subscriptions automatically renew unless you cancel. Unfortunately we do not issue refunds as per our Terms & Conditions. This is because the moment you pay your membership automatically there are resources that are billed on our end that we pay for that are non-refundable, like the E&O insurance and other resources. As you have already contacted your bank, our legal team will respond accordingly. We can no longer further assist. Thanks for understanding. Best, BWJ Travel, LLC Dedicated Travel Agent Support 1731 W. Glenoaks Blvd. Suite #202 Glendale, CA 91201