The Travel Detective

Avoiding Classic Travel Scams

Locations in this article:  Las Vegas, NV

Cruise Ships PortIf it sounds too good to be true, it is. You’ve heard all that before. But when it comes to classic travel scams, many of us turn a blind eye because of our urge to travel. You receive a notice in the mail or online that you’ve won a new car, a TV, a set of luggage or … a free cruise. You’re already a winner, right? Wrong.

You didn’t win the car, the TV or even the luggage. You did “win” the cruise, but there’s a catch … the cruise is officially free but you have to book your tickets through the prize consolidator, and you can just imagine what those tickets are going to cost you.

Many of these scams offer you multiple prizes: You didn’t just win the cruise, but a week in Gatlinburg, Tennessee or Las Vegas. Then you run into the same problem … booking the airline tickets. To add insult to injury, your free hotel stay in those locations is actually a timeshare pitch you’re required/forced to endure.

My advice: forget it.

Any time you are required to use your credit card to “claim” your prize you’re being scammed.

And here’s another piece of important advice: Anytime you’re encouraged to buy any kind of travel package and pay for it in full more than 60 days before your scheduled trip, be concerned. Under federal credit laws, if you contract for a good or service and pay for it with a credit card and the seller defaults or otherwise breaches their contract, you’re protected. Outside of 60 days, you’re not.

‘Tis also the season for inauguration scams. It all comes in language with one key word attached: Package.

At this moment, dozens of organizations are marketing special inauguration “packages” in Washington, D.C. But there’s one small problem: the assumption they want you to make is that by purchasing this package (airfare, hotel, ground transportation, et al) you’re also going to go to the inauguration.

I’ve even seen one $70,000 package offered by an upscale hotel in Washington—and when I called—it does NOT include tickets to the inauguration. Another hotel package seems to offer inauguration tickets, but upon closer inspection, they’re only providing two low-price tickets to a minor inaugural party.

So be careful.

And this is also the season for major sporting event scams: College Bowl games and then, on February 1, the Super Bowl. In almost all these scams, you’ll be flying to the city where the game is played, and you’ll be getting a room at a hotel in that city. And … you’ll be watching the game on the TV in your hotel room.

Currently, the U.S. Department of Transportation has a rule—enacted after a particularly bad scam against Wisconsin fans who bought a football/travel package and flew out to California thinking they were going to the Rose Bowl—requiring every tour and travel operator to fully disclose whether or not tickets to the big games are included in the package they are selling. In almost all cases, they are not, and you need to keep that in mind.

No matter what travel package you purchase, always use a credit card and make your purchase within 60 days of the time you are planning to take your trip. If not, your rights are not protected if you’ve been scammed outright or the Super Bowl party you were promised amounts to nothing more than a trip to the vending machine down the hall from your hotel room.

Check out more posts and tips on Peter’s Travel Detective blog.

By Peter Greenberg for PeterGreenberg.com