BWJ Travel, LLC is a host travel agency that specializes in empowering independent travel agents with the necessary training, tools, and support to establish and grow successful travel businesses. The company focuses on providing agents with exclusive access to suppliers, resources for booking a variety of travel experiences, and ongoing community rewards. By facilitating a collaborative environment, BWJ Travel aims to enhance the capabilities of its agents, ensuring they can deliver exceptional travel experiences to their clients.
The target market for BWJ Travel includes independent travel agents and consumers seeking personalized travel arrangements. The company offers comprehensive services, including hotel bookings, flight reservations, cruise planning, and car rentals, all tailored to meet individual preferences. With a commitment to customer support, BWJ Travel provides 24/7 travel concierge services, ensuring that clients receive expert guidance and assistance throughout their travel journey. This dedication to service and agent empowerment positions BWJ Travel as a reliable partner in the travel industry.
BWJ Travel, LLC receives a mixed reception from customers, with many praising the convenience and efficiency of their travel agents. Reviewers highlight the ease of booking trips, with agents handling everything from flights to excursions, often securing better deals than customers could find on their own.
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Positive experiences include seamless trip planning and personalized service, making customers feel like they have a dedicated travel assistant. However, a significant number of reviews express serious concerns about the company's legitimacy, labeling it a scam. Critics mention deceptive job offers and a lack of transparency, particularly regarding fees and services promised by the founder, Jacob. This combination of positive travel experiences and troubling allegations leads to an overall sentiment that is cautiously optimistic but wary.
Each source counts by its number of reviews. Only reviews written by people are scored.
Rating, volume, share of the score, six-month trend and fake-review risk for each source
Source
Rating
Reviews
Weight
6-mo
Fake risk
★
Trustpilot
Imported Trustpilot reviews
3.3
197
100%
+0.5
● Low
3.3 / 5 overall
=
197 reviews across 1 scored source
How fake risk works ⓘ
Reputation trend
Monthly average rating from reviews written by people · latest review Aug 2025.
Last 3 months
3.9▲ 0.5
12-month avg
3.4
All-time
3.3
Category avg
4.0
Monthly averageCategory average
Monthly average rating and review count
Month
Average
Reviews
Sep 24
1.0
1
Oct 24
1.0
1
Nov 24
1.0
2
Dec 24
1.0
1
Jan 25
3.0
22
Feb 25
2.5
25
Mar 25
3.5
42
Apr 25
3.5
27
May 25
2.8
11
Jun 25
4.0
42
Jul 25
3.7
21
Aug 25
5.0
1
What people praise & complain about
Share of positive (4–5★) and negative (1–2★) reviews mentioning each topic · based on the 197 most recent reviews.
Top praiseof 114 positive reviews
Customer service20%
23 mentions
Prices & value14%
16 mentions
Easy to use8%
9 mentions
Fast & efficient6%
7 mentions
“No pushy sales, just actual help”
On “Customer service” · Jun 10, 2025
Top complaintsof 78 negative reviews
Scam67%
52 mentions
Payment issues56%
44 mentions
Charges17%
13 mentions
Fraud14%
11 mentions
“BWJ Agents is a scam”
On “Scam” · Jul 24, 2025
How it compares
Same method for every company: overall rating, legitimacy checks, the average rating of reviews mentioning each area and the 6-month trend · Travel Agencies.
Overall rating and review count for this company and similar companies
Not a scam. I have actual receipts that this is a legit company. Had to really dig to connect the dots to see if this was a real gig but it all checks out and links up. Just got done with my training everything is professional. I even had a contract to sign at the end. and the $100 is for membership to basically use their leads to turn into your clients. The 30 years experience is probably a combo of their dad’s company years in business and their own experience. They ask upfront to make sure you’re serious about this opportunity. It’s definitely there to make money and be your own boss as independent contractor. Do your homework and research before saying it’s a scam.
This guy Jacob is a total scam artist! BWJ Travel otherwise known as Travel Agent Institute just screwed me out of 97.00 claiming to the entire group he would need that money for insurance in case we made a mistake at work. DO NOT GIVE HIM A RED CENT. Total scam artist claims we can make millions and get 80 percent commission. Total lie!!!
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I only gave a 4 star rating because even with the presentation seminars, a lot of information was left out. I prefer transparency. I have worked for agencies that were commission only. Mr. Jacob should have said this is a commission only position in his ad on indeed. This is NOT A SCAM, But a chance to make a difference in someone's life. I'm not getting paid to say this, but this is a life changing opportunity for the serious entrepreneur that want to be their own boss. I can see myself making 170,000 my first year. Its not going to fall in my lap so I'm going to put in the work to build out my business. Thank you Mr. Jacob for this life changing opportunity.
An individual named Jacob with a hiring manager named Emily sent me an email to attend a webinar today. During this webinar they proceeded to tell the people that were attending that everyone was guaranteed a full-time or part-time position with very high earning potential. After about an hour and 10 minutes of time had passed. Jacob explained before everything ended and training could begin everyone must first go to a link that he posted in the webinar which guide you to an insurance company which is also owned by them. In this website in order to get the insurance you are required to pay $97 a month in perpetuity. This is the make sure that if you make a mistake that the insurance will pay for it with the customers. I knew this was a red flag 5 minutes into the presentation. Jacob is sitting in front of a green board with a beautiful ocean picture behind him. I noticed the water never moved. I'm hopeful that this kind of stuff will get shut down because there were many people in that webinar that jumped right at his beckoning with their credit card to pay for that insurance if anyone's reading this dispute it with your credit card company and do not use your debit card whatsoever.
In 2024, I was searching for part-time jobs on ZipRecruiter. I found that HappytoGo was hiring for booking services, with no experience required. I responded and was directed to a Meet and Greet Zoom meeting with Edwin Sarkisian, Chief of Operations, minutes later to establish a meeting time. I attended the meeting and found that I was suddenly linked to BWJ Travel, also known as Book with Jacob, with no mention of HappytoGo. During the meeting, I inquired about the status of HappytoGo, but received no response from Edwin — my first red flag. There were about 200 people in the Zoom meeting. About half of the participants dropped out during the meeting. I knew that all host agencies charge an upfront fee for training, suppliers, a support team, and the use of their license. So, it was no surprise that BWJ offered a monthly or annual membership. I did not sign the IC agreement right away. I wanted to read it first, and so did my attorney. Since BWJ offered leads/clients to people who passed The Travel Academy, I started training at my own pace. I was certified and began accepting leads. During one prerecorded training session, Jacob, Edwin's brother, mentioned that BWJ pays for their leads, and they are expensive. That was a second red flag. I encountered many leads who did not appear to be legitimate, would-be clients.
Was BWJ paying leads to act as clients? After six months of my devoted attention and resources, I decided to leave BWJ with absolutely no bookings. Both Jacob and Edwin are very convincing and claim to have been in the travel industry for 30 years. They are both in their mid-thirties. BWJ has only had an LLC for three years and is not accredited with the BBB. The training is excellent, and their support team is also very good. It is a family-run business. However, you should expect to bring in your clients. BWJ claims to have a commission split of 80/20%, which is more than most hosting agencies. But the question remains, will you ever get a booking? Based on my determination and attentiveness to clients' wishes over the past six months, I am inclined to doubt whether you'll achieve anything. I have a lengthy and successful career in many areas: your decision, and your choice. BWJ Travel has multiple locations, and the HappytoGo site has been set up. You may want to correspond with BWJ at 1731 W. Glendoaks Blvd., Glendale, CA 91201, their last known address.
It is all a scam. I contacted the BBB and reported them. I was r scammed by Jacob, who represents "BJW Travel." which I didn't find out the company name until later. He claimed that travel consultants could earn 80% commissions, income of $170,000 after 4 weeks you get a bonus of like 35%.
I paid $97 fee for a “travel consultant certification.” scored 92% because you have to score at least 90% This was a scam. do not upload any personal information
The emails cannot be responded to. if you paid the money contact your bank and try to get it back and also get a new card because I think he tries to take the $97 every month.
It's all a scam, I didn't fall for it. As soon as he asked for $97 to be paid without an official offer letter, I ended the call immediately. People were paying, wish I had spoken up and stopped them.
Their ads are misleading. Paid the $97 for the so called E & O policy, went through all the training videos, no emails followed for me to continue on. I sent email after email, all I get back is "auto generated" emails stating to check spam or junk folders. Nothing ever came. I have reported them to my bank, supposedly they are going to refund the $97, guess we'll see. They haven't done anything else they promised.
This whole experience with this company is a complete scam. Jacob, you are an evil person directing people to pay the $97 fee for a Fake, Fraudulent training videos and EO insurance. Everything you are doing is a complete Lie. Add my name to the growing list of people that have woken up to your Scam operation!
We had a $4,000 budget for our anniversary trip. BWJ planned a luxury trip to Belize, oceanfront cabana and all. Didn't feel like we had to sacrifice a thing.
BWJ Travel, LLC is a host travel agency that specializes in empowering independent travel agents with the necessary training, tools, and support to establish and grow successful travel businesses. The company focuses on providing agents with exclusive access to suppliers, resources for booking a variety of travel experiences, and ongoing community rewards. By facilitating a collaborative environment, BWJ Travel aims to enhance the capabilities of its agents, ensuring they can deliver exceptional travel experiences to their clients.
The target market for BWJ Travel includes independent travel agents and consumers seeking personalized travel arrangements. The company offers comprehensive services, including hotel bookings, flight reservations, cruise planning, and car rentals, all tailored to meet individual preferences. With a commitment to customer support, BWJ Travel provides 24/7 travel concierge services, ensuring that clients receive expert guidance and assistance throughout their travel journey. This dedication to service and agent empowerment positions BWJ Travel as a reliable partner in the travel industry.