Nowadays there are so many scams out there, its hard to tell whats real from whats not. You've saved up for a long time and want your vacation to be a memorable one..not a horror story.
Below are some tips to keep you out of hot water.
1. If it looks to good to be true, it most likely is.
Those flyers we all get in the mail, or the phone calls we get telling us we've won a free cruise, or 3 day vacation. SCAM. Majority of these are either full blown scams, or timeshares. Either way your not going to have a great time on the trip. They call my house quite a bit, and after their "you've just won a cruise on this ship" I proceed to tell them I've been an agent for 20 years and never heard of the line...usually thats when I hear the clicking of being hung up on.
2. Be your own Travel Agent "Travel like an Insider" deals.
There are many of these going around right now. Majority are pyramid schemes / multi-level marketing companies now trying to get into the travel game. You pay $500 to join, and another $50/month for a cookie cutter travel website of your very own. They claim you make millions, or at least enough to fire your own boss and work from home. All the while reaping the benefits of travelling for free and writing off all of it on your taxes. Complete Hogwash. Majority who join these type companies make no money at all, or not even enough per month to buy a McDonalds happy meal. The real money being made is by recruiting/alienating your friends/family/co-workers and such to buying into the same program. Some suppliers have seen the light and forbidden some of these agencies from selling their products. Some of these companies are now being sued by the Attorney General for being a pyramid scheme. For a list of suspected card mills as they are called you can visit this blog by a fellow agent, and also No Travel MLM's blog which I follow for more information as well.
3. Make sure your agent has some credentials.
True travel agents carry affliations with one or all of the following. IATAN, IATA, ARC, CLIA, ASTA. ASTA also has a consumer site Travel Sense which you can also get more information about popular travel scams and how to avoid. Check with your local Chamber of Commerce & Better Business Bureau to make sure all is legit and no complaints have been filed.
4. Ask how long they've been in the industry
Do not be afraid to ask your agent how long they've been in the industry. What is their knowledge background, do they specialize in certain travel arenas. If you are booking online on a website, make sure the site lists a contact name and number to call if you have questions. Check out the HELP page to make sure you have someone to call if things go wrong. If the help page is referring you to the supplier directly and not an agent, not a good sign.!
5. Avoid paying with cash or check.
You should always try to pay for your travel with credit card. This way if you suspect you have been scammed you can call the card company for help. It will also help you if your tour operator, hotel or airlines decides to go under.
6. Do not purchase airline tickets, Disney passes, or the like on Forums.
I check out Craigslist alot. I've seen many times people trying to sell their airline tickets to others if they cannot travel. Please know that 99% of the low cost tickets sold by carriers are NON REFUNDABLE & NON TRANSFERABLE. That means you cannot give them to anyone else..only the person whos name is on the ticket can travel on them. For Disney, they now fingerprint you at the gate, so if the fingerprint doesnt match the ticket..no go. You've now paid for a worthless piece of paper.
Those are the creme-dela-creme of the travel scams. I'm sure there are many more out there, but it would take me all day and many blog pages to write about them all. If you think you were a victim of a travel scam, please contact the ASTA consumer affairs office.
As always, be careful. If you have any questions or comments...feel free to contact me.
